Custom Cones USA, the cannabis industry experts in pre-rolls, packaging, and manufacturing solutions, today published a pre roll white paper in partnership with Headset to compile a comprehensive report on the state of the pre-roll market in 2024. Data from 2023 and the first half of 2024 shows that pre-rolls amassed more than $4.1 billion in sales revenue and sold over 394 million units in that span.
To gain comprehensive insights into the current state of the pre-roll market, Custom Cones USA partnered with cannabis industry analytics firm Headset, combining their retail point-of-sale data across 12 U.S. states from January 2023 to June 2024, as well as Custom Cones USA’s B2B insights from more than 300 companies representing every corner of the pre-roll industry, including recreational and medical cannabis producers, hemp producers, plant processors, vertically integrated brands, cannabis brand agencies, dispensaries, and multi-state operators. Notable findings include:
Pre rolls amassed more than $4.1 billion in sales revenue and sold over 394 million units from January 2023 to June 2024.
They also saw a meteoric increase in market share, going from a 13.2% market share in January 2023 to a record-high 15.9% market share in June 2024.
The sales revenue tells a similar story. Monthly pre roll sales revenue has steadily risen from $181.2 million in January 2023 to $257 million in June 2024.
In 2023, infused pre-rolls became the top-selling category, reflecting a shift in consumer preferences.
The Connoisseur/Infused segment dominated the charts in 2023 and the first half of 2024, accounting for more than $1.75 billion in sales – edging out Hybrid – Single Strain pre-rolls and its $1.64 billion sales for that time, due in part to the higher price point created by added concentrate.
The market share of Connoisseur/Infused pre rolls has shown impressive growth. Since 2019, the segment has maintained an average 34.4% share of the pre roll category across the 12 tracked markets. This share has recently experienced a rapid acceleration, reaching 41.5% in 2023 and climbing further to 44.4% in the first half of 2024. This trend suggests a growing consumer preference for these premium products (that also command premium prices).
The growth of the $4 billion pre-roll industry has propelled infused pre-rolls as a leading category, becoming the 3rd biggest cannabis category in the country, behind only flower and vape pens.
From June 2023 to June 2024, pre rolls saw the biggest increase in sales revenue among all categories with an 11.89% jump year over year. While the beverage category also experienced an impressive 10.97% increase, monthly pre roll sales revenue was almost 12 times higher than beverage sales revenue in June 2024.
The rise of the pre roll market is even more impressive when looking back even further. Pre roll market share has increased every year since 2020 – when it stood at just 9.8%. The increase in sales revenue in the last five years is nothing short of remarkable: annual pre roll sales revenue went from $469 million in 2019 to $2.7 billion in 2023. That’s nearly a sixfold increase in annual revenue.
While premium pre-roll sales soar, pre-roll prices have actually dropped.
The average price of a pre roll has fallen by 16.7% since January 2023, going from $7.80 a unit to $6.50 a unit in June 2024.
Although average item price is on the decline, total pre roll items sold are skyrocketing – going from 15.9 million items sold in January 2023 to a record 26 million units sold in June 2024.
Pre-roll businesses ranked price, potency, and strain as the top three factors that weighed into consumers’ buying decisions around pre-rolls.
Pre roll businesses ranked price, potency, and strain as the top 3 factors, respectively. This was followed by paper type, packaging, and brand loyalty.
Our survey of nearly 1000 pre roll consumers revealed that the businesses weren’t far off. Consumers listed potency as the number one factor when choosing between pre rolls, followed closely by price.
This is Custom Cones USA’s third year releasing a white paper on the state of the pre-roll market, providing qualitative and quantitative data to support the claim of pre-rolls becoming the #1 largest product segment by 2030. With the goal of providing a comprehensive overview of the pre-roll industry’s current landscape and future potential, the white paper delves into market trends, segment growth, production challenges, consumer preferences, and future projections.
“Every year we like to hunker down and look at the story the data is telling,” said Harrison Bard, Co-Founder and CEO of Custom Cones USA & DaySavers. “Thanks to the help of our partners at Headset, we can now see even more clearly that pre-rolls are continuing to dominate the market on an upward trajectory that confirms our belief that pre-rolls remain a potent and profitable symbol of the cannabis industry as a whole. We hope this data can be used by producers, processors, and consumers alike to help make informed business and purchasing decisions.”
For the full press release click here.