The marijuana industry came back to life in 2020 and edibles in particular saw a big boost in sales.
Cannabis edible sales were soaring across the United States last year as consumers opted to shy away from inhalable forms of the drug amid the coroanvirus pandemic.
End-of-year data from Seattle-based cannabis analytics firm Headset has revealed that for all of 2020, sales of adult-use and medical edibles grew by 60% across seven state markets – to $1.23 billion in 2020 from $767 million in 2019.
Edibles outperformed the total cannabis market, which increased 54% in 2020.
Headset data analyst Cooper Ashley found that edibles increased their market share from 10.65% in 2019 to 11.07% in 2020.
“We’re seeing the edibles space get a little more sophisticated, and we expect that to continue,” Ashley said.
According to cannabis edibles makers, there were several reasons behind the greater market shares which includes new and mature consumers are trying edibles for the first time and consumers are shying away from inhalable products and looking for more discrete options amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are seeing continued movement toward edibles and noninhalable forms of consumption,” remarked Joe Bayern, CEO of multistate marijuana operator Curaleaf, based in Massachusetts.
Bayern believes there is an “overwhelmingly large opportunity” in bringing new consumers to cannabis for the first time.
“Cannabis is not new to consumers,” he said. “If they want to be smoking cannabis, they probably would be.”
“We’re not just focusing on edibles,” Bayern said. “We’re focusing on the science behind the plant.”
