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How Budtenders Are the Underappreciated Linchpins of the Legal Cannabis Universe
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In a highly-regulated industry like cannabis, brands are restricted in how they can get the message out about their products. Cannabis brands can’t rely on traditional channels such as TV or directly through social media due to legal requirements. One often overlooked ally at their disposal? Budtenders.
Budtenders – dispensary staff members – help onboard first-time consumers into the market or longtime consumers into a new category (e.g., cannabis beverages). They are a key part of how people learn about the plant and how to use it – an Oasis Intelligence report found that the number one place people like to learn from are dispensaries (followed by YouTube).
Budtenders introduce customers to new brands and products. They’re influential in the critical first 90 days on-shelf new products get before being pulled or promoted.
However, it’s a difficult job with high turnover, limited training, and little appreciation from the industry at large. The average pay for a budtender is about $13 per hour, which isn’t enough to earn a livable wage in many areas of the country.
Budtenders have a blindingly high turnover, and it’s a problem in the industry that has only gotten worse:
- In 2019, 44% of all Colorado’s cannabis employees started and left in the same year
- In Washington and Colorado, the average dispensary saw approximately 30% of its workforce turnover in a year
These high turnover rates highlight the disconnect between the cannabis industry and its consumers. Some aren’t even able to try samples of new products. As the most-client-facing role in the industry, it’s important for budtenders to feel appreciated and satisfied so they can deliver positive customer experiences.
Learning from Liquor Brands
Liquor brands have known for a while that bartenders matter – as customers, as salespeople, as influencers – and have leveraged that to grow. For example, during the pandemic, alcohol brands began shifting their marketing efforts to help support bartenders coping with decreasing on-premise sales.
RedSky client Patrón donated $1 million to charities supporting struggling bartenders:
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Molson Coors and Jameson donated $1 million and $500,000, respectively, to the United States Bartenders Guild (USBG). Grey Goose hired out-of-work bartenders for its mixology video series:
It’s important for brands to remember the people at the end of the supply chain who actually represent your product to consumers. When it comes to the cannabis industry, this isn’t wholesale buyers or investors – it’s budtenders!
It’s time for cannabis brands to take better care of budtenders, and recognize their critical role in the ecosystem. In the meantime, consumers – remember to tip your budtenders!
Interested in working With RedSky Strategy? We look forward to helping you leverage HumanSight™, Innovation, and Insights to better understand your target and approach your branding from a human, consumer-focused lens.