Blythe Huestis, VP of Retail, Sun Theory – Interview Series

When did you first enter the Arizona cannabis industry, and what inspired you to enter the industry to begin with? Even in the early days of medical only sales, what potential did you see within the state’s cannabis industry?

I entered the Arizona cannabis industry in 2012 as employee number one for a company that went on to open three dispensaries in Scottsdale, Peoria and Cave Creek. But my exposure started even earlier through Arizona’s caregiver program, which gave me a front-row seat to the earliest days of the state’s medical market.

I’ve been a cannabis advocate for over 20 years, and one of my first jobs as a teenager was in traditional retail – so this path became a natural convergence of something I believed in personally and something I understood professionally

What truly inspired me, though, was much more personal. I lost my mother to cancer in 2010. During her illness, I encouraged her to consider cannabis to help manage her symptoms, but she was firmly opposed. I respected her decision, but that experience stayed with me.

When the opportunity came to help build dispensaries from the ground up, I saw it as a chance to change the narrative. Her opposition became my opportunity.

From the beginning, I believed people shouldn’t feel like they were doing something wrong when they walked into a cannabis store. Even in those early medical-only days, I saw the potential for Arizona to lead in normalizing the experience by creating environments that felt clean, well-lit, open and thoughtfully merchandised, staffed by professionals who were warm, knowledgeable and genuinely focused on care.

The goal was simple: replace stigma with comfort, and uncertainty with trust.

To me, the opportunity wasn’t just about participating in a new industry. It was about helping shape it. Arizona felt like a proving ground to show that cannabis could evolve into a legitimate, highly respected retail category, while still maintaining the human connection at its core.

That belief has stayed with me throughout my career and continues to guide how I approach retail today.

Why did the retail side of the cannabis industry professionally interest you so much? How does it greatly differ from other sectors of retail?

What’s always drawn me to cannabis retail is the ability to shape the entire customer experience – far beyond just selling a product. In this space, how you curate your assortment, train your team and design the in-store environment directly impacts whether a customer feels confident, comfortable and cared for.

Cannabis is uniquely personal. Customers often walk in with questions, uncertainty or very specific needs, and that creates a level of responsibility you don’t see in most traditional retail. It’s not just about transactions; it’s about education, trust and guidance. When done right, you are creating a connection and helping someone navigate their cannabis experience, not just complete a purchase.

What makes the industry especially compelling is how quickly it continues to evolve. It’s highly dynamic and increasingly data-driven but still requires a human touch. We’re constantly analyzing trends and adapting whether it is shifts in demographics, like the growing influence of female consumers, or changes in how people shop, what they prioritize and how they define value.

That combination – data, education, personalization and real human connection – is what sets cannabis retail apart. It operates at the intersection of hospitality, healthcare and traditional retail, which makes it more complex and more meaningful. And that’s what’s kept me so engaged in it over the years.

What are your regular duties as VP of Retail for Sun Theory? How exactly is this role different from previous cannabis retail roles you’ve held?

As VP of Retail for Sun Theory, my role is centered on leading and optimizing the full retail operation across people, process and performance. That includes setting the operational framework for the business, driving consistency in execution across all locations and ensuring we are delivering a high-quality, compliant and customer-centric experience at scale.

On a day-to-day basis, I’m working closely with both field leadership and store teams to refine SOPs, improve operational efficiency and elevate performance metrics like traffic, average ticket and conversion. A big focus is also on team development like building strong leaders, creating accountability structures and ensuring our teams are equipped to deliver an exceptional experience. At the same time, I’m partnering cross-functionally on marketing, inventory strategy and finance to ensure our retail experience is both compelling and commercially effective.

In terms of how this role differs from my previous positions, it’s less about scope, and more about complexity and nuance.

Throughout my career, I’ve consistently led full retail operations across multiple states, whether that meant building from the ground up, integrating businesses through M&As, or navigating new and evolving markets from medical to adult use. That foundation is very much the same here.

What makes this role distinct is the environment and the challenge. First, the caliber of the team. I was drawn to the strength and alignment of the leadership group, which creates a level of collaboration and accountability that’s critical for long-term success.

Second is the complexity of operating four distinct retail brands within a single state. Each brand has its own identity, customer base and market positioning, and my role is to preserve that individuality while bringing all four under a unified Sun Theory operational framework.

That means standardizing systems, processes and performance expectations to drive scalability and efficiency without losing what makes each brand unique.

That balance between brand integrity and operational discipline is what makes this role different, and what makes it so rewarding.

As someone who’s worked in the Colorado industry for a considerable time period, what have been the most notable ways that the state industry has evolved over the years?

Colorado has evolved from a supply-driven, early-adopter market into one of the most competitive and disciplined cannabis markets in the country.

Early on, it was about access: getting product on shelves, staying compliant and meeting demand. Consumers were largely driven by price and potency, and that was enough to win. Today, that’s no longer the case.

We are operating in a highly mature market defined by price compression, oversupply and intense competition. It has forced a shift from simply selling cannabis to actually retailing it – with a real focus on brand, experience and customer loyalty. Consumers are more educated, more selective and less tolerant of inconsistency.

What’s changed the most is that the margin for error is gone. You cannot rely on product alone. You need operational discipline, a strong team and a differentiated experience to survive. Colorado has become a proving ground. If your model works here, it will work anywhere.

