MJBizMag November-December 2021 - 56

What Consumers Want
High-Potency, Higher Sales
Concentrates and vape products maintain dominance
among consumers looking for high levels of THC
By Omar Sacirbey
V
ape cartridges and concentrates
generally follow flower and
pre-rolls in terms of popularity
among customers.
Unlike the flower category-where
" house " brands dominate-vape and
concentrate brands seem to hold more
sway over consumers.
" We have customers that come in and
ask for specific brands of concentrates, "
said Ann DeMarco, general manager
of cannabis retailer Highland Health in
Trinidad, Colorado. " The consumers
who are interested in concentrates are
very, very sophisticated, and they know
exactly what they want.
" People want to know extraction
methods, for example. Our consumers ...
are very loyal to brands, and so that leads
me to believe that they've done their
research, they've had an opportunity to
try our various concentrate lines. "
INCREASINGLY
KNOWLEDGEABLE
Internal research at New York-based
multistate operator Ayr Wellness found
that consumers were increasingly
knowledgeable and opinionated about
concentrates. In the past two years, for
example, the number of Ayr consumers
who reported knowing little to nothing
about the extraction method used to
create their concentrates fell from 45%
to 22%.
New concentrates developed in recent
years have given consumers more choice
than ever before. However, none of
the products-shatter, wax, budder,
rosin, live resin, diamonds, crystals and
The Vape Market Returns
While vape sales in CA, CO, NV, OR and WA have recovered since
the 2019 crisis, total market share for the category has not.
Sales
Vape pen sales have increased 78% since 2019.
$50M
$100M
$150M
$200M
Aug.
2019
$155M
Sept.
2021
$184M
Top brands
By total sales since 2019
1. Stiiizy
2. Select
3. Raw Garden
4. Heavey Hitters
5. Buddies
2019
2020
Market share
Vape market share is closing in on 2019 numbers.
25%
Aug.
2019
24%
20%
Sept.
2021
21%
2021
6. ABX/AbsoluteXtracts
7. Platinum Vape
8. AiroPro (IndigoPro)
9. Rove
10. Jetty Extracts
Segment growth
Year-over-year as of Oct. 5, 2021
Cartridge
All-in-one
disposable
All-in-one
rechargeable
Refill/E-juice
15%
2019
2020
2021
15.1%
23.1%
66.4%
53.7%
Source: Headset
others-has emerged as a real leader in
the category. In a survey Ayr conducted
of its concentrate customers, each
concentrate type scored within 4% of
the others.
LESS FOCUS ON
NEW AND UNUSUAL
Dominic Cundari, general manager at
marijuana retailer ArborSide in Ann
Arbor, Michigan, observed that today's
concentrate consumers care less about
56 MJBizMagazine | November-December 2021
format. They aren't necessarily looking
for new or hard-to-find concentrates, he
said, because many stores already have
those products.
" There's a huge market for shatter
still, " Cundari said, referring to one of
the earliest, cheapest and most basic
concentrate formats. " I think people got
caught up in the terp-sugars and having
those shiny or wetter, diamond-type
consistencies. And everyone's got that at
this point.
MJBizMag November-December 2021

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