MINNESOTA CANNABIS RETAILERS
“ OUR MAIN GOAL SINCE LAUNCHING HAS BEEN TO DESTIGMATIZE AND EDUCATE OUR CONSUMERS.”
Joe Audette, Alcohol Retail Operations Manager for the City of Elk River, a member of the MMBA.
talk of the three-tier system in Minnesota for these products has little to no chance of success.”
This industry certainly still has a ways to go, but will arrive there eventually.
“ I predict in 10 to 15 years, we won’ t be talking about these products as we are today,” Kaspszak says.“ They will be as normal as alcohol.”
THE FIRST GOVERNMENT GANJIER
Helping shepherd the THC / CBD industry to that point that Kaspszak envisions is an extremely progressive government position recently created in the Minnesota market. That would be America’ s first government ganjier, the cannabis equivalent of a sommelier. Filling this innovative, forward-looking position is Joe Audette, Alcohol Retail Operations Manager for the City of Elk River, a member of the MMBA.
“ What makes me unique is that the city I work for saw an opportunity to educate me in cannabis, so that the city could control the cannabis retail in our city as well as the alcohol sales,” Audette said during a recent episode of On & Off, this magazine’ s official podcast covering the on- and off-premise alcohol industry.“ I believe that I can bridge the gap of government control and safety with ganja in the cannabis space, where that is not typically seen.”
In November of last year, Audette spent around 10−12 hours of online studying and taking tests through The Cannabis Sommelier Certification Program, accessible through Ganjier. com. He earned his Ganjier Product Specialist certification. The next level up, to become a certified Ganjier, requires around 60−70 hours, he said, plus a trip to the Emerald Triangle— America’ s largest cannabis-producing region— in Northern California for onsite testing. The equivalent of training for one’ s sommelier certification in Napa and Sonama.
This comes at a time of transition in the beverage alcohol industry.
“ The impact of cannabis beverage is being felt nationally in the adult beverage space” Audette said.“ In Elk River, where we already oversee two liquor stores and we’ re going to onboard a cannabis retail, it’ s felt like this bridge of the two industries coming together. I feel like as the nation moves forward into cannabis beverage, it will just naturally take some of the space of wine and the other alcohol beverages that are slowing down.”
In terms of educating the public about cannabis, Audette, like others, saw the current moment as similar to alcohol reentering the mainstream in the 1930s.
“ Our main goal since launching has been to destigmatize and educate our consumers,” he says.“ We’ re just coming out of a Prohibition that’ s very similar to the Prohibition that alcohol faced. We’ re coming into a time where people are going to essentially rely on the other people in their lives that have educated themselves to guide them on which products to consume.”
“ Our goal has always been to be a safe place for people to buy safe and regulated products,” he added.“ In Minnesota, where we are, our big goal is to control the sale of alcohol, and then transfer profits back to the city. It’ s going to be the same with cannabis. We need to make sure that we’ re selling it to people who can legally consume. We need to make sure we’ re selling to people who will consumer in a safe and controlled manner.”
RETAILING CANNABIS
Altogether, this focus on cannabis sales in MMBA has proven financially successful.
“ The demand for THC / CBD liquids and edibles has been phenomenal!” reports Michael Larson, Liquor Operations Manager, City of St. Anthony Village, an MMBA member.“ Our customers report that they enjoy the taste and multitude of flavors offered. Most are using the products as a way to relieve pain, anxiety and to achieve better sleep. Consumers also enjoy the low euphoric feeling THC / CBD product provides.”
“ Based on conversations with our customers it has become clear that using THC / CBD liquids and edibles have become a replacement for consuming alcohol, especially during the workweek,” he adds.“ THC / CBD products do not give the consumers hangovers, and have very little side effect after consumption when used properly, when compared to alcoholic beverages. This trend is becoming more and more prevalent across the country, as low- and no-alcohol product sales increase monthly.”
WHO IS THE DEMO FOR THESE PRODUCTS?
“ At our stores, the age group demographic is split 60 / 40, 60 % under the age of 50 and 40 % over the age of 50,” Larson says.“ Women in the 25−to−40−year age group seem to
30 Beverage Dynamics • Fall 2025 www. beveragedynamics. com