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The state of the pre-roll industry

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By Harrison Bard, CEO and co-founder, Custom Cones USA

The pre-roll is not only one of the most recognizable symbols of the cannabis industry, but the pre-roll market also continues to be one of the major drivers of sales and innovation throughout the country.

Pre-rolls are the No. 3 sales category in the industry, behind only flower and vape pens, pulling in a total of more than $4.1 billion from January 2023 through June 2024.

And while that is impressive, it doesn’t really tell the whole story. Our recent whitepaper, The State of the Pre-Roll Industry 2024, which combines data from cannabis analytics firm Headset with survey information from pre-roll makers from across the country, looks deep into the segment to explain why the market for pre-rolls is only getting started.

Let’s dive into the some of the numbers that show why pre-rolls are some of the hottest products in cannabis and will only get bigger in the future.

* All pre-roll data was pulled from Headset.io, which is sourced from consumer transactions in 12 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Oregon and Washington state.

11.89%

From June 2023 to June 2024, pre-rolls saw the largest increase in sales revenue among all categories, jumping 11.89% year-over-year and reaching $257 million in sales in June 2024. The closest segment to pre-rolls in year-over-year growth was beverages, but monthly pre-roll sales revenue was almost 12 times higher than the beverage category.

$246.7 million

In 2023, pre-roll unit sales grew to 246.7 million products, up from just 41.9 million units in 2019. That’s a massive 489% increase in just four years.

15.9%

While the cannabis industry has been growing in leaps and bounds over the past few years, leading to some gaudy numbers being thrown around, the pre-roll sector continues to grow not just compared to itself, but within the cannabis industry as a whole. By June 2024, pre-rolls reached a market share of 15.9% of all products sold, up from 9.8% in 2020 and up from 13.2% in January 2024, indicating the true strength of the category.

61%

Last year saw the rise of a new top pre-roll segment with the infused/connoisseur pre-roll, which combines flower with a cannabis concentrate to increase potency, riding a 61% increase in sales over the 18 months of our study, resulting in $1.75 billion in sales over that time.

44.4%

Over the first half of 2024, infused pre-rolls captured a market share of 44.4%, up from 34.4% in 2019, which demonstrates that the dominance of the segment is more than just due to the increased price point that infused products command.

-16.7%

Speaking of price points, the average pre-roll price for consumers dropped 16.7% to $6.50 in June 2024, down from the January 2023 average price of $7.80. The price point for infused pre-rolls also dropped over the same period to $8.77, down 23% from $11.51 in January 2023.

The price drop is due in part to increases in flower production as well as continued innovation in pre-roll machinery. However, even as prices to consumers dropped, the average price producers commanded for pre-rolls remained relatively steady, declining only 9% from $3.85 in January 2023 to $3.49 in June 2024.

49.6%

One of the other major findings of our white paper is the continued rise of the multipack as a driving force for sales within the pre-roll sector. While the full gram pre-roll packed in the simple doob tube remains the top selling single product, by June 2024, the numbers indicate that multipacks accounted for a 49.6% market share within the category, up from just 27.7% in January 2018.

$127.4 million

Multipack sales revenue grew 43% from January 2023 to June 2024, from $89.1 million to $127.4 million. The most popular multipack is the 2.5-gram 5-pack, which made up 31 of the top 50 pre-roll products sold so far in 2024.

15,000+

As one of the most competitive and innovative segments of the cannabis industry, there is a constant stream of new and exciting pre-roll products being introduced to the marketplace. With a wide range of sizes, paper types and filter options, including pre-rolled blunt cones and hemp wraps, there is something to pique the interest of every consumer. In fact, the data shows that more than 15,000 new pre-roll products were launched between February and June 2024 alone.

$4 billion

Finally, we’ve reached the biggest number of all. Based on the data, we predict that the pre-roll segment will continue to grow, establishing a market share of between 17% and 18% by the end of 2025. That means by the end of next year, pre-rolls alone will top $4 billion in annual sales, a staggering number even by cannabis industry standards.

For a full look at all the numbers, predictions and insights please be sure to check out our full white paper, State of the Pre-Roll Industry 2024.

Harrison Bard is the co-founder and CEO of Custom Cones USA and DaySavers. From custom branded and wholesale pre-rolled cones to completely customized packaging projects and pre-roll machines, Custom Cones USA helps companies bring their pre-roll projects to life. Harrison is an expert in all things related to pre-rolls, from rolling paper science to pre-roll manufacturing best practices to pre-roll packaging laws and trends. Harrison has spoken at Benzinga, CannaCon, CWCB and on multiple cannabis industry podcasts.

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