Illinois has become an important legal cannabis market, giving dispensaries a wide variety of flower products to organize and present to adult consumers. With different cultivars, brands, cannabinoid percentages, aromas, and flavor profiles available, building an easy-to-navigate cannabis menu can make product discovery more straightforward.

For cannabis retailers, understanding popular flower categories can also provide useful merchandising insights. Rather than presenting customers with an overwhelming list of products, dispensaries can organize their Illinois cannabis flower selection using practical details such as cultivar names, product types, cannabinoid information, brands, flavor profiles, and availability.

In this guide, we’ll look at six notable flower products associated with the Illinois cannabis market and explore how retailers can present similar products effectively on a cannabis menu.

Why Cannabis Menus Are Helpful

Menus provide adult consumers with a central location to browse products that are available at dispensaries. When built effectively, customers should be able to easily compare cannabis flower products on a menu without having to read through excessively-wordy descriptions.

Menus can include:

• Product and brand name
• Cultivar/strain name
• Type of cannabis
• THC and CBD percentages
• Flavor/aroma profile
• Product size
• Price (if available)
• Availability

Retailers can use this type of information to structure their menus in a way that allows customers to compare products quickly and find cannabis flower that fits their preferences.

Illinois dispensaries frequently adjust their product selections to account for new inventory and consumer demand. Organized menu systems can make it easier for customers to understand a dispensary’s current flower offerings.

1. Rythm – Jet Fuel OG

Jet Fuel OG is sometimes known as G6 and is a hybrid cultivar that carries Diesel-like genes. It commonly has a fuel-like aroma, which makes its flavor profile easily identifiable on a cannabis menu.

Retailers can highlight this strain’s aroma on a menu by placing the brand, cultivar name, cannabis type, and common flavor profiles in close proximity.

Menu Specs

• Brand: Rythm
• Cultivar: Jet Fuel OG
• Type: Hybrid
• Flavor profile: Diesel, fuel

Highlighting common flavors with a badge can allow customers to quickly identify Flower products that fit their preferences without reading through every product description on a menu.

2. Ozone – Lemon Cake

Lemon Cake has roots in Lemon Skunk and Cheese genetics, producing a cannabis strain with sweet citrus flavors and musky Cheese characteristics. While on the menu, its flavor profile makes Lemon Cake a good candidate for a citrus category.

Menu Specs

• Brand: Ozone
• Cultivar: Lemon Cake
• Type: Sativa
• Flavor profile: Citrus, sweet, musky

Organizing menus by common flavor profiles can make it easier for dispensaries to highlight popular cannabiscultivars in Illinois. They can also assist customers who may be interested in exploring different cannabis strains with similar flavor profiles.

3. High Supply – Ice Cream Cake

Ice Cream Cake contains Wedding Cake and Gelato #33 genetics. It features creamy dessert flavors with vanilla notes and brightly colored buds that may catch a consumer’s eye.

Menu information can be simplified by focusing on commonly used descriptors and phrases. Instead of using scientific terms, Ice Cream Cake’s flavor profile can be simplified to words most consumers will understand.

Menu Information

• Brand: High Supply
• Cultivar: Ice Cream Cake
• Type: Indica
• Flavor profile: Creamy, sweet, vanilla

4. High Supply – Green Line OG

Green Line OG comes from a cross between Lime Skunk and Ghost OG. Its flavors are described as citrus, earth, and pine.

Retailers can utilize color-coded badges or create categories to further define popular flavor profiles. This makes it easier for consumers interested in specific terpenes or flavors to browse niche products.

Menu Information

• Brand: High Supply
• Cultivar: Green Line OG
• Type: Hybrid
• Flavor profile: Citrus, earth, pine

5. Verano – Motorbreath

Motorbreath contains Chemdog and SFV OG Kush genetics. Its aroma is described as fuel with earthy and citrus flavors.

Menu information can be simplified to include brand, cultivar, cannabis type, and common flavor profile.

