The Gatekeepers

They are at the frontlines of cannabis. Depending on who you are they either curate your experience or push your products. They are by and large young, opinionated and wield a surprising amount of power.

Introducing the budtender.

Whether you’re a mom & pop operation or a MSO the ambassadors of your brand and products are those behind the counter. There have been and continue to be attempts at celebrity backed brands, slick ads, and all manner of salesy gimmicks but budtenders aren’t buying it. And if they’re not buying it, neither are your customers.

In a way this makes me feel good. After all the hype the great equalizer ends up being a heady guy or girl who is making slightly above minimum wage. You can bring your fancy packaging to the party but these honey badgers don’t care. They will sniff out the BS and push exactly what it is they like… and there in lies the problem.

When I belly up to the bar my bartender usually asks me, “What’ll it be?” Same thing at the sandwich shop. My pharmacist has never asked me, “Would you like to try the Rohypnol today?” The only other person in my life that does this is a waiter and usually they are upselling me.

Not the budtender. These folks sell what they like and are incentivized to push lower priced items so the change ends up in their tip jar.

So how does this change? Or should it even change at all? I truly believe there is a larger audience for cannabis out there. I also believe there is a giant pipeline of lower potency products waiting to be unleashed to the public were it not for the gatekeepers. Budtenders speak mainly to the heady crowd. Not only in what they push but in their literal speech. All of the inside baseball stuff that seems cool to them is actually intimidating to newbies. If that’s your target audience then you’re fine, but if you are looking to attract the canna curious or those who are just trying to catch a buzz this is a problem. It’s also a problem for those brands trying to innovate with offerings not named Blah-Blah OG Cookie Face and below 30% THC.

I’m an adult. I like to get high. I also like having coherent conversations and not being totally paranoid. There is a reason why gummies are so popular. THC drinks are not far behind.

All that said I do appreciate budtenders and their role in this ecosystem. Many folks who are now in senior management positions got their start as budtenders and are better for it. Nothing can replace the firsthand knowledge gained over years on the dispensary sales floor. But to have a broader view of the world means not alienating people who don’t look, think or dress like you. It means not turning your nose up at products you don’t personally like and really trying to serve the customer in front of you and not the one in the mirror.

OTHER NEWS

The Sea of Green podcast is back! Check out the episode, “Tastemakers” feat Emily & Dakota Meshell of the PR firm Grasslands and dispensary Eclipse respectively.

OTHER OTHER NEWS

Yours truly will be speaking at NECANN Maryland on Friday May 3rd. Come on by and say hi! I’ll be talking about how to build an efficient and sustainable cultivation and business. See you there.

“No is a complete sentence”

Thanks for reading,

d