Pre-Rolls Could Overtake Cannabis Flower And Vape Pens As Consumers Spend Billions On Ready-To-Smoke Joints

Pre-rolls are holding their own and then some as one of the most popular marijuana product types in the U.S.

That's according to a recent study by product manufacturer Custom Cones USA which found that pre-rolls accounted for over $4.1 billion in sales revenue with more than 394 million units during 2023 and the first half of 2024.  

Based on point-of-sale data from the cannabis intelligence firm Headset from 12 states, pre-rolls 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." Over the same period, monthly pre-roll sales increased 42% to $257 million in June 2024.

Pre-roll sales revenue was nearly 12 times higher than beverage sales revenue in June 2024, a trend observed for years.

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"Pre-roll market share has increased every year since 2020 – when it stood at just 9.8%, the company pointed out. "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."

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The study, based on data from Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Oregon and Washington also identified infused pre-rolls as the top-selling category.

"The market share of Connoisseur/Infused pre-rolls has shown impressive growth," according to Custom Cones. "Since 2019, the segment has maintained an average 34.4% share of the pre-roll category across 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."

That said, pre-rolls remain in third place after raw flower and vape pens, reported Marijuana Moment, with both categories gaining less than 3.5% each, over the same period.

According to Custom Cones, with cannabis expanding into new markets with the market share continuing to rise, "we can expect pre-rolls to continue their upward sales trajectory."

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