Everscore: A brand new cannabis marketplace solving demand and supply challenges for the curious consumer
Everscore, a brand new marketplace for cannabis products, selected VTEX to create a remarkable digital experience for digital-savvy consumers that are looking to learn more about and experiment with cannabis products.
Its seed-to-shopper program brings choice, confidence and convenience to the modern consumer.
Everscore wants to redefine the cannabis industry with a marketplace business model, and make it trustworthy, educational all in one location. While Palmer Jane is focused on sharing the health benefits of cannabis with women, Everscore is promoting cannabis benefits to the curious consumer that may have always wanted to explore cannabis products but never had an easy and trustworthy way of sourcing them.
The transparency of the product journey called “From seed to your body” is one of the key differentiators of the Everscore marketplace. Each product on the marketplace will have a QR code describing where the plant was grown, who harvested it, who transported it and tested it and put into the store. It is a way to demystify the industry and offer quality assurance.
The launch of their new Everscore marketplace is set for the summer of 2021, when both cannabis brands and consumers will be able to connect on a data-driven platform that revolves around its audience and the growth of the seed-to-shopper experience.
The big question was how can we help small companies compete against big companies, and translate that into cannabis and solve that two big problems facing the industry: customer acquisition and product quality. And that is how we found VTEX.
Jeffrey Sampson, Founder & CEO of Everscore
A pure-play marketplace with a twist
When they first ventured into this project, the team behind Everscore had enough market knowledge to consider the many advantages of launching an online marketplace. Inter alia, those would be a quick expansion of product assortment, deep insights into customer behavior, new strategy testing and revenue growth methods. Generally speaking, the main difference between small and medium-sized businesses and the bigger retailers is that the latter category invests more in technology and big data, allowing them to precisely serve customers through digital channels. Through its digital marketplace project, Everscore is trying to even the playing field by working collaboratively and providing the “data advantage” to everybody.
We want to create a collaborative model that is not competitive or threatening to anybody, an environment where we can do what we do best, and use our expertise from the CPG and technology areas to solve the problems of the cannabis industry. And the best way that felt to do that was through a marketplace.
Jeffrey Sampson, Founder & CEO of Everscore
In the past, all sales from this market revolved around dispensaries, and now is the time to unlock access to cannabis products to consumers who are curious about how they can fit into their lifestyles.
The end result of this project is successfully connecting curious consumers to innovative cannabis brands and help them understand where specific products fit, to make moments of their lives more enjoyable. One of the exciting things about the partnership between Everscore and VTEX is the ability to allow the startup to create experiences that make those connections.
One of their main goals is to educate their audience and to bring transparency to the connection between brands and the customer, as a way to demystify the industry and offer quality assurance. Each product on the marketplace will have a QR code describing where the plant was grown, who harvested it, who transported it and tested it.
We are turning a big ship in a small space. And the cannabis industry is a big ship. But this is one of the wonderful things about Everscore and working with VTEX. We are both using our imagination to bring the first multi-faceted marketplace to the cannabis industry.
Tom Daly, Chief Marketing Officer of Everscore
Solving a conundrum of an industry
To have a better understanding of how the cannabis industry works, we can say that it is structured very similarly to the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. While the two share many similar challenges, the market for CBD and THC-based products is almost exclusively dispensary-centered, limiting choice and convenience for the consumer. Everscore is looking to open a new set of opportunities for entrepreneurs and established brands to grow demand and have a competitive advantage in a niche market.
If we know what the needs of our customers are, we Cana do a better job of curating and directing them towards products. We want to offer them a safe and educating front-end experience.
Tom Daly, Chief Marketing Officer of Everscore
The last mile is actually getting products to consumers. Because THC and CBD are regulated differently, the methods may vary. While THC delivery is more complex, depending on the state in the US, CBD is relatively easy to move around since it is legalized nationally. Either way, consumer convenience is the top consideration.
Setting up Everscore’s marketplace means launching a beautifully designed and frictionless site. Through it, shoppers can learn everything about the products, have a communicated quality standard and variety, use a payment solution that is safe and fast, and have a licensed delivery service without stepping foot in the dispensary.
For more on their innovative commerce story and why they selected VTEX to power this multi-faceted marketplace read here.
