Vape sales have shown strong revenue and unit sales increases in all Canadian markets. Price, quality, and specialty extracts seem to be the main drivers of purchase at retail across all markets tracked by Headset.
Ontario
With $297.8 million (m) in total sales and 8.0 m units sold (the highest in the Canadian region), Ontario was able to see a 27% increase in total revenue from 2021 along with a 36.7% increase in total units sold. We saw a similar 1g cartridge trend here as we did with both Alberta and British Columbia; with a 90.2% spike in units sold, we don’t see this segment slowing down anytime soon.
Live resin also saw an almost 70% bump in sales from 2021, making up about 4.1% of the market. Slowly but surely, it’s creeping in there!
Greentank’s Ontario Trend Prediction: This is the year we see quality prevail over quantity. High quality specialty extracts will see a double digit sales increase as prices become more competitive.
Stats at a Glance
Sales of $297.8 million up 26.8% from 2021
5.8 million units sold up 36.7% from 2021
Average unit price of $37.31 down $2.92 from 2021
12.6% increase in disposable sales
Alberta
Alberta came in with our second highest numbers across the board in the Canadian market, just behind Ontario. With $150m in total sales, an 18.9% jump from 2021, and 4.5m total units sold, which is a 33.5% jump YoY.
Greentank’s Alberta Trend Prediction: Despite a slow down in specialty extract sales in 2022, we think we’ll see double digit sales increases this year in products that contain Live Resin and Rosin extracts.
Stats at a Glance
Sales of $150 million up 18.9% from 2021
4.5 million units sold up 33.5% from 2021
Average unit price of $33.21 down $4.11 from 2021
88.16% increase in disposable sales
British Columbia
British Columbia was close to hitting $100m in total revenue, at 98.9m, which is a 29.4% increase from 2021. Interestingly, this region saw one of the highest bumps in live resin sales, increasing 40.6% from 2021 and 270.7% from 2020. Specialty extracts are coming in hot and heavy.
Greentank’s British Columbia Prediction: We see the power of more malleable concentrates with more complex flavour profiles. BC values quality and that won’t change in 2023.
Stats at a Glance
Sales of $98.9 million up 29.5% from 2021
2.6 million units sold up 44.4% from 2021
Average unit price of $37.47 down $4.78 from 2021
155% increase in disposable sales
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan saw a 59.3% rise in total units sold YoY and a 35.9% increase in total revenue from 2021. Interestingly enough, this region was the only region to see a decrease in disposables sold, coming in at 13.2% below what it was in 2021. This is on trend, however, seeing as 1g unit sales increased 117.7%, which is similar to what we’ve been seeing in our other Canadian markets. Live resin also saw an almost 10% increase in the region from 2021, and a 987.2% bump from 2020.
Greentank’s Saskatchewan Trend Prediction: We foresee continued growth within the specialty extracts market. Along with it will be smaller, more controlled hardware options to match.
Stats at a Glance
Sales of $43.8 million up 36.02% from 2021
1.3 million units sold up 59.5% from 2021
Average unit price of $33.72 down $5.80 from 2021
13.2% decrease in disposable sales
2023 Predictions
2023 Prediction #1: The continued popularity of specialty extracts
Distillate extracts are certainly still king. However, we’ve seen over the last three years that consumers are beginning to demand more flavour and elevated experiences. Special formulations like Sauce, Diamonds, and solventless extracts like Rosin will continue to take more shelf space because of their ability to not only elicit more true terpene profiles, but also create a more full-spectrum effect compared to Distillate. Greentank is predicting a double digit increase in sales from these specialty extracts in 2023 which will require higher quality and more reliable vape hardware to fully power these extract types.
2023 Prediction #2: New vape technology will elevate the entire segment
For the last 5+ years, the cannabis vape category has soldiered on mainly with distillate extracts which have been paired with ceramic-based heating technology. Ceramic vapes have been sufficient up until now, but the category has caught on with a more mainstream consumer. A new vape technology that’s focused on safety as well as maximizing the efficiency of extracts and increasing the end-user experience will win in this market. With specialty extract sales soaring, and customers now demanding something new, it’s only a matter of time until a brand new revolutionary technology disrupts the vape space.
2023 Prediction #3: Finally, a cannabis pod-based vape system will emerge and make waves in 2023
Lastly, the industry has been dominated by 510-cartridges, and for good reason, as they are universal despite what brand you might be loyal to. This is the exact opposite of what happened in the nicotine vape market, where closed-loop pod-based systems dominate the landscape. The main benefit of pod vape devices is that they fully control the entire experience. From power output to flow rate into the heating core, the experience is dialed in from start to finish. This is the year that a prominent pod-based vape starts making in-roads and slicing a piece of the pie.
Data courtesy of Headset.