The results are in: Cannabis brand loyalty isn’t dead. But it is conditional.

The BTA surveyed its community on brand familiarity, trust, purchasing behaviour, and perceptions to capture insights on what actually builds trust and loyalty in the cannabis space.

We surveyed the BTA community to understand how brand trust is built, broken, and earned in today’s market and the answers are clear: brands winning right now aren’t the loudest or flashiest. They’re the most consistent, transparent, and respectful of the people selling and buying their products.

What is disappearing? Blind loyalty. In its place is a more informed, more skeptical, and more demanding audience: budtenders and consumers who know the market, track quality, compare batches, and remember how brands show up when things go wrong.

Across the survey, the brands praised most consistently shared the same behaviours. These brands don’t treat retail or consumers as a channel. They treat them as collaborators. They engage directly with budtenders instead of speaking at them. They respond publicly and transparently when questions or issues arise. And they resist the temptation to over-market, inflate claims, or rely on hype to carry the product.

1. Today’s Strongest Brands Aren’t Selling Products. They’re Building Partnerships.

The cannabis industry is a brand-literate audience. One of the strongest signals in the survey was just how familiar respondents are with cannabis brands in their province.

68% of respondents say they are very familiar with available brands and actively compare them
26% say they are somewhat familiar and can still name specific trusted brands
Only 6% report low or no brand familiarity

That means 94% of respondents are brand-aware and most are making intentional, informed choices. Budtenders and experienced consumers are not discovering brands for the first time. They’re validating claims, cross-checking terpene profiles, remembering past batches, and sharing feedback with peers.

This has major implications for marketing and sales. Cannabis brands are not marketing to beginners. They’re marketing to people who remember everything.

2. Brand Power In Cannabis Is Conditional.

When asked how much a brand name influences purchasing decisions, responses showed a clear middle ground:

24% say brand name influences them very strongly
52% say brand influence is moderate
24% say brand influence is low or minimal

Very few respondents said brand name doesn’t matter at all — but very few said it overrides everything else either. This tells us something critical: A recognizable name may earn attention on a menu or shelf, but it does not guarantee a sale or a second chance. Brand names open the door. Trust decides whether it stays open.

What actually builds trust?

When respondents were asked what makes them trust a cannabis brand, the answers were strikingly consistent and the takeaway is unmistakable: Consistency and transparency are not “nice to have.” They are the foundation of trust.

The top trust drivers from our multi-select question:

88% cite consistent product quality
63% point to positive past experience
58% value transparency around terpenes, sourcing, cultivation, and potency
41% trust brands with responsible or sustainable practices
39% rely on budtender or peer recommendations

In contrast, traditionally “strong” marketing signals ranked far lower:

22% said brand story or authenticity alone builds trust
18% cited packaging or visual identity

When asked what causes them to lose trust in a brand, respondents were clear (multi-select):

76% say inconsistent quality between batches
61% cite lack of transparency (THC, terpenes, sourcing)
54% mention poor customer or retail support
49% point to price increases without clear quality improvement
38% say product recalls or compliance issues
31% are turned off by overly aggressive or misleading marketing

Beyond the numbers, strong emotional reactions appeared repeatedly in open responses when retailers were ignored or “ghosted” and quality issues weren’t acknowledged. The take-away? One bad batch can undo years of brand equity especially when accountability is missing.

3. Loyalty Is Real. But It’s Fragile.

When asked what they associate most with brands they love, the hierarchy was clear: the strongest brands feel reliable and honest.

82% associate favourite brands with quality and reliability
44% associate them with innovation — but only when quality is stable
41% value education and transparency
36% connect with alignment to values (sustainability, honesty, community)

Most people operate within a small rotation of trusted brands, experimenting occasionally but returning to what has proven reliable with 62% of respondents often repurchasing the same brands. This behaviour was especially strong among more experienced respondents, many of whom selected “always stick to brands I trust.”

Even among those who claim low loyalty, quality signals still guide purchasing decisions. The data points to a clear, unavoidable conclusion: the brands winning today are the ones treating budtenders and consumers as partners, not targets. In a market this saturated and this informed, trust is not something that can be manufactured through louder messaging or flashier branding. It has to be earned, batch by batch, interaction by interaction.

What would increase loyalty the most?

When asked what would make them more loyal to a brand, the same themes surfaced again and again. The top brand loyalty builders (in order):

1. Consistent quality across batches
2. Better product education
3. Sampling or trial opportunities
4. Product innovation (after quality is locked)
5. Budtender training and engagement
6. Real sustainability and social responsibility
7. Rewards or loyalty programs

What budtenders and consumers are asking for isn’t complicated: it’s education, access, and reliability. Not discounts and swag.

4. Cannabis Loyalty Is Flexible And Easily Disrupted By Inconsistency.

Trust in cannabis is built through fundamentals that cannot be faked: consistent product quality, honest transparency around what’s in the jar, genuine respect for retail staff, and accountability when things go wrong. These are not “nice-to-haves” — they are the baseline expectations of a brand-literate audience.

Marketing may still spark initial interest. But loyalty is decided after the sale. When the product performs as promised, when questions are answered instead of ignored, and when brands stand behind their offerings instead of disappearing.

What makes these findings significant is not just what people said, but how consistently they said it. Budtenders and consumers are aligned. They are paying attention. And they are quietly rewarding the brands that treat them like partners in the process.

Source: BTA Brand Trust & Loyalty Survey, January 2025