Cannabis beverages are a small but growing category and ripe with opportunity. Since the start of 2021, a flood of new products and brands have entered the space. Market share has increased over 40% across U.S. and Canadian markets.
Currently making up 1%-3% of overall cannabis sales, beverages are rapidly climbing, with triple digit year-over-year sales growth in some markets. Headset broke down everything marijuana brands need to know about the beverages category in their latest report.
- Popularity of Cannabis Beverages by State
- Sales Growth of Cannabis Beverages
- Growth of Cannabis Beverage Brands
- Popular Cannabis Beverages
- Cannabis Beverage Demographics
The Popularity of Cannabis Beverages by State
Markets in the U.S. have a greater range in share for the beverage category. West coast markets, such as Washington (3%), Oregon (2%), and California (1%) are the most popular states for beverages. Generally, newer adult-use markets in the U.S. such as Illinois (0.8%), Arizona (0.7%), and Michigan (0.4%) have a smaller representation of the category.
Florida has the lowest representation of cannabis beverages in total sales at 0.1%. This state is the largest medical-only market in the country, but beverages are a highly regulated category. This limits product diversity for Florida. For example, ready-to-drink beverages are currently unavailable in the state. Instead, customers must purchase dissolvable powders that are meant to be mixed into other drinks.
Sales Growth of Cannabis Beverages
While Michigan has the lowest beverage share of any adult-use market in the U.S., it also has the highest category sales growth rate by far. Through the first 10 months of 2022, Michigan’s beverage sales have increased 272% over the same period in 2021.
Another top sales growth market includes Massachusetts at 52%. On the other hand, Maryland (-17%) and Nevada (-21%) all have had negative beverage sales growth over this period.
Growth of Cannabis Beverage Brands
In the U.S., beverage brand count has increased significantly since the start of 2021. Brand growth has been dramatic and linear in Canada, with a 300% increase in brands since January 2021. In the same time period, the U.S. experienced a 65% growth in beverage brands.
Popular Cannabis Beverages
In the U.S., the wealth is spread between a great variety of product segments. Drops, Mixes, Elixirs, and Syrups lead the pack. However, Iced Tea, Lemonade, and Fruit, as well as Carbonated Beverages, all capture 21%-29% market share. Even the infused water segment captures 15% of sales. This shows that consumers in the U.S. are open to a wide variety of beverage products.
Popular Cannabis Beverage Package Sizes
Customers seem to gravitate towards the higher dose packages in the U.S. Half of all beverage sales go to the 100mg per package category, similar to what can be seen with edibles. This is likely due to the higher value — more THC for a lower price point is hard to beat.
Popular Beverage Doses
Beverage products in the U.S. are allowed to be sold in much higher doses, with some items reaching 1,000mg of THC in a package. The most popular dosage for beverages in the U.S. is 10mg, capturing 39% of the market.
However, high dose beverages over 10mg are very popular as well. High dose products account for over one-third of all beverage sales, with 100mg products contributing 22% of total sales through the first 10 months of 2022. Low dose beverages also have their place in the U.S. market. Beverages with less than 6mg of THC account for over 22% of total sales in the U.S.
Cannabis Beverage Demographics
In the U.S., female consumers over the age of 25 show a strong preference for the cannabis beverage category. Typically, this cohort of women account for 29% of total cannabis sales. In this category however, with the exception of the Gen Z age group, female consumers contribute 37% of category sales. Additionally, both male and female consumers in the Generation X age group (ages 42-57) seem to show preference to this category, as well.
Cannabis beverages are a small but rapidly growing product category in the industry. In some markets, sales have skyrocketed by triple digits year-over-year. Beverages have the potential to attract new consumer groups who may not tend to purchase the traditional inhalable product categories, so these would be great items to add to your storefront if you do not already sell them.