Caliva broadens its cannabis delivery reach and service offering. 

License No: C10-0000441-LIC

Legend has it the first pizza delivery occurred in 1889 when Queen Margherita of Italy stopped in Naples during a trip. Looking to enjoy local fare, which meant pizza, the queen’s band tracked down the godfather of modern pizza, Raffaele Esposito, to bake and personally deliver a fresh pie to her doorstep.

Fast-forward more than 130 years later, and home delivery is as popular as ever, including cannabis products. One such company that’s been at the forefront of Bay Area cannabis delivery from the start is Caliva, and up through August 24, its process had been akin to the traditional pizza delivery model: place an order online or over the phone, and the cheesy deliciousness arrived as soon as the establishment could get it to you. 

While Caliva still offers this facility-to-doorstep delivery, it recently launched an Instacart-like service so cannabis connoisseurs can schedule the exact day and time they desire their products. In addition, the company has expanded its Bay Area footprint to include previously underrepresented cities and counties for additional convenience.

Cannabis on your terms

Caliva’s new and enhanced delivery seeks to provide patrons with multiple options to fit their needs.

The company has enabled customers to order online for in-store retrieval for years, and curbside pickup gained popularity when the virus put the Bay Area on lockdown. Those orders had to be picked up by the following closing day at the latest; otherwise, the items were returned to the shelves. With Caliva’s new offering, customers can schedule up to a week in advance for delivery of the products they desire, similar to DoorDash for dining.

The company also launched Mobile Express Delivery in May. Currently available on the Peninsula with Bay Area expansion soon planned, the mobile service allows customers to order products from a preselected menu of top selling products for delivery within the hour.

Bay Area expansion

While delivery has enabled the Jay-Z- and Joe Montana-backed company to provide its offerings throughout the Bay Area, it’s expanding into more regions this summer.

Its San Jose hub now provides scheduled delivery to Hayward, Pleasanton, Walnut Creek, Berkeley/Oakland, Gilroy/Morgan Hill and Santa Cruz. The Brisbane hub now covers Marin and coastal communities.

The expansion should be a boon for cannabis-delivery deserts. Areas such as the Peninsula, Walnut Creek, Marin, coastal areas and others tend to have limited access to dispensaries. Caliva’s cannabis delivery options could prevent these customers from making arduous and special trips to far-reaching cities.

“We’re all about convenience and accessibility at Caliva. We know that cannabis can be intimidating or confusing for some customers, so we’re doing everything we can to make the purchasing and ordering process as easy as possible, which is why we’re so excited about the launch of our Scheduled Delivery Service,” said Steve Allan, Caliva President. “Not only is this a new offering for our current customers, but we’re able to provide this service in 96 new cities across the state, meaning we can now deliver our products to new patrons that we couldn’t reach before, covering almost 50% of California’s population. We’re looking ahead to the rollout of our next innovative offerings: Mobile Express and drive-up services, which will give customers two additional avenues for accessing our products.”

Complete cannabis connoisseurs

While Mobile Express Delivery and Bay Area expansion are new, Caliva’s claim as one of the largest and most comprehensive cannabis providers in California is not hyperbole.

After opening its doors in 2015, Caliva’s menu offers an extensive selection of bestselling brands and products across all categories, including its expanding lineup of first-party products. These proprietary products derive from Caliva’s homegrown indoor flower that uses natural organic practices tested for compliance and safety.

Half a decade’s worth of experience bodes well for novice and veteran cannabis consumers alike. The company employs remote consultants available via phone calls or video chats to answer questions and provide suggestions. There’s also a customer service live chat option on the website for order issues.

Compelling data back Caliva’s assertion as the most comprehensive dispensary in California. In 2020, it expanded its in-house, direct consumer delivery services to include almost 20 counties and more than 220 cities throughout the Bay Area and Los Angeles. This means approximately 5 million more consumers, or nearly half of the state’s population, have home delivery at their fingertips.

And back home at its flagship store in San Jose, one of the first cities in the nation to shelter in place and institute strict social-distancing guidelines, a drive-up service launched on Labor Day weekend to give patrons an additional means for accessing items in the safest manner possible.

The drive-up service, while currently functional and eventually open from 11 AM to 7 PM once fully up and running, is another way Caliva provides “cannabis on your terms.” Without leaving your car, drive-up is a safe and convenient avenue for consumers to access cannabis while respecting social distancing guidelines but still getting full customer service benefits.

The company said it continues to look for innovative ways to make cannabis- and wellness-product shopping just as comfortable and familiar as traditional drive-through experiences.