Pre-roll sales are on a roll, with sales in Ontario up by an astonishing 196.48 per cent compared to last year, according to Leafly — which is on trend with last year’s incredible performance in the US, where pre-roll sales increased by 59 per cent (from $704 million to $1.12 billion), according to Headset.
Convenience trumps connoisseurs
As Leafly points out, “weed snobs” have poo-pooed the humble pre-roll in the past, arguing that they contain flower of lesser quality. But the sheer convenience of not having to roll a joint — something plenty of people don’t know how to do — is clearly enough of a reason for many buyers to give it a pass.
Covid-fuelled craze
The pandemic’s impact on weed-smoking habits likely has played a role in boosting their popularity, too. Smaller sized 0.35-gram pre-rolls in multi-packs are particularly sought-after, which solve the problem of not being able to share larger joints with others in the pandemic and are suitable for solo sessions.
“People are excited to try different modes of consumption and packs of pre-rolls make it fun and easy to share without the ‘passing a joint’ we might have been used to pre-pandemic,” said Lauren Davie, VP of retail & sales at Superette.
Coming soon: Infused inventions and sampler packs
Leafly identifies two emerging trends in the pre-roll game. Sampler packs containing multiple strains will provide consumers with the opportunity to try a few different strains without investing too much.
And for those skeptical connoisseurs? They may be won over with infused premium pre-rolls, like Sundial’s new “Caviar Cones,” which is a combination of flower, hash and oil and clocks in at an ultra-high 30% THC.
