Company scores temporary licence for two events in July

Winnipeg-based Delta 9 Cannabis Inc. has received provincial licensing to open what the company believes will be Canada’s first mobile cannabis store. The company plans to open an on-site shop at two upcoming music festivals in Manitoba.

Delta 9 reports on 4/20, no less, that it has received temporary licensing from the Liquor Gaming and Cannabis Authority (LGCA) of Manitoba to open the mobile outlets. The LGCA licenses all retail cannabis stores in the province.

The company’s first-ever mobile store will set up shop at both the 2022 Dauphin Countryfest and the 2022 Rockin’ the Fields Minnedosa music festivals, which are scheduled for early July and late July, respectively.

The posted lineup for Dauphin Countryfest includes Paul Brandt, Johnny Reid, Dallas Smith, Dean Brody and Terri Clark. Rockin’ the Fields Minnedosa, for its part, will welcome to the stage Our Lady Peace, Loverboy, Nazareth, Chilliwack, Honeymoon Suite and Helix, among others.

“These festivals are premier country and rock events in Manitoba and this represents a new milestone for cannabis availability in Canada,” Delta 9 CEO John Arbuthnot says in a statement issued by the vertically integrated cannabis company.

The mobile store for the upcoming events was developed in partnership with the Tweed, Sundial, Truss and Wyld cannabis brands.

Quoting a lobbyist for the licensed industry, the Calgary Herald reported in April that summer festivalgoers can now have legal cannabis delivered to them as they enjoy the music. Deliveries to designated areas may include beverages, edibles and other distilled pot products.

As for Manitoba, Delta 9 officials are currently working with regulators to ensure that the same sort of safety and security measures required in its brick-and-mortar locations are available in the mobile outlets.

Among the many security requirements for brick-and-mortar cannabis retail are video surveillance, age-gating and restricted access to storage areas.

Built on a secure, self-contained trailer, customers will enter via a pull-down ramp at the rear of the trailer and place their orders at one of two interior checkouts, Delta 9 explains. Much of the inside space will be used to house cannabis inventory in a secure vault setting.

At both music festivals, the store’s product selection will include pre-rolled joints, cannabis beverages, vape pens, gummies and whole flower, as well as small accessories like one-hitters and rolling papers.

Recycling containers will be available on-site.

“Our team is also currently exploring additional mobile and seasonal store opportunities in Manitoba and elsewhere,” Arbuthnot reports.

Earlier in April, it was announced that a subsidiary of Delta 9 Cannabis Inc. has secured an agreement with Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation to become a cannabis distributor for the province.

The company notes the approach will not only allow out-of-province suppliers to improve logistics efficiencies and reduce shipping costs into Manitoba’s market, but it will provide Delta 9 with additional diversified revenue streams.

Citing figures from Statistics Canada, Delta 9 reported at the time that retail cannabis sales in Manitoba for the year ending Sept. 30, 2021, exceeded $138 million. The company, for its part, reached record net revenues of $62.3 million in 2021.