A small but growing segment of the industry belongs to products such as topicals, tinctures and capsules. While their appeal is not broad, they still have a reliable customer base and are worth having on store shelves.
This allure is especially noticeable in states with a high proportion of older cannabis consumers, noted Jeff Finnerty, head of marketing at New York-based multistate operator Ayr Wellness.
“Things like capsules, tinctures and topicals, which have a wellness or medical connotation, do better in places like Florida than, say, Nevada or California,” he said.
Dominic Cundari, general manager at ArborSide, a marijuana retailer in Michigan, believes these products will grow in popularity as cannabis is normalized.
“As cannabis consumption becomes more prevalent—and it becomes more of a lifestyle habit that is normalized and treated as more of a routine – I think you’ll see more and more people use topicals for their daily joint ailments and things like that.”
A product for everyone
While most cannabis product categories are dominated by male consumers, sales of topicals, tinctures and capsules are split nearly 50-50 between men and women. Many products in this category – THC- and CBD-infused creams, lip balms, bath soaks and transdermal patches—are marketed for beauty and wellness, which have traditionally appealed more to women than men.
The power of brands is also evident in this product segment. California-based Papa & Barkley topicals outsell the next 19 brands combined in that state, according to data from Seattle-based cannabis analytics firm Headset.
To see the full cover package including graphs and charts, visit “What Consumers Want” in the digital version of MJBizMagazine.
