Our analysis identifies both positive trends and negative red flags that will help you make better decisions for your brand and business.
Executive Summary
While the pre-roll category shows steady growth in most markets, Oregon bucks the trend with a downward turn. Despite the Oregon market being down 5% overall, (based on revenue), the pre-roll category is down 10% ($26.5 million vs $29.2 million QoQ). Competition is increasing with new brands and products continuing to pop up in the already-crowded field.
But, there is still no single dominant player, with no brand holding more than 4% of the category revenue. Multipacks are powering the winners, with infused pre-rolls also selling amongst the top pre-roll products in the state. Brands that have invested in creating higher-quality products and focused on multi-packs will continue to thrive and grow, while brands that exclusively sell single, non-infused pre-rolls will likely continue to stagnate, decline, and ultimately fail.
Who’s Smoking
Rebel Spirit
Epic Flower
Killa Bees
7 of their 9 pre-roll products are multipacks.
Who’s Sloping
Fire Department Cannabis
photo credit: Leafly
Hush / Halo Collective
photo credit: Hush Instagram
SugarTop Buddery
photo credit: SugarTop Website
Meraki
Gardens
Unrivaled Brands
Rebel
Spirit
Portland
Heights
Benson
Arbor
Hybrid Strain Blends .5g
10 Pack
Hybrid Strain Blends 1g
10 Pack
Hybrid Strain Blends .5g
10 Pack
Hybrid Strain Blends Infused Pre-rolled 1.5 g Single
Hybrid Strain Blends .6g
12 Pack
Winning with Multipacks
The promise of pre-rolls is centered around convenience. You don’t need any special skills, compared to rolling your own joints, and they are easily concealable and portable. It’s no surprise to us, then, to see that 4 of the top 5 best selling products in the state are multipacks.
Buying pre-rolls as singles isn’t convenient, especially for a daily smoker. But, buying a multipack with as many as 12 joints is both more convenient and more affordable. If you are producing pre-rolls but are not currently selling a multi-pack, you should strongly consider adding one or several of these SKUs to your lineup. Pre-roll products in Oregon are currently dominated by multipacks, and we anticipate this will continue.
Infused Singles are Selling
The lone top-5 product that isn’t a multipack is a 1.5g infused pre-roll, (which based on the size almost puts it in its own class. That’s a beefy joint!) Not only that, but all of the singles in the top 20 products by revenue are infused joints. Every single one. And while a big selling point for multipacks is their convenience, the much pricier-per-gram infused joints are more often used by connoisseurs or for “special occasions.”
The price-per-gram difference for infused joints is significant. While most multipacks hover between $3-5 per gram, the 8 infused pre-rolls in the top 20 products average a whopping $9.16 per gram.
While not yet appearing on the board in Oregon, the infused multipack subcategory is starting to perform well in other markets like Colorado. They still offer the convenience of the multipack, but pack a bigger punch and tend to be higher quality than non-infused singles. This subcategory seems to attract both consumers of convenience AND connoisseurs. The markets are noticing too, with our partner The Clear recently winning top honors at the THC Cup in Denver with their Twax Infused .5 g Grapevine multipacks.
Interestingly, the infused pre-roll sub-category has grown slower in Oregon than in most other markets. Only 22% of pre-rolls sold in Oregon last quarter were infused. In most other mature markets, infused pre-rolls make up between 30-50% of overall pre-roll sales.
Competition going up
There are now 256 pre-roll brands in Oregon, with 18 new brands added QoQ. With pre-roll sales actually declining, it’s surprising that we see the number of total brands increasing instead of decreasing. This could be driven by existing businesses entering the category, or new brands building a business entirely around pre-rolls.
There were 4,226 pre-roll products in the Oregon market at the time of this writing, with a massive 312 new products added QoQ. That’s an average of 13.5 SKUs per brand. With most brands, each strain they use in their pre-rolls becomes a different SKU. But, by using that tactic, it makes it more difficult for users to find the exact same product consistently throughout the year, since many brands, particularly those that grow outdoors, don’t have a consistent year-round supply of the exact same strain.
While not yet appearing on the board in Oregon, the infused multipack subcategory is starting to perform well in other markets like Colorado. They still offer the convenience of the multipack, but pack a bigger punch and tend to be higher quality than non-infused singles. This subcategory seems to attract both consumers of convenience AND connoisseurs. The markets are noticing too, with our partner The Clear recently winning top honors at the THC Cup in Denver with their Twax Infused .5 g Grapevine multipacks.
Interestingly, the infused pre-roll sub-category has grown slower in Oregon than in most other markets. Only 22% of pre-rolls sold in Oregon last quarter were infused. In most other mature markets, infused pre-rolls make up between 30-50% of overall pre-roll sales.
Joints Consumers Rolled Themselves vs Pre-Rolls
Of all inhalable consumers, 35% smoked at least one pre-roll in the 3rd quarter of 2022. Interestingly, only 8% of inhalable consumers actually prefer pre-rolls to other inhalable methods such as pipes, joints they rolled themselves or vapes.
We interpret it to be an indication that while many smokers do occasionally purchase and consume pre-rolls, they do that somewhat reluctantly. This indicates two things: first, that convenience brings enormous value to a cannabis product, to such a degree that some consumers opt for convenience over quality. And second, that the quality of pre-rolls in Oregon, overall, is still perceived as poor in the eyes of the consumer. They smoke pre-rolls because it’s the convenient option, not because they are a high-quality product that provides a good experience.
Brands that can offer BOTH convenience AND a high-quality product with a high-quality smoking experience, are and will continue to be well-positioned for success in this market. Rebel Spirit and Benson Arbor are both excellent examples of this success, both using our Blackbird unit to produce exceptionally high-quality joints in a multipack format.
Summary
The pre-roll category is growing steadily in most markets, but Oregon is bucking the trend with a downward turn. Competition is increasing, and new brands and products continue to pop up in the already-crowded field. However, there is still no single dominant player, with no brand holding more than 4% of the category revenue. This over-saturation and fragmentation of the market is likely making it difficult for any one brand to gain a significant advantage, and could be contributing to the overall decline in the category.
The leading brands in the Oregon pre-roll market are those that have invested in creating higher-quality products and focused on multi-packs. These brands are able to charge a premium for their products, and the multi-packs offer a convenient and affordable way for consumers to purchase pre-rolls. The brands that exclusively sell single, non-infused pre-rolls are likely to continue to stagnate, decline, and ultimately fail in the face of increasing competition.
Overall, the Oregon pre-roll market is in a state of flux. But we believe that there are still opportunities for brands to win greater market share if they are willing to follow the consumer trends and invest in quality products.
RollPros is the manufacturer of the Blackbird, the only automated joint machine that makes joints the same way you do: rolled, not stuffed. Brands across the US and Canada use the Blackbird to create unique, value-added products that are preferred by 4/5 consumers over pre-rolls made with cones. RollPros is dedicated to helping our customers build successful, profitable brands through continuous innovation, exceptional customer support, and category expertise.
Want to learn more? Reach out to one of our Pros now.
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