$75M weed giant Caliva ditches Eaze, launches delivery
It’s a brutal time for marijuana startups. I’m hearing some are raising at one-fifth of their 2019 valuation amid rampant competition, tall taxes and slow legalization. The struggles for marijuana’s best-known startup, delivery service Eaze, continue as today it’s losing one of its top partners: $75 million-funded weed brand empire Calivahas dropped Eaze in favor of launching its own delivery system.
By partnering with Hypur banking to solve the marijuana payments legality issue, Caliva will be able to accept contactless mobile payments, unlike Eaze, which usually requires customers to pay in cash. Caliva buyers won’t have to worry about trips to the ATM, especially now during COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders, which the startup expects will boost their average order volume. Combined with verticalizing delivery in-house, plus its retail and wholesale operations, Caliva hopes it can grow its margins and survive this long winter for weed startups.
