Case Study: How Cova Software Helped Set Highlife Health Up for Success in New York’s Competitive Cannabis Retail Landscape

*Behind every cannabis success story is a system, a strategy, and a partner
who helped make it happen. **In our Case Study series, we read from the
operational playbooks of cannabis leaders, learning about the tools and
expertise they have implemented to grow their business. From technology, to
equipment, to consulting, these are real stories from real operators who
are building the future of cannabis.*
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If you’ve been paying attention to cannabis industry news the past few
years, you know that launching a licensed cannabis dispensary in New York’s
early adult-use market has been anything but simple for those who took the
plunge.

Regulations have shifted rapidly, technology expectations have evolved on
the fly, and newly licensed operators often find themselves navigating an
avalanche of vendors, platforms, and promises. For Highlife Health, a
woman-owned, family-run dispensary founded by entrepreneur Jennifer Gierum,
selecting the right retail technology stack was one of the most important
early decisions the company would make.

Highlife Health opened with a mission grounded in personal experience:
after her teenage son suffered a severe back injury, Gierum watched
cannabis become a core part of his recovery and long-term wellbeing. It
shaped her understanding of the plant’s medical benefits and inspired her
to create a business that would advocate for cannabis as a legitimate,
compassionate form of care. She wanted to build a retail environment that
was educational, accessible, and capable of serving a wide range of
consumers.

When she received her license, however, the flood of technology vendors
that reached out made it clear how difficult those goals would be to
achieve.
*An Industry Full of Pressure, Not Answers*

As soon as Highlife’s license was awarded, Gierum was inundated with
high-pressure sales pitches from cannabis technology companies pushing
their platforms. Many assumed she already understood their systems, jargon,
and hardware requirements. Few took time to understand her actual needs as
a new operator entering a challenging, rapidly evolving market.

What she needed, she says, was something basic: *clarity*. A foundation. A
partner willing to explain what mattered and why.

Instead, most of the industry treated her like a prospect to close—not an
operator to support. That changed when she reached out to Cova Software.
*Why Cova Stood Out*

Gierum noted that from the first interaction, Cova took a different
approach. Instead of delivering a scripted pitch, they began by listening.
They asked about her operational goals, the customer experience she wanted
to build, the systems she already had in place, and the partners she
planned to work with. They made an effort to understand Highlife Health’s
unique position and tailor their recommendations accordingly.

One of her most urgent needs was finding a POS system that would integrate
seamlessly with a *custom website experience*. Gierum had hired her own
developer to design a front-end menu that matched her branding and vision.
Most cannabis POS platforms resisted integration or insisted she use their
standard templates.

Cova did the opposite. They coordinated directly with her developer, worked
through the technical requirements collaboratively, and helped build a
fully custom product menu that synced live with Highlife’s inventory
without forcing her into a predetermined design.

The result: Highlife Health’s website looks nothing like the cookie-cutter
menus used by the vast majority of their competitors in the region, giving
them an edge when it comes to brand affinity and memorability.
A Partner in Building New York Retail Infrastructure

As the New York market continued to evolve, regulations shifted, workflows
changed, and new compliance requirements emerged. Cova approached the
uncertainty with purpose, working alongside Highlife Health to *co-develop
features* tailored to the state’s needs.

Gierum emphasized that this level of attention was unmatched by other
providers she evaluated. Cova treated New York not as an inconvenience, but
as a collaborative opportunity. When she and her team identified pain
points, Cova incorporated that feedback into real product development.

This partnership model became essential as Highlife Health moved through
its first months of operation.
Reliability That Protects Revenue

One of the most defining aspects of Highlife’s experience with Cova has
been reliability. In retail (especially cannabis retail), downtime is
costly. Every minute a POS system is offline leads to lost sales,
frustrated customers, and operational chaos.

Gierum says that in her entire time using Cova, she has *never experienced
a single day of downtime*. For a business operating in a competitive,
high-volume environment, that stability has real financial impact.

Technical confidence also helped support Highlife’s community-centered
brand. With a dependable system in place, staff could stay focused on
client care, product education, and creating a welcoming environment rather
than troubleshooting system failures.
Responsive Support and a Collaborative Team

Highlife Health’s experience with Cova has been shaped not only by the
software but by the people supporting it. Gierum says she has multiple
points of contact, each responsive and informed. Coming from a corporate
background, she is no stranger to unhelpful or inaccessible tech support
teams. Cova’s accessibility—top to bottom—stood out immediately.

Whether she needed technical assistance, product guidance, or help with an
integration, the support team responded quickly and with practical
solutions. She contrasted this with providers who pushed “one-stop shop”
systems and tried to lock her into vendor ecosystems. Cova, she said, never
tried to box her in.

This collaborative mindset extends to how Cova handles product
improvements. Through Cova’s *Beta/Staging environment*, Highlife is able
to preview fixes and enhancements and even test updates using her own
company data before they go live. It gives her confidence that improvements
are real, tested, and aligned with operator needs.

Her team has embraced the system as well. Staff are excited about updates,
comfortable with the interface, and grateful for the reliability.
A Business With a Mission Beyond Sales

Highlife Health is more than a dispensary: it’s an advocacy-driven business
trying to reframe how society views cannabis. Gierum has worked to
highlight real patient stories, including her own family’s experiences. She
also developed a reality-based television pilot showing the day-to-day
complexities of running a dispensary and the human side of cannabis retail.
It wasn’t a comedy or “stoner” stereotype—it was an honest look at the
industry.

This mission is one reason choosing the right technology partner mattered
so much. To run a business built on compassion, transparency, and
community, she needed systems that supported those values—not systems that
added friction.
Conclusion: Why Cova Was a Game-Changer for Highlife Health

Highlife Health’s journey reflects a reality shared by many cannabis
retailers entering complex, fast-changing markets: your technology partner
can determine how smooth (or chaotic) your launch and daily operations will
be. For Jennifer Gierum and her team, Cova became the backbone of a
reliable, customizable retail ecosystem that has supported both their
mission and their growth.

*Want to explore how Cova could unlock new potential for your dispensary?*

*➔* Visit the Cova Software website

*➔* Request a demo