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What are the best selling cannabis products in Canada right now? Do beverages outperform sublinguals? Is flower still driving sales? According to a recent Headset report, some interesting products surprisingly earn a lot of attention from the Canadian consumer.

We’ve assessed current shopping trends based on recent intel from Headset, Health Canada, and elsewhere. Yes, Canadian consumers still love bud more than all else. But, a few surprising products are popping off, including sublinguals and tinctures. 

Buried in this data are treasures you can use when planning inventory, offering promotions, and even choosing what pops off on your in-store digital signage.

The Best Selling Cannabis Products in Canada 2022

Flower Remains King (for Now)

According to the latest survey results from the Canadian Government, smoking is still the preferred method of consumption for cannabis. Nearly three-quarters of respondents who have dabbled in the last 12 months reported smoking flower as their favourite. Edibles came in second (54 percent), with vaping a not-so-close third (28 percent).

Headset reports that in 2021, the top individual flower consumers spent between $500 to $600 per quarter on bud. As per the analysis, “The top 10% of Flower customers supplied 60% of US Flower sales and 78% of Flower sales in Canada.” That means you can expect your best customers are probably spending more than $125 a month on flow alone.

This data strongly suggest that Canadians still love straight bud above all else. More importantly, they are willing to spend significant amounts on it regularly. Despite the glamour of new and exciting products, like beverages, flower still captures the hearts and wallets of the average consumer. It should therefore figure prominently in your store, as well as in your marketing efforts.

Don’t Sleep on Sublinguals and Tinctures 

According to the Headset report, the stand-out category of cannabis products was sublingual and tinctures. As a new type, launching alongside edibles and topicals in 2020, few people suspected this not-so-glamorous product would capture the attention of consumers as much as it did.

Although this subcategory doesn’t pull as many consumers as flower — only 22 percent according to the Health Canada Survey— it has experienced astounding growth over the last two years. The Headset data details how “Tincture & Sublingual products in Canada […] saw over 3000% growth year over year.”

With such incredible numbers, Headset dug a bit deeper to explain what was really happening in this space. Their research shows that sublingual strips are driving the most sales, with two specific brands driving 70 percent of sales in December 2021: Kin Slips and Being. 

This begs the question, do you have sublingual strips on shelves? Its one of the best selling cannabis products in the country right now. So, how are you working with your budtenders to help promote this underappreciated but explosively popular oral-product?

Cannabis Beverages, Slowly Capturing More Attention

Despite all the buzz in 2020, when edibles and beverages launched in Cannabis 2.0, the nation’s appetite for cannabis drinks is a small one. Still, the niche is slowly growing, now making up roughly 2.1 percent of the market at the end of 2021 (Headset).

At the time of the report, there were roughly 80 to 110 distinct canna-drinks, depending on the province where you were operating. The top-selling brands were XMG, Everie, Deep Space, Tweed, and Houseplant. Interestingly, carbonated bevies made up more than 50 percent of sales, and cannabis-infused water nearly 10 percent. 

As a retailer, should you focus on infused beverages? There are a few considerations when planning your beverage inventory. Health Canada reports 15 percent of consumers enjoy drinking their dose of cannabis, and sales in this category are also increasing — albeit slowly.

But, displaying and storing beverages requires additional overhead, including refrigerators and coolers. Not to mention that the packaging takes up far more display space than other products.

As you plan your store layout and investments into cannabis beverage infrastructure, consider all the factors at play. Yes, you should offer cannabis drinks, but perhaps dial it back until sales prove themselves at your location. 

The Best Selling Cannabis Products: A Strategy Built on Local Consumer Insight

If you strictly made business decisions based on media hype or a single report, you’d be relying on limited information. For example, you’d be forgiven if you went all-in on cannabis drinks based on the media attention they have received so far. Data on the best selling products in Canada offer only one snap shot of the market for your own business.

To avoid costly mistakes on inventory, gather intel from the macro and the micro. That means staying up to date on Headset reports, Health Canada consumer information, and most importantly — your own sales intel.

With TechPOS, you can quickly and easily pull business insights and real-time analytics through the dashboard. The TechPOS all-in-one platform collects and processes all your store’s data in real-time and delivers critical reports on what is profitable and what’s not. Plus, it integrates with Headset for even deeper granular data.

Check out how our clients are already using TechPOS to drive sales and empower better decision-making.

 

David

Author David

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