The Bengal Bite 🐯 | Cannabis Awareness | December 18, 2020
Cannabis is more accessible than ever with 1 in 3 Americans living in states where recreational adult-use is legal, and cannabis is popping up more often in everyday American life. Cannabis operators are rushing to capture the opportunity presented by this newly budding "cannabis awareness."
This week's Bite:
Higher consumption: 42% of adults who have consumed cannabis have either started or increased usage since the beginning of the pandemic. (Curaleaf & The Harris Poll)
Professionals pursue pot possibilities: Management executives are joining the cannabis industry at higher rates than before. (Bloomberg)
Eat, drink, (smoke), and be thankful: Cannabis sales on Green Wednesday blew past those on Black Friday giving a whole different meaning to the Thanksgiving post-Turkey stupor. (LA Weekly)
Monogram? More like $20/gram: Jay-Z and Caliva launched their latest cannabis line, Monogram, with pricing that places the brand at the top of the top shelf. (Forbes)
Please pass the Weetos: Curaleaf’s President Boris Jordan shares why his company is on track to become the ‘Frito-Lay’ of cannabis. (Forbes)
Read more below:
Survey finds changing cannabis consumer and consumption habits
A Harris Poll commissioned by MSO Curaleaf finds not only a general increase in cannabis consumption, but a marked increase in people replacing alcohol with cannabis. In particular, parents have been putting down alcohol and picking up cannabis. The survey found that more than half (57%) of parents with children under 18 who have ever consumed cannabis have reduced or replaced their alcohol consumption with cannabis since the start of the pandemic.
Executives no longer spooked by pot jobs
“Today, it’s become the sexy industry,” said Liesl Bernard, CEO of San Diego based staffing agency CannabizTeam. “After it was deemed essential in Covid, people are reaching out to us and saying: ‘How can we get into this industry?’” Executives from well-known brands are now popping up in the industry with greater frequency. This includes Hydrofarm Holdings Group Inc.’s CEO Bill Toler, who previously held the same role at Hostess Brands Inc. Toler said, “Over a 40-year career, I’ve seen very few sea changes in our culture that will parallel what will happen in cannabis.”
Green Wednesday cannabis sales blow away Black Friday
Data from both Akerna and Headset agree that this year’s cannabis sales on Green Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving) easily beat Black Friday sales for the first time. Cannabis consumers wanted to make their purchases in advance of Thanksgiving, making Green Wednesday the single biggest sales day of 2020. A total of $238 million of cannabis was sold over the four-day Thanksgiving weekend.
Jay-Z’s cannabis brand, Monogram, launches with $50 hand-rolled joints
Sean Carter (Jay-Z) has officially launched his own line of craft-cultivated cannabis, Monogram, through a partnership with Caliva and The Parent Company. In the past, Jay-Z has successfully used his cultural cache to grow iconic brands such as the Tidal streaming service and Armand de Brignac champagne. However, it remains to be seen whether Jay-Z’s star-power will translate to sales for a premium cannabis product (the Monogram product line includes $40 prerolls to "foster communal smoking" and a $50 cigar-like handroll) during a time when many hypothesize that consumers are gravitating towards value-priced products due to economic conditions.
Inside Curaleaf billionaire Boris Jordan’s hunger to become the ‘Frito-Lay’ of cannabis
Curaleaf CEO Boris Jordan is not hiding his cannabis ambitions, “I look at Curaleaf as a consumer-packaged goods company. We’re making the products much more mainstream for our customer base—we’ll be no different than Coca-Cola or Frito-Lay.”