The use of Cannabis has turned a corner and is now available on Fifth Avenue.
Shoppers who walk along the iconic New York stretch of retailers can pick up jewels from Cartier and new threads from Saks, as well as new pre-rolled, New York state-grown marijuana joints from a new dispensary.
In the three and a half years since New York state legalized adult-use marijuana, licensed cannabis sales have risen, topping $100 million last year. Now, legal avenues for cannabis consumption are gaining traction in the luxury market.
While New York officials crack down on the hundreds of illicit shops in the city, 166 licensed dispensaries are open across the state, including over 50 in New York City. One stands just across the street from Lululemon and Ted Baker.
The Travel Agency, which stands on Fifth Avenue, is an adult-use recreational dispensary that is outfitted with white interiors and glass cabinetry, as well as a host of “budtenders” who sell marijuana.
The retailer’s exterior meshes with its neighbors’ chic storefronts and sister locations in Union Square and Downtown Brooklyn. All three stores opened within the past year and a half. Founder Paul Yau said a fourth is forthcoming to one of the city’s other high-end shopping districts, SoHo.
Yau has said that the average purchase at The Travel Agency includes two products—largely gummies, marijuana flowers, or pre-rolls, at the average price of $80 to $90 a ticket. Products range from their $3.50 seltzers to flowers selling at $150 per ounce. Accessories go for even higher prices.
New York City’s first licensed dispensary, Housing Works Cannabis Co., sells products at similar rates, but a shopper can spend even more there, sometimes paying up to $240 for one ounce of marijuana. All of Housing Works Cannabis Co.’s proceeds support the Housing Works nonprofit in NYC.
The Travel Agency’s Union Square location donates 51% of proceeds to the Doe Fund, which supports formerly incarcerated people who are transitioning to life outside of prison.
While the elevated interiors get legacy and new-coming shoppers through their doors, Yau said the ethical mission keeps customers returning. “It’s huge. It just provides such a halo,” he stated.
Reaching the Curious.
New York has always had what the industry describes as a “legacy” customer base, otherwise known as those who used marijuana before it became legalized. With The Travel Agncy located in high-traffic, high-spending areas, Yau has said that he’s reaching what he describes as the “canna-curious” with curated offerings and a space to ease onboarding into the legal market.
“The 40-year-old female shopper is a really strong demographic, and that demographic is just emerging in New York,” Yau said, adding that the stores were designed with the curious shopper in mind. “When people came into our store, they knew immediately it wasn’t an illicit store.”
THC seltzer company Cann is also hoping to appeal to curious consumers, particularly those with past negative experiences with marijuana. Both Yau and Cann founder Jake Bullock have told CNBC that marketing is key to navigating the headwind in onboarding the curious.
The marijuana experience isn’t just limited to THC products, however. Luxury home designer Jonathan Adler sells marijuana home decor items like storage containers and bowls for nearly $300 a piece, while lifestyle brand Edie Parker sells everything from smoker-friendly handbags to rolling papers, as well as giant colorful glass pipes and $450 table lighters.
Even actor Seth Rogan’s lifestyle and decor brand Houseplant caters to the luxury cannabis user. Marble rolling trays and ashtrays go for well over $200, and the company recently collaborated with high-end apparel retailer Kith.
These types of collaborations will likely keep coming, and Yau thinks that dispensaries like The Travel Agency will offer promising partnerships for brands hoping to tap into the “Coolness” of the rising cannabis industry.
In speaking to CNBC while working remotely near the Hamptons, Yau said, “We think we’re still in the first inning of New York’s legal cannabis.”
