Los Angeles, CA--With cannabis now legal in 37 states and the District of Columbia, dispensaries around the country must differentiate their physical spaces to stay relevant and competitive. Multistate dispensary chains are offering cutting-edge designs and services that not only enchant their current customers, but also increase retailers' revenues by attracting new consumers eager to embrace plant medicine but wary of entering unfamiliar stores. Driving this new frontier in retail are 16 talented architects and designers creating welcoming, engaging, and unique environments in this increasingly mainstream industry.
In recent years, cannabis companies that operate in multiple states have taken deliberate measures to reimagine dispensary design and experiences. Gone are the days of sterile retail locations; instead, brands are embracing consumer preferences by building comfortable, warm and inviting spaces. Combining operational efficiency and style, companies like Trulieve and Cresco aim for tranquil, clean designs. Others, like Jushi and Planet 13, forge consumer connections by customizing each location to the local community, incorporating elements of the surrounding environment. Whatever strategy a brand employs, the stores of tomorrow combine aesthetics and technology to transform the consumer experience.
Such innovation would be impossible without the creativity and brilliance of the architects and designers behind this movement. Temeka Group, for example, leverages more than 30 years of experience working with clients including the NFL and Disney to create carefully designed, highly secure dispensaries. Sungrown Studio takes a tech-savvy, digital approach to its queer-owned and diverse business, while SR Projects teamed up with TUNA Architecture to transform Standard Dose's flagship New York City store into an immersive experience, complete with a meditation and yoga space. These outstanding examples ultimately represent a turning point in cannabis's journey toward the mainstream, when the industry's retail vertical will exist in a variety of styles resembling those in any other sector.
"In the past five years alone, cannabis dispensary design has seen a remarkable transformation thanks to outside-the-box thinking and increased societal acceptance," said Kathee Brewer, editorial director at Inc Media, publisher of mg Magazine in a press release. "Dispensary architects are excellent at their craft and play an instrumental role in modernizing this industry. It's thrilling to think of what the future holds for cannabis retail with such talented individuals at the helm of design and aesthetics."