Once harvested and processed, your CBD hemp crop—and what you make with it—is often shipped to a distributor. Distribution channel data shows how consumers are accessing it from there.

This proliferation of CBD consumers, and of increasing CBD use among existing consumers, is in part driven by the growing availability of CBD products. Most consumers have encountered hemp and CBD products at pharmacies, grocery stores, specialty stores and even gas stations. But which channels are consumers turning to most often?

Knowing where consumers purchase CBD products can inform hemp growers on which distribution partner to work with to maximize the odds of selling through their year’s supply. For example, if you mainly manufacture CBD for vape cartridges, it would not be ideal to partner with an online-only distribution business.

Let’s dive into Brightfield Group’s U.S. CBD distribution channel data to learn about the American CBD consumer.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic saw us hermit ourselves away from one another, the ease of online delivery was already overtaking our lives. The same holds true for CBD products, with online channels such as CBD marketplaces and brand websites making up the plurality of total projected CBD sales for 2022. Brightfield Group anticipates consumers will purchase nearly $2.24 billion of CBD products through online channels this calendar year. That is expected to more than double by 2026 to $4.8 billion.

But not all product types are bringing in the most revenue from online sales. While Americans are fine with consuming CBD purchased through e-commerce channels, they prefer to obtain pet CBD products from pet stores—$261.6 million of pet CBD products are projected to be sold through pet stores in 2022, compared to $95.6 million purchased online. This trend is expected to maintain through Brightfield’s forecast period, with pet stores accounting for $394 million of pet CBD sales in 2026, compared to $166 million through online sellers.

Of note, CBD consumers spent the second-most on CBD drinks at natural food stores like Whole Foods ($95 million in 2022), making 24% of the drinks market. This indicates consumers are making drink purchases at stores where they pick up other health and wellness positioned drinks like Kombucha (which CBD consumers are twice as likely to consume compared to the general population, per Evergi data).

The top brick-and-mortar channels by revenue indicate that most consumers purchase their CBD at trusted locations. These include independent and retail pharmacies ($1.08 billion in 2022), where other health and wellness products often are purchased; specialty CBD retailers ($566.4 million in 2022), where consumers can receive information from clerks who can assist them navigating their options; and natural food stores ($461.7 million in 2022), again another channel where many health and wellness products are purchased.

Despite how much is written about the dangers of “gas station CBD,” that channel only accounts for $221.3 million of the CBD market, less than 4% of the total U.S. CBD market size. While the channel will continue to grow in size, it will keep in pace with the average industry growth and remain at less than 4% of the total CBD market by 2026 ($448.9 million).

Knowing where consumers are finding and purchasing CBD products can not only help you find the right distribution partners; It can also help you position your brand to appeal to occasions of use and need states. Thinking critically about consumer behavior will allow you to find budding market opportunities.

Brian MacIver is Senior Cannabis Insights Manager with Brightfield Group, where he oversees syndicated market and consumer research in the cannabis and CBD industries. A storyteller by trade and at heart, he was managing editor with Cannabis Business Times prior to his role with Brightfield Group.

The accreditation was validated by Perry Johnson Laboratory Accreditation (PJLA), a Michigan-based ISO assessment and validation.

BERKELEY, Calif., May 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- PRESS RELEASE -- Steep Hill has announced that the company's licensee partner, Steep Hill Michigan, a Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) licensed medical and adult-use/recreational cannabis safety compliance testing facility, has earned ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accreditation, an International Standard recognized by governments and industry participants as the standard of excellence for the technical requirements and operational competence of a quality laboratory management system. The accreditation was validated by Perry Johnson Laboratory Accreditation (PJLA), a Michigan-based ISO assessment and validation.

Steep Hill Michigan CEO, Dr. Jeffrey Kittendorf, said in making the announcement, "Achieving ISO 17025 accreditation is a critical milestone for our operation in Michigan. This accreditation underscores our team's commitment to quality management and continual improvement. It assures our customers that testing performed by Steep Hill Michigan is rigorous and accurate, thereby instilling consumer confidence that products tested by Steep Hill Michigan fully meet all safety requirements."

