This past week the biggest players in the California cannabis industry gathered at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds Santa Rosa for Hall of Flowers 2023. The atmosphere at this year’s event had noticeably shifted, with intermittent rain that led to fewer people seshing outdoors, a smaller pool of exhibitors, and an overall more serious tone throughout the event. However, the event halls were buzzing as brands, retailers, and ancillary businesses networked and talked shop. Brands Take Interactive Booth Design to the Next Level As expected, all the exhibitors went all out with unique, interactive bo ..read more

April 20th has been the most anticipated holiday in legal cannabis for years, bringing with it spikes in store traffic and total sales. Holiday interest continues, even among dedicated cannabis consumers. However, after over a year of price compression in the cannabis space, many might be wondering: is 420 still a money-making holiday? The hockey-stick growth trends that were a hallmark of legal cannabis in its infancy may not be the norm in today’s markets. Nevertheless, you can still count on 420 bringing huge increases in store traffic and overall sales, across the legal cannabis landscape ..read more

In an industry as fast-moving and competitive as legal cannabis, identifying rising categories and form factors is a valuable tool for brands and retailers who want to stay ahead of the pack. One top product trend going into 2023 was the rise of solventless cannabis products, particularly in the dabbable concentrate category, but also in the vape category. While solventless products make up a relatively small share of total cannabis sales, an analysis of BDSA Retail Sales Tracking data shows that the solventless category is primed for premiumization and growth in legal cannabis markets. Cannab ..read more

Making up 26% of dollar sales across BDSA tracked markets in 2022, vapes have grown to become the second best-selling cannabis form factor behind flower. A growing trend in the vape space for the past year has been the rise of the disposable vape subcategory. From the start of 2022 to the end of 2022 (Q1 2022 and Q4 2022), disposable vapes have grown from taking up a 13% share of vape dollar sales to 17% of vape dollar sales. Like any part of the cannabis industry, building a winning disposable vape brand takes meticulous planning and a data-based strategy. Rising to the top of this extremely ..read more

One of the most anticipated legal markets in 2022 was New York, where regulators had spent well over a year gearing up to launch adult-use sales. New York officially kicked off adult-use sales in a single store at the very tail end of 2022, which will result in 2023 being a ramp-up year. With limited retail availability and stiff illicit competition, New York’s adult-use cannabis market will fall short of meeting the market size originally estimated in 2022, but even with all of that being true, New York is still set to be the biggest new US cannabis market in 2023. Taking the Pulse on New Yor ..read more

MSOs and Vape Brands Take Top Spots in BDSA’s TOP Five 2022 Cannabis Brands List 2022 is in the books and BDSA’s analysis of top cannabis brands across markets shows that MSO brands, particularly brands with a strong presence in the Midwest and Northeast, were the top cannabis brands in the US. INTRODUCING BDSA’s 2022 Best Selling Cannabis Brands (AZ, CA, CO, IL, MA, MD, MI, MO, NV, NJ, NY, OR, PA): Stiiizy: 2. Rythm 3. Select 4. Cresco Cannabis 5. Verano The Whys Behind the Top Cannabis Brands: INHALABLES DOMINATE: According to BDSA’s Consumer Insights tracking, ~70% of consumers report ..read more

2022 was wrought with macro-economic challenges. Inflation, rising interest rates, and geopolitical conflict left capital markets depressed with trickle down effects on VC funding. High growth industries that require more capital felt these effects particularly hard. This includes the legal cannabis industry, which has its own unique challenges– regulatory hurdles, limited access to financial institutions, price compression, and illicit market competition. As an example, BDSA cannabis retail data shows that average retail prices across mature markets (AZ, CA, CO, NV, OR) fell 14% between Q3 20 ..read more

After a year that was rife with uncertainty and some challenges, the cannabis industry was treated to good news as the election results from the 2022 midterms rolled in. Chief among the victories for cannabis reform advocates was the passage of adult-use legalization in the state of Missouri. On November 8, 2022, Missouri voters approved the passage of Amendment 3, which legalized possession and use of cannabis by those 21 and over and allowed for the creation of a commercial adult-use market. While the upcoming launch of adult-use sales in Missouri may be overshadowed by bigger market launche ..read more

Maryland may not be one of the largest cannabis markets by overall sales, but as more mature markets have seen significant declines from price compression and illicit competition, Maryland’s medical cannabis market is poised for growth, especially after the recent passage of adult-use legalization in the 2022 Midterm elections. As the year draws to the close, we’d like to take a minute to highlight the performance of the exciting cannabis market in the Bay State, including pricing dynamics, consumer trends, and brands to watch. Checking in: Maryland Cannabis Market Performance Maryland’s medic ..read more

It seems that every election that happens is “the most important election of our lifetimes”, and this year’s midterm races were no exception. With many voters laser-focused on the contentious issues of abortion access, inflation, election integrity, and crime and safety, cannabis took a back seat in the minds of many political pundits. That said, with five cannabis statewide legalization propositions on the ballot, and a host of local propositions, November 8th, 2022 proved to be hugely impactful for the cannabis reform movement.   While cannabis reform saw mixed results this election, it ..read more