By the Numbers: The state of the pre-roll industry | Where to order Skittles Moonrock online

Learn how to order Skittles Moonrock online. TOP QUALITY GRADE A++

Cannabyss Inc. is the best place online to buy top quality weed, cannabis, vape, marijuana and CBD products. Get your borderless orders delivered at the pickup spot with ease. Top Grade products for client satisfaction.

👉 Click here to Visit our shop! 🛒

By Harrison Bard, CEO and co-founder, Custom Cones USA

The pre-roll is not only one of the most recognizable symbols of the cannabis industry, but the pre-roll market also continues to be one of the major drivers of sales and innovation throughout the country.

Pre-rolls are the No. 3 sales category in the industry, behind only flower and vape pens, pulling in a total of more than $4.1 billion from January 2023 through June 2024.

And while that is impressive, it doesn’t really tell the whole story. Our recent whitepaper, The State of the Pre-Roll Industry 2024, which combines data from cannabis analytics firm Headset with survey information from pre-roll makers from across the country, looks deep into the segment to explain why the market for pre-rolls is only getting started.

Let’s dive into the some of the numbers that show why pre-rolls are some of the hottest products in cannabis and will only get bigger in the future.

* All pre-roll data was pulled from Headset.io, which is sourced from consumer transactions in 12 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Oregon and Washington state.

11.89%

From June 2023 to June 2024, pre-rolls saw the largest increase in sales revenue among all categories, jumping 11.89% year-over-year and reaching $257 million in sales in June 2024. The closest segment to pre-rolls in year-over-year growth was beverages, but monthly pre-roll sales revenue was almost 12 times higher than the beverage category.

$246.7 million

In 2023, pre-roll unit sales grew to 246.7 million products, up from just 41.9 million units in 2019. That’s a massive 489% increase in just four years.

15.9%

While the cannabis industry has been growing in leaps and bounds over the past few years, leading to some gaudy numbers being thrown around, the pre-roll sector continues to grow not just compared to itself, but within the cannabis industry as a whole. By June 2024, pre-rolls reached a market share of 15.9% of all products sold, up from 9.8% in 2020 and up from 13.2% in January 2024, indicating the true strength of the category.

61%

Last year saw the rise of a new top pre-roll segment with the infused/connoisseur pre-roll, which combines flower with a cannabis concentrate to increase potency, riding a 61% increase in sales over the 18 months of our study, resulting in $1.75 billion in sales over that time.

44.4%

Over the first half of 2024, infused pre-rolls captured a market share of 44.4%, up from 34.4% in 2019, which demonstrates that the dominance of the segment is more than just due to the increased price point that infused products command.

-16.7%

Speaking of price points, the average pre-roll price for consumers dropped 16.7% to $6.50 in June 2024, down from the January 2023 average price of $7.80. The price point for infused pre-rolls also dropped over the same period to $8.77, down 23% from $11.51 in January 2023.

The price drop is due in part to increases in flower production as well as continued innovation in pre-roll machinery. However, even as prices to consumers dropped, the average price producers commanded for pre-rolls remained relatively steady, declining only 9% from $3.85 in January 2023 to $3.49 in June 2024.

49.6%

One of the other major findings of our white paper is the continued rise of the multipack as a driving force for sales within the pre-roll sector. While the full gram pre-roll packed in the simple doob tube remains the top selling single product, by June 2024, the numbers indicate that multipacks accounted for a 49.6% market share within the category, up from just 27.7% in January 2018.

$127.4 million

Multipack sales revenue grew 43% from January 2023 to June 2024, from $89.1 million to $127.4 million. The most popular multipack is the 2.5-gram 5-pack, which made up 31 of the top 50 pre-roll products sold so far in 2024.

15,000+

As one of the most competitive and innovative segments of the cannabis industry, there is a constant stream of new and exciting pre-roll products being introduced to the marketplace. With a wide range of sizes, paper types and filter options, including pre-rolled blunt cones and hemp wraps, there is something to pique the interest of every consumer. In fact, the data shows that more than 15,000 new pre-roll products were launched between February and June 2024 alone.

$4 billion

Finally, we’ve reached the biggest number of all. Based on the data, we predict that the pre-roll segment will continue to grow, establishing a market share of between 17% and 18% by the end of 2025. That means by the end of next year, pre-rolls alone will top $4 billion in annual sales, a staggering number even by cannabis industry standards.

For a full look at all the numbers, predictions and insights please be sure to check out our full white paper, State of the Pre-Roll Industry 2024.

Harrison Bard is the co-founder and CEO of Custom Cones USA and DaySavers. From custom branded and wholesale pre-rolled cones to completely customized packaging projects and pre-roll machines, Custom Cones USA helps companies bring their pre-roll projects to life. Harrison is an expert in all things related to pre-rolls, from rolling paper science to pre-roll manufacturing best practices to pre-roll packaging laws and trends. Harrison has spoken at Benzinga, CannaCon, CWCB and on multiple cannabis industry podcasts.