Testing cannabis is a state requirement and verifies that medicinal and adult-use products are safe for consumption and free from harmful levels of contaminants. Steep Hill Michigan, located on the west side of Ann Arbor provides full-service compliance and research and development testing for Michigan caregivers, cultivators and processors. Its team is committed to providing excellent customer service, quick turnaround times and reliable results. First-time customers can receive up to $100 discount on their first full compliance test until Dec. 31, 2022.

The license allows the company to develop a medical dispensary in Tiffin, Ohio, located south of Toledo and home to the University of Bucharest and Tiffin University.

NORWOOD, Mass., May 18, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE -- MariMed Inc., a multi-state cannabis operator focused on improving lives every day, announced today it had been awarded a provisional dispensary license (PDL) by the Ohio Board of Pharmacy.

MariMed won this license in the Ohio lottery process. The license allows the company to develop a medical dispensary in Tiffin, Ohio, located south of Toledo and home to the University of Bucharest and Tiffin University.  Under the Ohio regulations, MariMed must complete the buildout and pass final inspection by February of 2023.

“We are delighted to enter the medical cannabis program in Ohio,” said Bob Fireman, Chief Executive Officer of MariMed. “We intend to seek additional opportunities to expand our cannabis operations in Ohio including the distribution of our award-winning branded products.”

Ohio cannabis regulations allow for a single company to own cultivation, production and up to five retail dispensaries. In keeping with its strategic growth plan, MariMed will over time pursue other cannabis licenses to increase its operational footprint to the maximum allowable by Ohio regulations.

According to the Ohio Department of Commerce, 2021 medical cannabis sales were just over $350 million with 58 dispensaries in a state with a population of nearly 12 million. Ohio’s legal medical cannabis program currently has more than 260,000 registered patients. With robust adult use cannabis programs in neighboring Midwest states of Michigan and Illinois, discussions for an adult use program continue in the Ohio legislature.

The customer-first experience opens in Wareham, minutes from Cape Cod.

WAREHAM, Mass., May 17, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE -- Nature's Medicines announces the opening of a new dispensary in Wareham, Mass., just outside of Cape Cod. The new dispensary, located at 3119 Cranberry Hwy, East Wareham, MA, officially opened to the public on Wednesday, April 6.

The approximately 4,326-square-foot Wareham dispensary offers a large floor plan with open conference spaces to promote an educational experience for new patients to explore all of the options available to them. Also new to the Wareham location is a curated and customer-first shopping experience that eliminates the need to wait in line. Customers can walk the store and examine all of the products displayed in the dispensary. Store leaders will be available to them at any time as well for a one-on-one product explanation before the customer meets with their budtender.

Nature's Medicines is pleased to extend their welcoming hospitality, educational experiences and low prices to the Wareham and Cape Cod area. Of the opening of the Wareham location, Dispensary Manager Jacqueline Robillard said, "We try to create a mature shopping experience where customers can talk with employees at our education hub about different products and their effects. Our menu is quite extensive. We're really happy to be here and we're here to help."

The Wareham location is Nature's Medicines' third recreational dispensary to open in Massachusetts, with two already in business in Uxbridge and Fall River.

The Cannabis Control Board awarded the license May 16 to an indoor grower in Rutland County.

After missing a May 1 deadline to begin issuing licenses to entrepreneurs hoping to participate in Vermont’s forthcoming adult-use cannabis market, the state’s Cannabis Control Board awarded its first cultivation license May 16.

Regulators issued the license to an indoor grower in Rutland County, according to a local WCAX report, and Cannabis Control Board Chair James Pepper told the news outlet that dozens more applications are nearing approval.

“We expect to license another handful of people next week,” he said. “You know we can’t issue licenses until we have the staff in place to ensure that we are giving licenses to the right people and have the team in place that can ensure compliance with our regulations.”

Adult-use sales in Vermont are expected to launch Oct. 1.

Cannabis Business Times’ interactive legislative map is another tool to help cultivators quickly navigate state cannabis laws and find news relevant to their markets. View More