If you go into a cannabis dispensary looking for a certain strain, a sleepy time gummy or a vape pen, it’s usually a quick trip. Accessories are often impulse buys made at the last minute. The price is so low that the consumer can make a decision quickly. Small purchases, when there’s enough foot-traffic, can quickly add up.
Why don’t dispensaries spend more time making sure they have the correct accessories in stock and aren’t running low?
Brett Harris, Founder and CEO of Luv Buds helps smoke shops and dispensaries to make more informed decisions when accessorizing retail outlets. Luv Buds is the US’s leading distributor of cannabis accessories. They offer a client-focused approach based on data.
While most dispensaries view smoking accessories as impulse add-ons, Luv Buds is helping operators manage the category like a structured retail business unit—using data, inventory management and branding strategy to turn what’s often a 2% revenue contributor into a meaningful growth engine.
Running Smarter Business
Cannabis industry growth looks different today after many years of rapid expansion. This is not about acquiring new licenses, but about managing smarter businesses. Accessories, which are often managed without the same discipline that is applied to core products, offer one of the biggest opportunities.
Luv Buds is a company that has centered its business model on closing this gap.
Harris says that accessories in traditional retail should account for around 10% of sales. In our industry, accessories represent only 1.5-2 percent. They are there primarily to sell cannabis and don’t think about the alternative revenue streams available.
Harris points out that managers and buyers often overlook the importance of par levels or data on sell-through when it comes accessories. Luv Buds wants to make a difference by serving as “category leader” and helping retailers analyze their performance, manage their inventory, and get timely recommendations.
Harris says, “Our goal to move the industry up from 1,5% or 2% to 7%.” All decisions are made in the best interests of the customer, not just our own business.
Luv Buds can help their customers by asking questions that are big. How can we assist them in paying off the huge debts they have accumulated? How can we increase their revenues? How can we better serve their customers?
Harris says that there is no need for consumers to purchase their products in one location and their accessories elsewhere. Â
 Accessory that Doubles as Marketing
In cannabis, accessories aren’t just products—they’re a marketing strategy. As traditional advertising and promotion expenses are not deductible, accessories with branded logos can be used as cost of goods items that deliver constant exposure to the brand.
Harris provides a straightforward example. It’s the lighter. As a necessary tool for those who enjoy smoking cannabis, lighters are used often and they’re shared, making them one of most powerful branding tools available to dispensaries.
Harris: “Using a lighter with your name off doesn’t seem to make much sense.” The lighter is in their hands every time that they use it, each time they give it to another person, and they are likely to steal it and put it into the wrong hands. “It’s very important that they have it in their possession at all times.”
Through Luv Buds’ custom and white-label programs, dispensaries can ensure that everyday items like lighters, ashtrays, and grinders carry their branding—serving as subtle, repeated reminders for comers to keep coming back.
Love Buds brings longevity and credibility
Founded in Denver in 2015, Luv Buds was designed from the beginning as a business solution—not a novelty accessory company. Harris, who calls himself the “first management consultant” in the recreational cannabis industry, created the company by combining a thorough understanding of retail, distribution, and financial realities.
Luv Buds has grown to be the biggest cannabis accessory distributor across the nation thanks to this approach. Harris’s goal isn’t to achieve scale.
He said, “We’re very proud of the size we have grown to.” “But what matters most is being more important to our customers—helping them run better businesses and succeed in a challenging market.”