Menu Information

• Brand: Verano
• Cultivar: Motorbreath
• Type: Hybrid
• Flavor profile: Fuel, earth, citrus

When displayed on a menu, customers should be able to understand a product’s common flavors without reading through the entire description.

6. Why Your Illinois Cannabis Menu Should Include Flower Variety

Dispensaries in Illinois offer consumers a selection of cannabis flower products that vary by cultivar, brand, potency, aroma, flavor, price, and availability. Including detailed information about each product on a dispensary menu can make it easier for customers to understand these differences.

How to Group Products on a Menu

Retailers can group menu items by common flavor profiles. These can include:

• Citrus
• Earthy
• Fuel / Diesel
• Sweet
• Cream / dessert
• Product type (Hybrid, Sativa, Indica)

While flavor and cannabis type can be used to group products on a cannabis menu, this information should not replace official product descriptions. Menus can help customers discover products they may like, but nothing can replace accurate product information.

Building a Cannabis Menu for Illinois Dispensaries

Much like physical menus, online menus should be organized, readable, and comply with state regulations. Including non-factual information about potential health benefits can lead to violations.

Retailers have the ability to quickly add or remove products from an online menu. When inventory fluctuates, menu items can be updated without having to rewrite the entire menu.

Packaging every product with the same information in the same order can also help create consistency throughout a menu. For example:

Product name → Brand name → Cannabis type → THC, CBD% → Flavor Profile → Size → Availability

Retailers Can Learn From Popular Products

Educating customers on popular products can provide value, but it should not be the sole focus of a dispensary menu. Retail trends will not be the same at every dispensary.

Shopping habits can vary based on customer preferences, availability, and other local factors. Understanding the local customer base is key when organizing a cannabis menu for your dispensary.

Customers who browse one dispensary may have different shopping habits than the customers who frequent your dispensary. This doesn’t mean that learning about popular products isn’t beneficial, but statewide trends should be used as a general insight rather than a definitive conclusion.

Conclusion

Illinois cannabis dispensaries carry cannabis flower that varies by cultivar, brand, potency, flavor profile, aroma, price, and more. From Lemon Cake to Ice Cream Cake and everything in between, customers have access to different products that may fit their unique preferences.

Menus can help educate customers on popular product selections while organizing this information in a structured way. Including flavor profiles, breed types, brand names, and additional cannabis flower information can help dispensaries offer consumers a more curated shopping experience.

Visit MyBudSense for more educational resources about cannabis retail merchandising. Check out the original blog post featuring best-selling flower products in Illinois.

FAQ

1. What are some things I should include on my Illinois cannabis menu?

Menus can list product names, brands, cultivars, types of cannabis, cannabinoid percentages, flavor/aroma profiles, prices, product size, and availability. As with any type of cannabis marketing or advertising, retailers should adhere to Illinois cannabis regulations.

2. Are flower descriptions important to have on menus?

Including cannabis flower descriptions on menus can give customers more insight when comparing products. Flavor, aroma, brand, and cultivar information can help shoppers more easily understand how various products differ.

3. How can I make my cannabis menu more user-friendly?

Product cards should follow the same format, be readable, include useful filters, display clear categories, have up-to-date availability, and be easy to navigate. Menus should be organized in a way that is readable and provides customers with enough information to find the products they’re looking for.

4. Can cannabis retailers make medical claims about their products?

We recommend against making medical claims that are not backed by research. All marketing and advertising should comply with state cannabis regulations.

5. Are digital cannabis menus beneficial?

Digital menus allow retailers to add or remove products quickly. If your dispensary constantly changes product selections, a digital menu can allow you to make fast adjustments.

6. Will my dispensary have the same popular flower products as other dispensaries in Illinois?

Every dispensary has the potential to see varied popularity between products. This can be due to customer preferences, pricing, what’s in stock, brand recognition, and local market trends. Statewide trends can help provide insights but will not paint the full picture of your dispensary’s customers.