From the outside, Jan Cole’s recreational marijuana store in Boulder, Colorado, just feels welcoming. Big glass windows let in natural light, and the walls are painted in soothing earth tones. Cole used her background in spa management to build a warm and inviting pot shop that puts customers at ease. In fact, the store’s name, The Farm, is so inconspicuous, “we have a lot of people who come in think that we might be an organic food grocer or something,” she says. And that’s exactly who Cole is trying to attract, the tote bag carrying, socially conscious, natural food crowd. She advertises her cannabis as pesticide free, organic and, of course, locally grown. “I don’t think we’ll ever be as big as Whole Foods, but Whole Foods is a good example of the type of clientele that we attract,” she says. This all reflects Cole’s attempt to break away from the pack. With recreational marijuana use now legal in Colorado, marijuana businesses are finding themselves competing for customers in tight marketplaces. Alison Ledden, marketing director of The Farm, pictured.
