• by Tony Silber , Staff Writer, April 11, 2022

High Times, the 48-year-old cannabis brand with roots in counterculture lifestyle, announced last week that it has partnered with Ginger Commerce for direct-to-consumer (D2C) delivery in the cannabis industry.

In the partnership, High Times will combine Ginger’s proprietary ecommerce software platform with High Time’s expansive delivery network throughout California to create what High Times says is the largest D2C offering in the state. In effect, High Times will serve as a distribution channel for its own customers, the cannabis manufacturers and brands.

Direct-to-consumer cannabis delivery has grown into a significant revenue channel for cannabis businesses, especially in California, and some of the state’s top brands, including THC Design, Beezle, and Tyson 2.0, are using the Ginger platform to enable their home-delivery service.

With D2C, High Times said in a press release, manufacturers and brands have ownership of their customers' data, and can attain better margins than the traditional retail environment or third-party delivery services.

Ginger Founder/CEO Roie Edery  says that unlike other D2C companies, which operate competitive internet marketplaces alongside customer brands’ own D2C websites, it offers a competition-free ecommerce solution.

One manufacturer, Los Angeles-based THC Design, said it struggled to find a D2C solution until it found Ginger. “But what originally looked like the perfect solution to our DTC conundrum somehow just got better,” THC Design Founder/CEO Ryan Jennemann said. “With this new partnership with High Times, we’ll now be able to offer our products on-demand to nearly everyone in California, and that's a huge win for us.”

Paul Henderson, CEO of High Times, described the development of a D2C option as a major shift in the industry’s ability to communicate with customers. “We believe by partnering with Ginger Commerce, we’re able to provide a whole new world of value to our partners, enhancing brand offerings from every angle,” he said. “We’re confident this partnership will redefine the standards of direct-to-consumer offerings for the entire cannabis industry.”

In recent decades, High Times has evolved beyond a publishing company into a network of cannabis dispensaries, a host and creator of industry events like the Cannabis Cup, producer of globally distributed merchandise, and benefactor of international licensing deals.