US cannabis brands have been warned they will lose market share if they fail to target products and marketing towards women in the years ahead.
According to data from cannabis software company Akerna, women continue to grow as a percentage of the legal market in the US, up 3.3% since 2019 to 38.3%.
CEO Jessica Billingsley said: “Cannabis has plenty of stigmas and stereotypes, but the data doesn’t lie — it has a broad appeal to people of all ages, sexes, and socioeconomic [groups].
“I expect to see more and more brands targeting their products and marketing towards women in the coming years. Otherwise, they will risk losing participation in this growing market to the competition who does.”
In terms of product preferences, flower and cartridges are top choices for women, with concentrates overtaking edibles for the first time, which moved down to fourth spot.
Younger women are more likely to buy concentrates than older age groups, who spend more on infused edibles.
Akerna business intelligence architect James Ahrendt said: “Concentrates are perceived as an advanced consumption method, which could be why they appeal the most to younger populations which have grown up with the legalisation of cannabis.
“On the other hand, edibles provide a discrete form of consumption with easy dosing, which is likely why they appeal to more mature populations.”
