Recently, our very own Kurt Kaufmann sat down with The Cole Memo, a podcast formerly known as the “Chillinois Podcast” that showcases conversations for change. In the conversation, the two cover important topics that affect cannabis brands and retailers, like –
- Brands, and what they should be
- Budtenders and their essential roles
- The key relationship between brands and retailers
Keep reading to learn more from Kurt’s experience in the industry and put it to good use for your cannabis brand or retail business!
Rather tune in? Catch the full hour chat here on your next run, commute, or in your spare time!
Brands in Today’s Cannabis Industry
One factor that every cannabis brand needs to consider? The industry is unique in the fact that budtenders are the front line employees, educating nearly the entire country on how to consume safely. Even more, many consumers walk through the doors with their own old-school myths or knowledge of weed, making it that much harder for brands to prove or show value.
When talking with Cole, Kurt explains that customers go to budtenders to find out what’s good, better, and best, defining the cannabis shopping experience in these retail settings. This factor places importance on brands educating budtenders, who in turn educate consumers, making the experience feel more authentically integrated.
Unfortunately, the regulations within the industry make education that much harder for brands and retailers to implement without allowing staff training or education to be treated as a write-off for taxes within the 280E limitations.
As the knowledge gap widens and more consumers enter the market, brands are having to face the facts and costs of the training and education of front line employees.
Budtenders in Today’s Cannabis Industry
To emphasize the issue; when speaking on budtenders in today’s cannabis industry, Kurt highlights one painfully obvious concern: people want to work in cannabis but fundamentally know nothing about it. Especially in the first 30, 60, or 90 days, they’re initially employed as a budtender and operate in various roles throughout the store.
To bring employees up to speed, retailers, like brands, also face the challenge of properly educating staff in an efficient timeframe. This is where Seed Talent comes in!
As the conversation between Kurt and Cole continues, they discuss the best practices to bridge this growing knowledge gap, in addition to touching on topics that affect the industry as a whole, like –
- Product differentiation
- Pricing
- Taxing
- The hemp delta-9 industry
Best Practices for Brand + Retailer Relationships
In the end, there’s one thing that ties the entire cannabis community together, Kurt explains; the pure fact that they love getting high. Despite socioeconomic, race, or age differences, this diverse community has come together to support the promotion and consumption of the plant.
So, how exactly can C-suite executives and budtenders connect to inform and educate the final consumer?
Even though most brands and retailers could care less about training, employee enablement or education will be crucial to their success and scalability over time. That’s why, after years of experiencing the gaps in the industry first-hand, Kurt set out to create a true solution with the Seed Talent platform.
In today’s industry, Seed Talent seamlessly empowers brands to educate budtenders cost-effectively while incentivizing education and training for retailers and their employees.
Seed Talent for Cannabis Brands & Retailers
Now that you’ve got a glimpse at branding, budtenders, and their relationship with retailers in today’s cannabis industry, you can put the information you’ve learned to good use.
Get to know Seed Talent more intimately – the premier platform that trains, upskills, and measures budtender performance for the benefit of brands and retailers. Schedule a one-on-one demo now and join over 1,500 cannabis brands and dispensaries using the platform to their competitive advantage.
