In the world of cannabis, where laws and technology evolve at breakneck speed, there's one company that’s quietly but confidently making waves. Enter Sweed, a point-of-sale (POS) solution designed to simplify cannabis retail operations. At the helm is Rocco Del Priore, a tech visionary who has navigated the fast-growing and highly regulated cannabis industry with precision and a deep understanding of its intricacies.
Del Priore’s journey to cannabis tech began not in a grow house, but behind a computer screen. After studying software development and creating an innovative product that was a precursor to today’s voice-activated assistants, Del Priore’s interest shifted from Silicon Valley’s buzzworthy startups to a more niche market with a sense of urgency: cannabis.
He had a clear vision: cannabis would be a booming industry, and the tech infrastructure simply wasn’t up to snuff. “I became disillusioned with the startup scene in San Francisco,” Del Priore shared. “Everyone was chasing the next app for dogs, and I wanted to build something meaningful. Cannabis was growing, and it was obvious that technologists had a major role to play.”
Having worked in various corners of the cannabis tech industry, from e-commerce platforms to POS systems, Del Priore soon realized there was a significant gap in the market. Cannabis retailers were drowning in fragmented software—point of sale, loyalty programs, inventory management, and more, all offered by separate vendors. It was a mess, and Sweed was born to change that.
“It was clear that the market needed an all-in-one solution,” he explained. “All of these tools were cobbled together with minimal integration. You had separate systems for everything—loyalty, e-commerce, POS—and none of them spoke to each other. That’s where we saw an opportunity.”
For Del Priore, the idea wasn’t just about solving a problem—it was about creating a platform that would shape the future of cannabis retail. By designing Sweed to work for larger cannabis operators first, Del Priore set out to avoid the trap of scaling up after the fact. His company is one of the few tech players in cannabis that has focused on serving large multi-state operators (MSOs), ensuring that its platform can handle the complex regulatory and operational challenges of a nationwide cannabis business.
“Instead of trying to take a product designed for small operators and retrofitting it for the larger market, we built from the ground up for enterprise,” Del Priore said. “The beauty of that is it’s much easier to take a robust, capable product and simplify it for smaller teams, than it is to do the reverse.”
But the appeal of Sweed isn’t just in the tech; it’s also in the company’s commitment to building solutions that align with the industry’s compliance demands. Across multiple states, cannabis businesses are required to follow intricate regulations that can vary widely, often creating challenges for POS systems that aren’t tailored for such a unique market.
Del Priore spoke candidly about the challenges Sweed faces with state-to-state compliance. “Working with regulators is always complicated. For example, at the start of Maryland’s adult-use market, regulatory rules were vague about purchasing limits. We had to develop two different interpretations to ensure that Sweed could support both. It’s about being flexible, working closely with regulators and operators, and ultimately automating as much as possible.”
Yet, Del Priore’s excitement for Sweed is palpable—not because of its place in the cannabis industry, but because of the software’s ability to drive real-world impact. “Cannabis has the potential to help so many people, and the operators are under a lot of pressure to provide that medicine efficiently,” he said. “Our goal is to make it easier for them to do that. Every time we make a small improvement, we’re having a positive impact on the industry.”
As technology continues to drive progress in cannabis, Sweed is looking ahead to even more innovations—especially in AI. Del Priore is eager to push the envelope with artificial intelligence, using it to enhance customer experiences and streamline operations.
“We’re already offering AI-driven recommendations for both budtenders and customers, which is something no other POS system is doing in cannabis. We’ll continue to expand those capabilities, integrating AI to make the cannabis shopping experience more personalized, efficient, and, ultimately, more valuable for the customer,” he said.
This innovative edge sets Sweed apart in the crowded cannabis tech space, where platforms still struggle to keep up with rapidly shifting regulations, customer needs, and consumer behaviors. In fact, Sweed’s AI algorithms allow for smarter suggestions, creating personalized shopping experiences for each customer based on their past purchases and preferences—changing the cannabis retail game.
“Imagine walking into a store and the POS system knows what you like, what you’ve bought before, and what products are trending in your area. The experience becomes more than just transactional; it’s about understanding the consumer,” Del Priore explained.
Sweed’s future is equally promising, with plans for deeper integrations and a closer connection between wholesale and retail markets. “We’ve always believed in collaboration, and we’re excited about the partnerships we’re building to bring more features to our platform. But the biggest thing on the horizon is AI. We’re doubling down on that.”
The growing presence of Sweed across more than a dozen states—ranging from California to West Virginia—has solidified its reputation as an industry leader for large-scale operators, and Del Priore’s focus is now on getting the word out to smaller operators who may not have heard of the platform. “Historically, we’ve worked with the larger MSOs, but now it’s time to expand our outreach and make sure everyone knows what we’re about. It’s all about getting our name out there,” Del Priore said.
It’s clear that for Del Priore and Sweed, it’s not just about building software—it’s about creating an ecosystem that serves a larger mission: improving the cannabis industry and its impact on communities and patients.
With big plans ahead and a clear vision for the future, Sweed is a name we’ll be hearing a lot more of. As Del Priore himself put it, “At the end of the day, we’re here to make a difference—and if we can do that, then it’s all worth it.”
For more information on Sweed and their innovative solutions, visit www.sweedpos.com.
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Featured image: (C) Sweed
