Are cannabis consumers more loyal to brands, or products?

In most consumer packaged goods industries, brands drive decisions. Shoppers walk into a store looking for Coca-Cola, Nike, or Tide, and if those brands aren’t available, many will leave without buying.

Cannabis retail tells a different story. Here, product loyalty can often outweigh brand loyalty, and the distinction is shaping the way dispensaries and producers compete.

While some cannabis companies have made headway in building recognizable brands, many consumers are not yet loyal to logos, color palettes, or celebrity endorsements.

Instead, they remain loyal to products—the form, effect, and price that meet their needs.

Recent cannabis consumer survey data from the Brightfield Group, published in the newly released Q3 edition of the MJBizFactbook, shows that many consumers are willing to switch brands if their preferred option is unavailable, while only a small minority see all cannabis brands as interchangeable.

A vape cartridge shopper might prefer a certain brand, but if it’s not in stock, they’ll usually choose another cartridge rather than leaving empty-handed.

Within these categories, branding may play a role, but it is rarely the deciding factor. That makes cannabis product loyalty more powerful than brand loyalty in shaping baskets at checkout.

“Branding is still developing as a purchase driver in the cannabis industry,” said Kate Stevenson, Director of Client Strategy at the Brightfield Group. “Most consumers think about the product itself before the brand when making a purchase decision.”

According to Stevenson, 60% of cannabis consumers agree with the statement, “Cannabis brands don’t matter to me, I buy what the product has to offer.”

Even more, about 80%, say they’ll choose a similar product from another brand if the one they want is out of stock.

Still, Stevenson said, that doesn’t mean brands are irrelevant. “Only 30% of consumers believe all cannabis brands are pretty much the same. That tells us people do have preferences, or at least a roster of favorite brands they switch between.”

The key, she added, is for companies to remain visible and available on shelves. “Staying stocked and ensuring products meet consumers’ needs and preferred formats is essential for capturing attention in a market that’s still a relatively young CPG category.”

Some markets are better for brands

Green Dot Labs has focused its cannabis business in markets where branding is both permitted and central to consumer choice. The Boulder, Colorado-based company has built its reputation in states such as Colorado and now Arizona, which allow consumer packaged goods companies to market directly to shoppers.

“We’ve intentionally focused on operating in free-market territories like Colorado and Arizona, where true competition can thrive and where CPG branding is not just allowed, but essential to connecting with discerning consumers,” said Alana Malone, co-founder and CEO of Green Dot Labs.

Malone said the company has avoided markets that restrict branding, including Canada, Connecticut, and Florida, because such rules prevent companies from showcasing the breadth of their product offerings. She added that over time, Green Dot Labs has built consumer trust around its quality standards, regardless of how brand-focused individual markets might be.

Green Dot Labs has carved out a niche in cannabis by catering to premium consumers, a segment that Malone says is often underserved. While many cannabis markets are dominated by bulk-grade flower and mid-tier products, she argues that discerning buyers are looking for higher standards.

“Serving this segment of the cannabis community isn’t for the faint of heart, but it’s what we came here to do and we have been tireless in our pursuit to maintain relevance and connection with this audience,” Malone said.

Malone noted that the company’s branding helps bring in new customers with design, navigation and storytelling. But she emphasized that lasting loyalty depends on the quality of the product itself, not flashy packaging. “They won’t be fooled by flashy designs if the product doesn’t perform, and we wouldn’t want them to be,” she said.

She added that the dynamic is sharper in cannabis than in other consumer packaged goods sectors such as beer, liquor and skincare, where branding alone can sometimes carry more weight.

Both product and brand can be an advantage

For retailers, the product distinction matters. If shoppers are more loyal to products than brands, dispensaries gain leverage in steering purchases through promotions, product placement, and pricing.

Stocking the right mix of formats—flower, pre-rolls, edibles, beverages, vapes—becomes more important than catering to any single brand. Retailers that can anticipate consumer intent and meet it with reliable inventory are more likely to win repeat business.

For brands, the challenge is different. Standing out in an environment where consumers care more about effects and formats than logos means building trust over time.

That might come through consistency in potency and quality, innovative new products, or aligning with consumer values such as sustainability or local production.

Companies that succeed in carving out brand loyalty are often those that pair strong product delivery with storytelling that resonates beyond the shelf.

“At the end of the day, it’s dealing with people,” said Chicago-born-and-bred musician, entrepreneur, actor, and philanthropist Vic Mensa. “Dealing with people and creating things.”

“And that’s … difficult,” he Mensa. “That requires a lot of tact.”

Mensa will share marketing insights at MJBizCon via an intimate fireside chat at 11 a.m. Dec. 3.

The balance between brand and product loyalty is likely to evolve as the industry matures. Just as craft beer eventually built both strong product categories and recognizable brand identities, cannabis may move in the same direction.

For now, though, product loyalty dominates the retail floor. Consumers are buying experiences, not just names, and retailers who recognize this dynamic will be best positioned to guide the next phase of cannabis retail growth, where product and brand loyalty merge.

As markets stabilize, brands will have more room to invest in marketing, packaging, and engagement. Differentiated experiences will begin to shape how shoppers choose not only what product to buy but which brand to trust.

Over time, this could shift cannabis retail closer to traditional CPG industries, where product categories anchor decisions but strong brands command premium shelf space and long-term consumer allegiance.

Andrew Long can be reached at andrew.long@mjbizdaily.com.