The first month is the fun part. New placement. Photos on the shelf. Friends texting that they found your cans. Then week five arrives and the question changes from “Did we get on the menu” to “Are we still moving.” The brands that win treat weeks five through twenty as a focused operating sprint. Your goal is simple: keep units per store per week healthy, prove repeat purchase, and make it easy for retail partners to bet bigger on you.
This guide lays out a practical cadence for maintaining retail velocity in cannabis beverages. It covers what to watch, how to run sampling and merchandising without chaos, how to structure promos you can measure, and how to work a weekly store check that actually changes outcomes.
Define velocity targets with your buyer
Velocity is the number of units each store sells per week. The right target depends on format, price, dose, and season. What matters is alignment. Set a baseline with your buyer and agree on what “healthy” looks like for their store. Pick a floor you do not want to dip below and a stretch goal that would trigger a bigger order or secondary placement. Track it weekly. When everyone is watching the same number, decisions get faster.
It helps to layer in a simple repeat signal. If your category or POS data shows buyers coming back within thirty days, you will see the line stabilize even as novelty fades. Build that into your narrative so retail teams understand they are not taking a one-and-done risk.
Run field sampling like a SOP, not a surprise
Sampling can be the difference between a slow shelf and a steady mover, but only when it is organized and compliant. Start with the rules for your state and the retailer. Confirm age-gating, allowed locations, and what can be said about effects. Staff the table with someone who can explain dose in plain language and who knows how the product feels at 2.5 mg, 5 mg, and beyond. Keep the script simple: what it is, how it tastes, how to pace, where to find it.
Make the next step effortless. A small card with a QR code that jumps straight to the store locator filtered to that retailer is best. When the market allows it, add an opt-in for stock alerts or drops so you build first-party audience while driving in-store behavior. Give the store a heads-up on timing so staff can guide customers to the table. After the event, log what you poured, what people asked, and what you heard about flavor and dose. Those notes will sharpen your next session and your creative.
Merchandising that sells the next can, not just the first
In-store merchandising should help someone make a confident choice. If a shopper has never tried a THC drink, the chance of them buying goes up when you remove guesswork. Use shelf talkers that show dose, flavor notes, and an “occasion” cue like social, calm, or unwind. If the retailer allows cold placement, keep a few facing in the cooler at eye level. If all you have is warm shelf, add a small “best chilled” reminder next to price. Provide menu copy that matches your packaging so there is no disconnect. When the store posts on their social or email, give them images sized for their templates and a two-line description they can paste without legal edits.
A good retail partner kit includes a one-pager for buyers, menu assets, shelf talkers, cooler clings where allowed, a short tasting guide for staff, and a link back to a microsite with everything in one place. Keep the kit current. When packaging changes or a flavor rotates, update assets and email the store with a tidy changelog so they do not guess.
Promotions you can measure and repeat
Promos are tools, not a strategy. Plan them in short, intentional windows so you can see the lift and the decay. Give each partner a unique QR and a simple code so you can trace impact to a store, a week, and a product line. If the market permits price promotions, align the discount to your margin math and cap the frequency so you do not train people to wait. If price moves are limited, run bundle messaging, flavor spotlights, or “discover microdose” educational pushes that draw attention without eating margin.
The key is comparison. Look at units per store per week for the two weeks ahead of a promo, the promo window, and the two weeks after. If there is lift without a harsh snapback, it is a candidate to repeat. If lift only appears when the sign is up, you have a merchandising problem to fix, not a promo to rerun.
The weekly store check that keeps velocity alive
A steady rhythm beats sporadic heroics. Pick your top stores in each market and run a weekly check. It can be a quick visit, a call, or a text if you have the relationship. Confirm inventory, placement, pricing, and whether the shelf talker or menu copy is still live. Ask one question about what is moving in your set and one question about what customers are asking. Capture a photo when you can. Log every touch in a shared sheet and tag fixes as “you” or “store” so responsibilities are clear.
When you spot an issue more than once, add it to your kit or your process. If shelf tags go missing, include spares with every case. If menu copy keeps getting shortened until the dose disappears, rewrite a single sentence version that still includes the number. Small improvements compound over twenty weeks.
Build a dashboard that mirrors how retail works
Keep your dashboard close to the way stores talk about performance. Start with units per store per week by retailer and region. Layer in repeats if you have them. Add locator interactions, directions, and calls for the same markets so you can show demand signals that support your shelf story. Track QR scans and code redemptions by campaign and store where allowed. Keep one page for buyer meetings that shows the last eight weeks at a glance and highlights the three moves you made to support the line.
Your internal view can be richer. Watch flavor mix shifts, time from delivery to first sale, and the difference between sampled and unsampled weeks. Tie results back to activities so your team knows what actually moves velocity and what just feels busy.
A simple plan you can start next week
Pick one metro. Meet with your top three stores and align on a velocity floor and stretch. Schedule one compliant sampling session per store in the next four weeks. Refresh shelf talkers and menu assets so dose and occasion are clear. Assign the weekly check to a specific person. Create unique QRs for each store’s sign and any event you run with them. Build a one-page dashboard for that metro and review it every Friday. If the line holds or climbs through week twenty, expand the same playbook to the next metro.
Velocity after launch is not about luck. It is about attention. When your team gives stores reasons to restock, shoppers reasons to return, and buyers proof that the set is working, your shelf position improves and your next meetings get easier.If you want help setting up the measurement and reporting, see how we build dashboards and browse our work. We can share a Retail Velocity Dashboard Template you can plug into your data and use in your next buyer meeting.