Survival of the Fittest in California’s Edible Market
Guest Post by the Brightfield Group
In 2016, California’s edible market broke the $300 million mark for the first time after closing the year with more than $319 million in edible sales. This represents a 28% increase from 2015, and Brightfield Group projects continued double-digital growth in 2017. But, are all edible brands taking advantage of this explosive growth, or are the market leaders entrenching their market shares at the expense of new arrivals?
Using its proprietary data, Brightfield Group tracked the evolution of the top ten edible brands in California from February 2016 to February 2017. Here are our three big takeaways:
- Over the last 12 months, California’s already fractured edible market has become even more fragmented.
The top ten edible brands made up 53% of the market in February 2017, down from 65% in February 2016. Of the top ten edible brands, only three gained market share year-over-year – Venice Cookie Company, Edipure, and Kushy Punch. Much of the lost market share came at the expense of the top edible brands, indicating that brands outside of the top ten are increasing their penetration of the market.
Top brands will increasingly find themselves competing with up and coming players that are rapidly growing their distribution networks and climbing in the shares at the subcategory level. Notable entrants & climbers include Whoopi & Maya chocolates and Yummi Karma snacks, both targeted at the underserved base of female cannabis consumers.
- Despite declining market share, the category leaders maintain their top ranks.
Cheeba Chews, Kiva, and Korova were the top three edible brands in February 2016 and continue to be the top three brands in February 2017. Cheeba Chews, which had the highest market share of any brand in February 2017 (14%), lost 6% share year-over-year and is now virtually neck-and-neck with Kiva and Korova.
- Kushy Punch exploited growth opportunities to become the fastest growing edible brand in the top ten.
While most other brands fought off rivals to hold on to their market share, Kushy Punch grew its year-over-year share by 65%. This growth was largely at the expense of its rival, Cheeba Chews, which saw its year-over-year share decrease by 42%.
Brightfield Group LLC is a strategic market research firm and consultancy specializing in building actionable data and analysis for organizations focused on the cannabis industry. It uses a multi-source methodology incorporating existing published sources, sophisticated statistical modeling and primary research (including interviews with industry experts and proprietary consumer surveys) into its analysis, allowing it to better triangulate the market. This primary research gives the company unique insights into not only what is happening in the cannabis market but why, both from the business side and from the consumer side.
