For many newer cannabis consumers, potency has become shorthand for quality. It’s an easy number to compare across products and often influences purchasing decisions more than any other factor.
Experienced cannabis consumers, however, often approach flower differently. Rather than chasing the highest THC percentage, many are searching for aroma, flavor, and the overall character of a cultivar. They know that two strains with similar potency can produce remarkably different experiences.
MariMed’s Nature’s Heritage is hoping more consumers begin shopping that way.
The company’s new “The Nose Knows” campaign encourages customers to pay closer attention to how cannabis smells before deciding what to buy. Developed with pharmaceutical scientist Dr. Riley Kirk, the initiative draws on research into the relationship between smell, memory, emotion, and cannabis preference.
“Our sense of smell is intimately tied to our brain’s processing centers for emotions and memory,” Kirk said. “We want to encourage people to follow their nose to find cannabis that fits their needs and allows for a more personalized and nuanced experience.”
Instead of organizing flower around THC percentages, Nature’s Heritage groups products into six aroma families: Jacks & Haze, Tropical & Citrus, Floral & Earthy, Desserts & Sweets, OG, Gas & Chem, and Exotics. Each category is intended to help consumers recognize the scents they naturally enjoy and use those preferences to guide future purchases.
The campaign grew out of consumer surveys conducted in Massachusetts, Maryland, and Illinois, where respondents overwhelmingly identified THC percentage as the primary factor influencing their purchases.
That finding reflects one of the cannabis industry’s longest-running debates.
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While THC remains the primary psychoactive cannabinoid, researchers continue exploring how terpenes and other plant compounds contribute to the overall cannabis experience. Although scientists are still investigating many aspects of these interactions, aroma has become an increasingly useful way for consumers to distinguish between cultivars that may share similar cannabinoid profiles but offer different sensory experiences.
Nature’s Heritage is bringing that idea into dispensaries through displays that encourage customers to smell flower and concentrates before purchasing. Local artists have created murals inspired by each aroma category, and an online “Find Your Flower” quiz introduces consumers to the company’s scent-based classification system.
The campaign also reflects an evolution in cannabis retail.
Early legal markets often emphasized potency because it offered a simple, measurable way to compare products. As consumers become more experienced, conversations inside dispensaries increasingly include terpene profiles, cultivation methods, cure quality, flavor, aroma, and intended experience.
The cannabis industry is beginning to teach consumers to shop the way wine drinkers, coffee lovers, and perfume enthusiasts already do: by trusting their senses, not just a number on the label.
And for many connoisseurs, cannabis has always been appreciated through the senses.
Nature’s Heritage is betting that the next generation of consumers will discover that their nose may be one of the most valuable guides in the dispensary.
