Most operators still staff like it's an either/or: cannabis-culture hires on one side, big-box grinders on the other.
Aisha Alves, an executive recruiter at Flower Hire who came up through Nordstrom and luxury beauty, says that's the wrong fork. Two working budtenders who answered our question on Saturday, "Is your budtender the brand?", agree from behind the counter.
The false fork
Alves hears the same argument in every market. Camp one wants "cannabis aficionados, people who are really passionate about the plant."
Camp two wants "people who come from high volume traditional retail like an Old Navy or a Target or a Chick-fil-A because product is product. And you need people who know how to run a tight ship."
Her answer: "You need to figure out the balance that makes sense for your business." Plant ethos and retail discipline, on the same shift, teaching each other.
Your budtender is Curaleaf
Size doesn't save a weak counter.
“As a budtender, you are the front line of your business. You are the front line. As big as Trulieve is or as big as Curaleaf is, for most people, their only interaction with that brand is going to be you as a budtender.”
"It is a conscious responsibility for knowing that you represent the company you work for," Alves added.
Bigger than one store
Alves said the counter represents more than one company. It represents the whole industry, and the legacy market that paved the way for it:
"You have to understand the gravity of the work, not only that we're doing, but what all the people in Legacy have been doing for decades."
— Aisha Alves
Love for the plant isn't optional
Ashley Demski (@bluntlyashley420), a budtender, answered in a video reply to Cannabis Professional: "If you're hiring somebody that doesn't know cannabis and doesn't really have the love for it like someone like me does... you're not gonna get the type of service like you would if somebody truly does love what they're doing."
Personality brings them back
The payoff shows up in repeat visits.
“When I do bring my own style to my customers, I just get return customers… They come back for me.”
Demski, who has been in Leafly Magazine and "on the back of Space Gems," keeps the rule simple: "If you're not bringing your own personality, then what are you really doing?"
Bee (@thehipbee), a budtender in Buffalo, N.Y., made the same point in an Instagram reply: "Customers don't just come in for a product; they come in for the experience."
"At the end of the day, people remember how you made them feel just as much as what you recommended."
— Bee (@thehipbee)
"That's why I think it's so important to hire people who genuinely reflect the environment and experience a brand wants to create," Bee wrote.
Make it measurable
Personality alone isn't a plan. "Everything you do has to be measurable," Alves said.
The résumé line she wants to see: "I beat the company average by 30% when it came to loyalty club signups."
That proves more than hustle. It shows "you have the executive presence to track your performance," she said. Or as CP's Andrew Berman put it on the call: not "just a stoner with a really cool job," but "an executive that has a passion for the plant."
Hire like it: a manager checklist
Screen for love of the plant. Ask what they'd recommend and why. Listen for real passion, not a script.
Screen for personality. Ask how they'd get a first-timer to come back. Would customers remember how they felt?
Balance the roster. Count culture-first vs. high-volume retail backgrounds. 90/10 either way is a skill gap.
Pair them. Plant-fluent and process-fluent staff on the same close; each teaches the other one SOP and one product story.
Teach the why. Onboard with the legacy history and the mission, not just the menu.
Publish one measurable ask. Loyalty, attach rate or a promo script. Post store vs. company average where the team can see it.
Know a budtender who is the brand? Get them into the Canna 50
The Canna 50 recognizes the most influential budtenders in the country. It looks for three things: passion for the plant (the big one), a real desire to help customers and patients, and working well with others, from helping fellow budtenders to helping the store sell safely and responsibly through education.
Budtenders nominate themselves: post your own Instagram video, tag @cannabis_pros_, and use #Canna50 and #Canna50Sub.
Everyone else weighs in: customers, patients and industry pros comment on each nominee’s video. Winners are picked from social engagement, comments, industry insider feedback and Cannabis Professional’s editorial judgment. Details at canna50.com.
Nominees need an Instagram account to be considered. Nominations close Dec. 31, 2026, and winners will be announced Jan. 8, 2027. Got a Bee or an Ashley behind your counter? Send them to canna50.com today.