New Frontier Data reviewed Colorado sales data and found that among the wide variety of product available to consumers, flower still reigns supreme.
A new analysis of Colorado’s cannabis sales data was presented by New Frontier Data on November 2. Using data from the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division, the company found that between 2014 and 2020, cannabis flower sales have increased exponentially.
In terms of pounds of flower sold to consumers within that seven-year period, the state sold 148,000 pounds in 2014 and gradually increased to 584,000 pounds by 2020, with a compound annual growth rate of 26 percent.
New Frontier Data defines an average-sized joint as one-third of a gram of cannabis, and at that size, Colorado sold 201 million joints in 2014. By 2020, the state sold approximately 795 million joints. During the seven years since Colorado has had an established recreational cannabis law, the state has sold over 3.4 billion joints.
“That flower sales continue to increase at such a pace seven years since the market launched suggests that smoking flower will remain a durable preference for the foreseeable future,” New Frontier Data Chief Knowledge Officer and author John Kagia wrote in his analysis. “However, the dominance of flower belies the seismic changes happening to consumer behavior and highlights the imperative for producers and brands to understand the tides of evolving consumer preferences.”
Although Colorado shows strong growth in flower sales, the individual breakdown of consumer preference is in flux. New Frontier Data’s 2021 Cannabis Consumer Evolution report notes that 57 percent of consumers use both flower and non-flower products, with only 19 percent saying they don’t choose flower over other options.
Seventy percent of younger consumers (defined in