SKU for clarity: The Art and Science of Cannabis Naming Conventions
If you’ve looked at a dispensary menu lately, you’ve likely been bombarded by a flurry of product names that range from cryptic to downright baffling. Some stores come up with their own way of naming things, but if your products aren’t named correctly, you may be missing out on sales.
Naming Chaos
Is “LR” live resin or live rosin?
Lift Equation makes them, but are they called “LE Jellies”
Do your customers know what brands “PQ, BCF, DPF” are suppose to be?
Some stores come up with abbreviations for brands to simplify things internally, or they don’t bring in the brand name at all, leaving the consumer to love the strain, but have no idea who grew it. So if your a micro wondering why you haven’t taken off quicker, it might be time to update you product names before you send them out.
Industry Standards
Imagine you are in the market for a car. You visit every car lot and website looking for the perfect one. But not just any one; your looking for a Ford Mustang, or how about a Ford Mustang GT, or how about a Ford Mustang GT Convertible in Red. Notice a pattern with the name? it reads like a formula, and every dealership you visit understands exactly what you are looking for. The same logic should be applied to cannabis products.
The Case for Clear Naming Conventions
Here’s the thing: a name is more than just a label. It’s a story, a promise, and a contract between the product and the consumer. When that promise gets muddled, things fall apart, or never get a chance to grow stronger. Your brand, your farm, your lab; this is just as much your identity as anything else now, it is up to you to preserve it.
1. Consumer Confusion
Imagine scanning a dispensary menu for Wyld Gummies and finding options like “PR” and “BL.” What do those mean? Pear? Blueberry? Or something else entirely? Remember how the product appears on the manifest, might be how it appears online, so name them accordingly.
2. Inventory Mayhem
Retailers face their own nightmare when sloppy naming clogs up their systems. A product like “Underdawg” might show up as”Pharmers”, “PQ”, “X-ray Pharms”, “UD,” “Under dawg,” or “Nero”. Some manufacturers make multiple product lines so make sure what you see is what you get.
3. Brand Identity Dilution
Brands pour blood, sweat, and tears into creating identities that resonate. But when their products are mislabeled or inconsistently named, all that effort goes up in smoke. White labeling is one thing, but a product that’s hard to find or recognize is a product that fades into the background.
Fixing the Problem: Incorporate Standards
So, what’s the fix? It starts with producers, manufacturers and retailers. Cannabis products come in all shapes and sizes, from pre-rolls to topicals, but naming conventions should always follow a consistent pattern.
Drawing Parallels: Mustangs and Mota
Think back to the Ford Mustang example; each descriptor—model, line, variant—builds on the last, leaving nothing to guesswork. Cannabis can adopt the same approach. Start with a base product, add details, and give consumers clarity.
Example:
Bloom Cartridge → Bloom Cartridge Live Rosin → Bloom Cartridge Live Rosin 1g.
Key Elements of a Product Name
Brand: The company behind the product (e.g., Cookies, Wana, R. Greenleaf).
Product Type: Flower, vape, edible, tincture, etc.
Attributes: Extraction type, phenotype (Indica, Sativa, Hybrid), strain, flavor, or enhancements.
Weight/Size: Standardized in grams (g) for flower and concentrates or milligrams (mg) for edibles, vapes, and topicals.
Examples:
Flower: Cookies | Gary Payton | (H) | 3.5g
Pre-Roll: Espiritu | Pre-Roll | Blue Dream | (S) | 1g
Edible: Wana | Gummies | Stay Asleep | (I) | 100mg | 10pk
Vape: Atlas | Disposable | Apricot Diesel | (H) | 1g
Why It Matters
Cannabis is no longer a fringe industry. It’s mainstream, competitive, and soon to be national. If we want to play in the big leagues, we need to tiddy up, starting with something as basic—and powerful—as a clear name. Because in this crowded marketplace, clarity isn’t just a formality; its a survival tactic.
