In 2019, I interviewed branding experts, marketing strategists and cannabis retailers for The GrowthOp about a deceptively difficult challenge: naming a cannabis store.

Canada had recently legalized recreational cannabis, and an entirely new retail industry was finding its feet.

There were plenty of clever names. Plenty of puns. And a seemingly endless supply of businesses incorporating some variation of canna, green, leaf or bud.

The problem wasn't a lack of creativity. It was that everyone was drawing from the same vocabulary.

How do you distinguish yourself in a market where practically every competitor is trying to communicate the same thing?

The cost of looking familiar

Fast-forward to 2025. Canada had approximately 3,761 licensed cannabis retail locations by the end of June, according to the Association Québécoise de l'Industrie du Cannabis. Meanwhile, recreational cannabis sales reached $5.5 billion in the 2024–2025 fiscal year, according to Statistics Canada.

That's a lot of storefronts competing for attention, particularly in provinces where private retailers operate in close proximity.

But differentiation isn't simply about standing out.

A good name needs to be recognizable, relevant to the people you're trying to reach and distinctive enough to build an identity around.

In my original reporting, several experts pointed to the danger of relying on predictable cannabis terminology. The more businesses borrowed from the same handful of cultural references, the less distinctive those references became.

A name that immediately communicates your industry might be convenient.

It might also make you harder to remember.

Memorable for the wrong reasons

One of the more fascinating examples from that original article was Hobo Cannabis.

At the time, the name was attracting criticism for its associations with homelessness. Yet brand strategist Jeremy Miller argued that the controversy could potentially contribute to its memorability.

It was an interesting position. Not every unconventional name needs universal approval to succeed.

But there's a difference between being remembered and being understood in the way you intended.

In August 2020, Hobo announced it would rebrand as Dutch Love after sustained criticism. The company's leadership acknowledged that the original name could make people feel excluded.

A name that had generated recognition also created associations the business ultimately decided it couldn't stand behind.

It's a useful reminder that attention isn't necessarily an asset if it comes at the expense of trust.

A name can't do all the work

Another conversation that stayed with me was with Ron Tite, who discussed the relationship between what a business believes, what it does and what it says.

That distinction feels even more relevant today.

A name can introduce a brand, suggest a personality or create curiosity. But it can't compensate for a business that hasn't established what makes its experience, offering or perspective different.

Consider Superette, one of the names discussed in my original reporting.

Rather than leaning on familiar cannabis slang, the name borrowed from the language of neighbourhood convenience stores. It communicated an approach to retail that was casual, accessible and deliberately different from the conventional dispensary.

The name made more sense because the business experience supported it.

And that's the distinction I keep coming back to.

What happens after the name?

Looking back at those interviews, I'm struck by how much of the discussion was really about positioning rather than naming.

Who are you trying to reach? What should people expect? What assumptions are you willing to challenge? What makes the experience meaningfully different?

Those questions aren't exclusive to cannabis

They apply to any business trying to distinguish itself in a crowded market, especially one where competitors offer similar products and speak in similar ways.

A clever name might get someone's attention.

But a recognizable identity is built when what a business says and what it actually delivers consistently reinforce each other.

Before asking what to call something, it's worth being certain about what makes it different.

This article revisits my original 2019 reporting for The GrowthOp, What Goes Into Choosing the Perfect Cannabis Store Name? A Lot, with updated industry data and the benefit of hindsight.