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For an industry selling products that most consumers don't fully understand, the knowledge gap presents both a challenge and an opportunity.
During a recent Qredible Live Broadcast, host Brian Fitzpatrick discussed cannabis consumer education with industry experts David Paleschuck, Amy Donohue, and Laurie Parfitt. This conversation revealed how the current retail environment creates barriers to informed purchasing decisions and highlighted emerging solutions to help brands better connect with confused or curious consumers.
"I'm not even sure that consumers really understand cannabis brands," noted Parfitt during the discussion. "We don't really see the same lifestyle brands we see in other industries. We don't see that brand equity that we've seen in food and beverage or in apparel because consumers really are, even the most engaged ones, only know what's kind of right in front of them."
Unlike nearly every other consumer product category, cannabis shopping remains constrained by regulations that limit product interaction. Parfitt explained this fundamental challenge:
"In a normal shopping experience, like if you go to the grocery store, you're able to walk the aisles. You're able to look at product, pick it up, touch it, smell it, sometimes taste it. In cannabis... it's all behind the wall. And even in Washington, where it's on the floor, it's still behind stuff. So, it's not really shoppable."
This retail environment creates an unusually high dependence on budtender recommendations. As Parfitt observed, "Cannabis is an industry where consumers really don't make their own decisions because the decisions are really made by that budtender in front of you."
Paleschuck expanded on this point: "It begs the question like, who should brands be speaking to? And the answer is both here, right? The buyers, the budtenders, and then there's the consumers."
He suggested that educating budtenders might even be more critical than consumer education: "I think right now, the more important educating that needs to take place right now are the buyers and budtenders more than the consumers."
One of the most insightful suggestions came from Paleschuck, who proposed using aromatherapy as a familiar framework to help consumers understand cannabis effects:
"Cannabis is pretty scientific and pretty specific and pretty deep. But the way we need to deliver this is basically a model that everybody understands... It's called aromatherapy. Indica or more indica-leaning cannabis has linalool in it. Oh, guess what's in... guess where else linalool exists? Chamomile and lavender and those things that we know that relax us."
This approach connects complex cannabis compounds to experiences consumers already recognize: "Sativa... it's got pine and it's got limonene and it's got other things that are known to us through aromatherapy to be uplifting and invigorating."
The panel discussed how industry terminology often creates unnecessary barriers. Paleschuck highlighted this issue:
"Even when I use the word strain, do you know the word strain has nothing to do with... it has everything to do with viruses and bacteria. It has nothing to do with plants or botanics at all. But at some point in the cannabis space, somebody decided to use the word strain instead of cultivar or chemovar."
Such inconsistencies create confusion when cannabis professionals try to communicate with scientists or mainstream consumers, emphasizing the need for more standardized, accessible language.
Parfitt highlighted promising developments in digital education tools: "We are starting to see moves in that direction. The other platforms I've seen that I think are really interesting are kind of those virtual budtenders."
These digital assistants help guide online shoppers through the selection process: "When you're looking online, a lot of times you have no idea really what you're looking at, but the virtual budtender will kind of take you through that consumer path to purchase to help you get to the right product."
Beyond just helping consumers, these tools provide valuable data: "From that consumer path to purchase, some of the things I've talked to these virtual budtenders about is collect that data on the back end. Really understand who these people are and what they're buying."
This data helps create a more complete picture of consumer preferences and behaviors, addressing a significant information gap in the industry.
The experts discussed how education needs vary dramatically between consumer segments. Parfitt shared how her team addressed this by creating content featuring staff members telling their personal cannabis stories:
"Someone who had autoimmune, had Crohn's, and had been told they were going to have a colostomy bag for the rest of their life... utilized cannabis and got sent to drug rehab. All of those kinds of stories are really impactful and they're very relatable."
This approach helped potential customers see themselves in these stories: "If someone could see her and say, 'Okay, I have autoimmune or I have Crohn's... maybe I can too and I can go to the dispensary where she works and I can actually go talk to her.'"
Donohue emphasized that education must meet consumers at their current knowledge level: "You have to know who your target audiences are before you even come up with a name... It's not everybody over 21 who smokes pot."
This tailored approach ensures information resonates with specific segments rather than trying to create one-size-fits-all educational content.
While consumer data remains limited in cannabis compared to other industries, the panel discussed how brands can gather and utilize information strategically.
Paleschuck shared how he used demographic data to develop targeted products: "What I did know was the demographics of all of the various areas within Seattle and what dispensaries were in those areas and made assumptions based on the people that lived in those areas and how much I could sell to them or what type I could sell to them."
This data-informed approach led to successful product launches like "Blaze American Cola," developed specifically for veterans after focus groups revealed their concerns about cannabis use and PTSD.
The most successful educational content doesn't feel educational at all. Donohue recommended brands like TokenJW that incorporate education into entertaining content: "They have tons of videos. They just... it's a lot of it is just tongue-in-cheek jokes and the engagement they get is incredible."
Such content naturally educates while building brand connection through humor and authenticity.
As the cannabis industry matures, consumer education will remain central to brand growth and customer loyalty. The experts agreed that while new tools are emerging, the fundamental approach must combine:
"We're still in like the first or second inning," Parfitt noted about the development of educational tools in cannabis.
By focusing on clear, accessible education that meets consumers where they are, brands can help bridge the knowledge gap that currently separates many potential customers from products that might benefit them—creating more informed consumers and stronger brand relationships in the process.
