Millennials Drive Demand For Booming Pre-Roll Category
December 10, 2024The pre-roll boom continues in the U.S. cannabis market, with the category reaching $4.1 billion in sales from January 2023 through June 2024, according to a new report from Custom Cones USA. The report is derived from Custom Cones’ survey of over 900 consumers, plus retail data from Headset. The survey found that more than 80% of cannabis consumers purchase pre-rolls and that more than 11,000 new pre-roll products hit shelves over the 18-month period.
While consumers across generations reach for pre-rolls, millennials are the category’s largest consumer, with that generation buying nearly half of pre-rolls sold. Gen-X is in second, buying roughly 25%, with Gen-Z at 18.5%, and Baby Boomers at 12.5%. According to the survey, joints (whether pre-roll or own-rolled) are the preferred method of consumption for the vast majority of consumers, with 94% listing joints as their preference.
According to the data, Jeeter is the leading pre-roll brand in the U.S., accounting for 8.8% of the market. The brand is available in California, Michigan, Arizona, and Massachusetts, and had over $500 million in sales over the last two years. Stiiizy is the second-largest pre-roll brand in the U.S., with consumers buying 43.4 million of the brand’s pre-rolls, totaling $320 million in sales. Dogwalkers, Cali-Blaze, and Presidential Cannabis Company round out the top five pre-roll brands by sales. While four of the five brands are available in multiple states, Cali-Blaze is a Michigan-exclusive brand. By volume, Cali-Blaze is larger than Dogwalkers; however, due to the low cost of cannabis in Michigan, its dollar sales are lower.
Overall, the price of pre-rolls continues to fall, with the average for September 2024 at $9.50. In September 2023, the average was $10.67, and the year before it was $11.68. That said, there are considerable price differences within the category, with infused pre-rolls commanding a significant premium over pre-rolls made strictly with flower. Those higher-priced infused options, however, are seen as a special occasion purchase by consumers, with 64% of respondents saying that they only buy them once a month. Roughly half of respondents said that they were willing to pay up to $2 more for an infused pre-roll, with 26% willing to pay up to $5 more, and 12% willing to pay more than $6 extra.
Full-gram packages are the most popular options for pre-rolls, accounting for nearly 50% of the market, followed by half-gram packages at 25%. Miniature pre-rolls (a specialty of the Dogwalkers brand) accounted for nearly 12% of the market, as did 0.7-gram packages, with the remaining market share taken by other sizes.—Shane English
Subscribe to Shanken News Daily’s Email Newsletter, delivered to your inbox each morning. You will also receive the Cannabis edition as part of your subscription.Tagged : cannabis