From your experience working in seven different state markets, what are some unique ways that those state markets are different? Are there certain state regulations or laws that make cannabis retail operations more difficult or costly?

Having operated across seven states over the past 13+ years, I’ve seen just about every version of this industry – from newly regulated markets finding their footing to some of the most mature and competitive environments in the country.

The biggest difference is the gap between emerging markets and mature ones – not just in scale, but in consumer behavior, operational discipline and regulatory pressure. In newer markets, you typically see an initial surge driven by limited supply and curiosity. The experience is more transactional – customers are focused on access, price and potency, and operators are often navigating unclear or evolving regulations in real time. That lack of clarity can create real friction operationally, from product limitations to constantly shifting compliance expectations.

In more mature markets like Colorado, it’s the opposite. Competition is intense, margins are tighter and consumers are far more educated and selective. You’re no longer just selling product. You’re competing on experience, consistency and brand. The bar is significantly higher.

From a regulatory standpoint, complexity exists everywhere. It just shows up differently. Some states are restrictive and ambiguous; others are well-defined but extremely stringent. Between packaging, labeling, THC limits, taxation and tracking systems, there’s no such thing as a plug-and-play retail model in cannabis. Every state requires a tailored approach, and those differences can materially impact cost structure and operational efficiency. At the end of the day, the operators who succeed are the ones who can stay flexible – adapting to each market’s regulatory environment while still delivering a consistent, high-quality customer experience.

What states proved to be the most troublesome when attempting to start up cannabis operations? Why were those state markets in particular so troublesome?

I wouldn’t describe any state as troublesome. Each one just comes with its own unique set of challenges, especially in the early stages of a program.

One that stands out is Pennsylvania. At the time, regulations required a licensed medical professional such as a pharmacist, doctor or nurse to be on-site during all operating hours. In a newly launched market, that created a significant operational hurdle. The talent pool was limited, competition for those roles was high and it added meaningful pressure to labor costs and overall P&L.

That said, challenges like that often come with an upside.

Having medical professionals in-store elevated the level of credibility and trust with patients, particularly in a medical-only environment. It reinforced the legitimacy of cannabis as a therapeutic option and helped create a more education-driven, patient-focused experience.
That’s been a consistent theme across states: what may initially feel like a constraint often ends up shaping the market in a positive way. The key is learning how to operate within those parameters while still delivering a strong customer experience and a sustainable business model.

How important is informative budtender training, and how do the benefits of thorough training extend into customer service and other departments of the store?

Budtender training is one of the most important and often most underestimated drivers of success in cannabis retail. This is still a highly consultative environment. Even as the consumer base becomes more educated, there is a constant flow of new customers looking for guidance, reassurance and clarity around what they’re buying and why. Customers are not just shopping for THC; they’re shopping for an outcome.

A well-trained budtender can translate that need into the right product and the right experience. That directly impacts customer confidence, basket size and long-term loyalty.

But training is also about creating an experience. The energy in a store is palpable. When teams are confident, positive and genuinely engaged, customers feel it. That’s what turns a transaction into something memorable and creates an environment people enjoy being in and want to come back to. Where training really compounds is beyond the individual transaction. Strong product knowledge and communication skills lead to more consistent recommendations, better sales execution and stronger alignment between purchasing, marketing and in-store teams. It creates a more cohesive operation overall. At the end of the day, your budtenders are the face of the brand. You can have the best product and pricing strategy in the world, but if the interaction at the counter falls flat, it breaks the experience. When training is done right, it elevates everything – customer service, team confidence and overall store performance.

What are some exciting future plans for yourself and for Sun Theory?

Looking ahead, I’m excited about what we’re building, both in terms of people and platform.

For me personally, a big focus is continuing to develop high-performing teams and future leaders within the organization. The industry is evolving quickly and the operators who win will be the ones who can build strong, accountable teams that execute consistently at a high level. That’s something I’m deeply invested in.

At Sun Theory, we are entering a phase where it’s about sharpening and scaling our retail platform. We’ve done the hard work of bringing multiple brands together under one umbrella and now it’s about optimizing how we operate, creating more consistency across locations and unlocking the next level of performance while still preserving what makes each brand unique.

We are also leveling up how retail and marketing work together. That means being more intentional about how we show up – from top-of-funnel awareness to the in-store experience – ensuring our messaging, promotions and merchandising all connect. At the store level, we’re continuing to elevate the experience through tighter merchandising, stronger team training and creating environments that customers genuinely enjoy being in. That alignment between marketing and retail is where we see meaningful opportunity for growth.

At the same time, we are applying those same retail principles beyond our own stores as Dialed in Gummies expands into new and emerging markets. Each state presents an opportunity to refine how the brand shows up at retail – balancing consistency with local relevance. That includes building playbooks around merchandising, budtender education and consumer engagement that translate at the store level and support both sales and long-term brand loyalty.

From a performance standpoint, we’re encouraged by the momentum we’re seeing. Even in a challenging Colorado market, we’re continuing to outperform year over year, which reinforces that a disciplined, customer-focused approach to retail still wins.

More broadly, I’m excited about the continued normalization of cannabis and what that unlocks for retail. As expectations rise, so does the opportunity to deliver something better – and that’s exactly where we’re focused.

Thank you for joining us, Blythe! For more information on Sun Theory, please visit its website.