BTA Launches Groundbreaking Learn & Earn™ Platform and Canada’s First-Ever Cannabis Brand Health Index™

A first-of-its-kind education, rewards, and insights ecosystem redefining how consumers, brands, policy, and frontline professionals connect with cannabis and each other.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | JANUARY 26, 2026 | TORONTO —The Budtenders Association (BTA) has officially launched its newly redesigned digital platform, introducing two industry-defining innovations: Learn & Earn™, a rewards-based education portal for frontline professionals and shoppers, and the Brand Health Index™(BHI)—Canada’s first centralized, ongoing brand trust and perception intelligence warehouse built from verified retail and consumer insights.

This launch marks a historic milestone for the Canadian cannabis industry. Until now, no platform has successfully combined education, incentives, and real-world behavioural intelligence into a single, scalable ecosystem.

“With Learn & Earn and the Brand Health Index, we’re flipping that model. This platform rewards education, amplifies frontline voices, and gives industry leaders access to insights they’ve never had before, directly from the people shaping purchasing decisions and consumption patterns everyday.”

Learn & Earn™: Education and Rewards

The Learn & Earn™ portal allows members to complete informative micro-learning modules, brand experiences, and industry content in exchange for points redeemable for real-world rewards. Unlike traditional training portals, Learn & Earn is designed to drive engagement, not obligation, empowering budtenders, retail staff, and consumers to deepen their knowledge while being recognized for their time and expertise.

Key features include:

• Verified resources and brand learning modules
• Points-based rewards and incentives
• Inclusive access for frontline staff, management, and consumers
• Ongoing engagement rather than one-time training

This approach addresses a deeper industry challenge: moving beyond transactional training toward a culture of informed, responsible cannabis use, guided by education and real-world insight.

The Brand Health Index™

Launching alongside Learn & Earn is the BTA Brand Health Index™(BHI), a first-of-its-kind cannabis insights portal that measures brand trust, familiarity, and perception across Canada, through carefully developed research methodology and longitudinal study using ongoing insights shared directly by the frontlines; shoppers and retail professionals.

The BHI provides partners with:

• Real-time visibility into brand trust and credibility
• Longitudinal tracking of brand performance
• Insight into what drives loyalty—and what erodes it
• A benchmark against industry peers

Unlike traditional research snapshots, the Brand Health Index is continuous, standardized, and grounded in frontline reality, offering brands an unprecedented feedback loop in a rapidly evolving market.

A New Standard for Cannabis Industry Engagement

Together, Learn & Earn™ and the Brand Health Index™ establish a new standard for how education, engagement, and intelligence operate within the industry. The platform reinforces BTA’s mission to advocate for, empower, and elevate frontline voices while providing brands with ethical, actionable insight.

With no comparable system currently operating in Canada, the launch represents a defining step forward for a maturing industry seeking transparency, accountability, and stronger relationships between brands and the people who represent them daily.

About the BTA
Since 2020, The Budtenders Association (BTA) is Canada’s leading community-driven organization dedicated to supporting frontline cannabis retail professionals and informed consumers through education, advocacy, and insight. By bridging the gap between brands and the people who influence purchasing decisions, BTA is shaping the future of industry engagement.

Media Contact: Casey Hiltemann
Founder, Budtenders Association
casey@budtendersassociation.ca
www.budtendersassociation.ca

Download BTA Press Release 2026