Targeting Medical Consumers to Make the Most of the Extract Market

Making up a 6%-dollar market share across BDSA-tracked markets, extracts are the fifth largest cannabis subcategory by dollar market share. Extracts may not be driving the bulk of cannabis sales, but BDSA Consumer Insights still show that a sizable segment of consumers report consuming extracts, and brands can still drive market share with a careful approach to the extract market. BDSA Retail Sales Tracking shows that extracts have held a significantly higher market share in medical channels, and medical consumers across adult-use and medical markets report consuming extracts at a higher rate.

Extracts Have a Dedicated Consumer Base, Especially Among Medical Consumers

A cursory glance at the market share held by the extracts does not tell the full story when it comes to the category’s potential, and this becomes clear when we compare subcategory market share with recent consumption data. For example, wax and budder products hold a combined 1%-dollar market share, but consumer data show that a sizable share of consumers claim past six-month consumption of these form factors. Looking at the total consumer base in adult-use and medical markets, BDSA Consumer Insights show:

23% of inhalable consumers report using kief
21% claimed past six-month consumption of wax or budder
21% claimed to have consumed hash
20% of inhalable consumers claim to have used a dab rig in the past six months, with 6% citing dabbing as their preferred route of consumption

When we look specifically at consumers who describe their cannabis use as medical, extracts are consumed at significantly higher rates. In particular, BDSA Consumer Insights show:

28% of consumers report consuming kief
26% of consumers report using wax or budder (+5% vs all consumers)
25% of consumers report using hash (+4% vs all consumers).
These consumers also consume with a dab rig at higher rates, with 25% saying that they dabbed in the past six months (+5% vs all consumers)

Medical consumers are a worthy target segment for extract product strategy. This segment claims to use extracts at higher rates, but BDSA data also show that these consumers purchase more cannabis at retail.  BDSA Consumer Insights show that medical consumers across legal states spent on average:

$101 per shopping occasion (+$6 vs all consumers)
$151 per month (+$12 vs all consumers)

Brands that can effectively target medical consumers stand to gain market share and build a loyal base of high-spending consumers.

Check out our recent blog on the impact of the extracts category in today’s legal cannabis industry. Request a demo to learn how BDSA products & services can take your cannabis venture to the next level.