In case you haven’t noticed, there’s no longer a shortage of dispensaries in Massachusetts. 

According to data released at the Cannabis Control Commission’s latest meeting, 223 cannabis retailers have received permission from the state to commence operations. With about 4,587,935 residents in Massachusetts being over the age of 21 (according to the latest Census data), that’s around one dispensary per 20,666 potential (in-state) customers. 

There’s no shortage of folks in the pipeline for dispensary licenses either. Another 169 applicants have reached either provisional or final license stage of the process. 

With this many dispensaries operating in Massachusetts, businesses need to find unique ways to make their store stand out in the sea of weed retailers. 

One company that has just launched is making a bet that music is the best way to connect with cannabis consumers. 

Greatest Hits is a vertically integrated cannabis company that’s the brainchild of Rhett Jordan — the founder of Native Roots, one of Colorado’s largest chain of dispensaries — and Joseph Villatico, a Webster native with experience in the beverage industry.

The Dudley location had its soft opening back in April, but celebrated its official grand opening with a block party last Saturday. Vendors and food trucks lined the parking lot, as live musical acts played on a stage set up next to the dispensary building. 

The Hard Rock inspired décor is a bit of a breakaway from the Apple Store model that many dispensaries have adopted in recent years. Meant to emulate the familiar layout and design of the store where you’d buy an iPhone, dispensaries have been opting for features like floor-to-ceiling windows and minimalist wooden display cases, aiming to attract new cannabis consumers who may be turned off by the more dingy looking dispensaries of yesteryear. 

While these types of designs may soothe the fears of new consumers who are unfamiliar with the marijuana shopping process, these types of designs can sometimes feel a bit sterile for a place where you’re buying cannabis. 

Greatest Hits borrows a few of their features from the Apple Store model — customers are free to wander the store while employees take orders on tablets — but there’s also some noticeable differences. They’ve opted for poured concrete floors instead of the hardwood you see at a lot of other dispensaries, and chose pendant lights instead of tracked or recessed lighting. The musical theme is also evident everywhere; guitars and other music inspired decorations dot the walls of the lobby. They also plan on bringing live music to the venue as much as possible, whether it be in the store itself or on a stage set up in the parking lot. 

In addition to the in-store music, the company’s image ties in naturally to sponsoring concerts, creating a chance for advertisement in a state where dispensaries only have a handful of legal ways to promote their businesses without running afoul of advertising regulations. There’s also no shortage of music venues in Central Massachusetts that they could partner with. 

While Greatest Hits is currently relying on the wholesale market to source its products, its own line of cannabis products is in the works. Behind their Dudley retail location is a massive mill building that will serve as their cultivation space. Originally built in 1864 as a paper mill, the building was also used to construct coffins during the Civil War. It has been mostly used as storage space in recent decades, but this project will bring life back to the space. The building is among many local factories and mills built in the 19th century that have been converted into cannabis cultivation facilities in recent years. 

Greatest Hits also has a product manufacturing license for the location, and is in the process of building out space that will allow them to launch their own line of concentrates and edibles, hopefully allowing them to build a product line that can be the main staples of their menu.

In addition to the flagship location in Dudley, dispensaries in Taunton and Lynn are also in the works. 

Only time will tell if Greatest Hit’s musical theme hits a note with consumers. With no cap on the number of dispensaries that will be allowed to open in Massachusetts, the day where there are simply too many retail outlets and not enough customers may be looming in the not too distant future. Beyond having competitive prices and exclusive access to products that are in high demand, cannabis retailers are going to have to find creative ways to continue to connect with customers and survive turbulence in the industry.