Sales of cannabis concentrates like wax, shatter, hash, kief, badder, crumble, and live resin have risen sharply as more and more cannabis consumers turn to new products during the COVID-19 pandemic. While many other industries struggled over the past year, the cannabis industry thrived as people in states where cannabis is legal sought out the product for consumption in their own homes. What does greater demand for marijuana concentrate mean for the cannabis industry as a whole? Keep reading this blog to find out.
Cannabis Concentrate Market Exploding in Adult-Use States
According to the most recent retail data, cannabis concentrate sales in adult-use states are up more than 40% since the beginning of 2020. Nationwide, total sales of cannabis concentrates went from $567 million in 2019 all the way to $797 million in 2020. This meant that concentrates accounted for a larger share of the cannabis retail market, with other products like edibles, tinctures, and vape pens seeing a corresponding decrease in sales and market share.
One reason that people began to flock to concentrate products is that they became more comfortable with some of the more complicated ways of consuming cannabis. For example, dabbing usually involves the use of a dab rig, which is essentially a water pipe that diffuses heat and allows users to consume waxes and concentrates. Generally speaking, when people gain more experience using these complicated devices, they begin to explore different types of concentrate, including more expensive artisanal products. Moreover, new technologies such as portable, handheld vaporizers have made it easier for cannabis users to consume concentrate.
Marijuana Concentrates Are an Alternative to Vape Products
Recent health concerns about vaping have caused a lot of cannabis consumers to shift from using vape products to using concentrates like rosin and live resin because those concentrated products are solventless and don’t contain additives. For consumers who are worried about developing a lung condition from vape oils, cannabis concentrates provide a relatively healthy alternative.
Not only do these kinds of cannabis concentrates pose fewer health risks than vape products, but they also offer stronger doses of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) than more traditional products like cannabis flower and pre-rolls. Greater THC levels typically mean a more potent high for the user. When it comes to marijuana concentrate, the THC content can be four to five times higher than the THC content for flower. Interestingly, the concentrate market tends to feed itself because frequent concentrate users may build up a tolerance for THC that makes it impossible for them to get a good high from using cannabis flower or smoking marijuana joints; hence, these users continue to seek out concentrate. This helps to explain why the cannabis concentrate market often grows at the expense of the flower market as more time passes.
The Future of the Cannabis Concentrate Market
Globally, concentrate is one of the most popular of all cannabis products. Worldwide sales of cannabis concentrates reached $1.8 billion in 2019. The more sophisticated consumption habits of cannabis consumers, spurred in part by the coronavirus pandemic, could mean that demand for concentrate will continue to increase in the years ahead. Cannabis industry experts estimate that total annual sales of marijuana concentrate in the U.S. and throughout the world could reach nearly $6 billion by 2026.
Contact Scythian Cannabis Real Estate
Scythian Real Estate is a privately held cannabis real estate fund that works with major cannabis operators in Colorado, Pennsylvania, and other states where cannabis is legal for either recreational use or medical use. Scythian also provides opportunities for individuals to invest in the cannabis real estate market. To learn more, send us an email.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS BLOG IS NEITHER AN OFFER TO SELL NOR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY SECURITIES IN SCYTHIAN REAL ESTATE FUND.
