Quality in the cannabis industry can be understood through two main perspectives: compliance and consumption experience.
- Compliance
The compliance perspective refers to adherence to regulatory requirements, which encompasses essential elements such as testing, labeling, and packaging. It is imperative that all products comply with the regulations in the jurisdiction.
- Consumption experience
The consumption experience perspective emphasizes delivering consistent and desirable attributes such as flavor, aroma, potency, etc. The consumption experience is what sets the winner apart from the rest. To comprehensively understand the consumption experience, companies should adopt a statistical approach. This involves obtaining data from open sources and conducting sensory tests to identify crucial consumer preferences while being mindful of potential biases in the data.
Effective data processing is crucial for obtaining valuable insights. Depending on the data analysis approach, diverse messages can be derived. For example, analyzing data based on the number of consumers, the volume of purchases, or the dollar amount spent on products can provide varying insights. During the early stages of cannabis legalization, survey statistics indicated that an extremely high percentage of consumers expressed an interest in trying edibles. However, this interest did not translate into the desired purchase volume.
The next phase is to establish causal connections between consumer preferences and product attributes to determine which attributes can be considered “qualities.” Only attributes that have a causal relationship with consumer preference and regulatory compliance should be classified as qualities. Before identifying any causal relationship, it is important to use logical reasoning to select the product attributes to focus on. For example, if consumers do not base their choice of vape pens on the top five or total terpene content, it is reasonable to infer that they may not apply the same criteria when selecting dried flowers. However, incorporating numerical labels could serve as a strategic marketing tactic. By carefully considering these factors, businesses can identify the qualities that are most important to consumers and comply with regulations, ultimately leading to increased sales and improved performance in the market.