2023 Trends Forecast

Intro

More than four years after legalization, the cannabis industry is growing and evolving, and new dispensaries, products, and producers are regularly developing. In 2022, the top five Canadian product categories include tincture and sublingual categories, pre-rolls, topicals, concentrates, and dry flowers. Although mixed strain pre-Rolls and ground flowers' performance were very positive, tincture and sublingual categories dominated the Canadian market. Let’s look at our studies into what 2023 has in store for the Canadian Cannabis industry.

Product Innovation

On track with what we’ve seen up until now with consistent innovation in new products, we predict there will be a further influx of new Cannabis items and strains being bred all over the map.

We predict a rise in edibles this year [Which obviously we are rooting for!], and we’re looking forward to seeing and offering more selections of edible Cannabis options. CBD Edibles, especially, will become more widely available and may even be produced by companies not native to the Cannabis industry. 

Our most exciting prediction is the rising popularity of cannabis-infused beverages. New beverage options like concentrates, powders, tea bags [each meant to be added to water], carbonated drinks, warm drinks, and of course, shots! 

As consumers learn more about cannabis and more countries legalize it, it is a realistic forecast that the infused-beverage market will rise to rival the alcohol industry. In fact, companies like Molson-Coors and Coca-Cola are exploring the idea of producing their cannabis-infused beverages.

Customer Diversity

As the industry expands, so will the customer base. 

“There will likely be more older customers, and the number of female marijuana customers will likely increase over time. In addition, there is likely to become more of a mix of recreational and medicinal users of cannabis as the year goes on.

Furthermore, there’s likely to be a significant range in the amount people spend on cannabis during their visits to the dispensary. On average, most people are likely to spend between 25 and 50 dollars per visit, but only a tiny minority will spend much more. A significant number of people will make small purchases of 10 dollars or less on an average visit, and this portion of customers is a little over one-third.”

This means that the ever-growing array of products available will appeal to a wide range of customers with their unique budgets, needs, and preferences. This diversity in customers is important to fuel innovation and to keep the industry growing!

Cannabis Benefits and Research

Finally, we predict that an increasing number of Canadians, current Cannabis users or not, will become aware of the growing list of benefits Cannabis can offer, which we partially credit to a hypothetical increase in scientific research on Cannabis. 

We hope for an increase in studies and research will be conducted this year to expand our knowledge of Cannabis and its effects. Of these effects, even now scientists are discovering that cannabis and the compounds within it can have significant benefits for one’s general health, such as potentially lowering one’s cancer risk, and more studies are likely to be done on this. Not only are researchers finding that the plant itself has these properties, but scientists may be able to synthesize new compounds based on natural cannabinoids. These compounds may be capable of having a much stronger anti-cancer effect.

In addition, we predict that CBD specifically will be in the spotlight research-wise. CBD is thought to have antibiotic effects and may even be capable of treating antibiotic-resistant infections. This may lead to the development of topical CBD creams that have antibiotic properties since bacteria do not appear to become resistant to CBD over time. Just one way that the benefits of Cannabis extend far past its psychoactive effects. 

Conclusion

Conclusively, the Canadian Cannabis industry is sure to see profound growth and innovation, just as it has every year since legalization. As for us, we’re working hard to expand our innovation in edibles, beverages, and CB-dominant products, and we can’t wait to be a part of the ever-expanding future of Cannabis in Canada.