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MnDOT asked Minnesotans to name snowplows.

Now, Eden Prairie is asking for the public’s help in naming a berry-flavored THC gummy.

Like a lot of Minnesota cities, Eden Prairie operates liquor stores, which in recent years have added THC drinks and edibles to their product mix.

“THC is a growing category in both municipal and private liquor stores,” said Paul Kaspszak, executive director of the Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association. “Beer sales are down. Wine sales are down. Brown goods are holding kind of steady. The bourbon drinkers are still out there. And THC is filling the void.”

Eden Prairie owns three liquor stores, located near grocery stores like Cub Foods and Kowalski’s. In 2023, those liquor stores generated $897,535 of net profit on about $12 million in sales, according to the Minnesota Office of the State Auditor’s most recent report on municipal liquor stores. 

The city’s liquor stores ranked fourth overall in gross sales statewide in 2023. The municipal liquor stores with most sales: Lakeville ($22.6 million), Richfield ($13.9 million), Edina ($13.3 million), Eden Prairie ($12 million) and Apple Valley ($10.7 million). Rounding out the Top 10 were Detroit Lakes, Columbia Heights, Bemidji, Alexandria and Elk River.

In Eden Prairie, liquor store profits flow into the city’s capital improvement fund and are spent on big-ticket items like parks and fire trucks, according to Mayor Ron Case.

The mayor and city council don’t get involved in day-to-day decisions about the city’s liquor stores, Case said, but focus on policy instead. In the 1990s, the city decided it wouldn’t sell tobacco products at city-owned stores but has decided to sell THC edibles and gummies.

“It was more ‘Why not?’,” Case said. “They’re generally accepted products. It seemed like a fairly reasonable way to move into the area.”

Not many municipal liquor stores are big enough to create their own branded THC product like Eden Prairie, but Kaspszak said the city has the marketing prowess.

“If they can create a quality product that will get people excited and get them into the facility and they generate some income, more power to ‘em,” he said.

The “Name That Gummy” contest is only open to city residents.

 The deadline to submit ideas in July 29.

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Todd Melby

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Eden Prairie owns three liquor stores, located near grocery stores like Cub Foods and Kowalski’s. In 2023, those stores generated $897,535 of net profit on about $12 million in sales.

Eat it, name it: Eden Prairie wants help naming its THC gummy

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