Sales of Canadian cannabis edibles, extracts fall for first time

Canadians purchased fewer cannabis edibles and extracts last November compared to the previous month, new Health Canada data shows, ending at least 11 consecutive months of growth for the categories.

In November, roughly 1.52 million packages of edibles were sold online or in person, down from 1.69 million in October, according to the data.

The figures account for sales in both the adult-use and medical cannabis channels and cover products intended to be eaten or drunk, such as chocolate, cookies, sodas and teas.

Extracts sales also fell.

Canadians purchased 1.2 million units of adult-use extracts, such as vape pens, hash and softgels, in November. That’s down from 1.3 million units in October.

The declines mirror broader trends seen in the Canadian cannabis market in November, as total sales slipped in most provinces.

Edibles inventory, meanwhile, was nine times higher than sales in November – an industry trend that continues to worsen.

Federal license holders, wholesalers and retailers stocked a record 14 million packages of edibles.

Across Canada, edibles-sales growth has been falling on average since a year ago.

Sales were flat from October to November in several key markets, according to data from Seattle-based cannabis market intelligence firm Headset.

In Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario – three of the four-largest cannabis markets in Canada – 838,000 units of edibles were sold by retailers, not counting beverages, a slight increase from October’s 827,000 units. The Ontario data does not include sales via the government-run Ontario Cannabis Store.

On a dollar basis, sales grew from 6 million Canadian dollars ($4.8 million) in October to CA$6.1 million in November.

Gummies ruled with CA$3.4 million in sales, followed by chocolates (CA$2.2 million) and caramels, chews and taffy (CA$375,352).

Beverage sales barely increased month-over-month in the three provinces.

Consumers purchased 329,700 beverage units in October and 331,100 units in November, per the Headset data.

Sales were flat on a dollar basis: CA$2.4 million of cannabis beverages were sold in October and November, respectively.

Matt Lamers is Marijuana Business Daily’s international editor, based near Toronto. He can be reached at matt.lamers@mjbizdaily.com.