Every fall, coffee lovers look forward to the Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL, IYKYK) at Starbucks. This limited-time flavor was such a hit that the company moved up the release date this year to further boost sales. The decision is being closely watched to see whether customers jump on a longer PSL season or whether the extended schedule dampens their excitement.
However, that exclusive flavor trend isn't limited to coffee. The cannabis industry is also jumping in with fall flavor marketing campaigns.
But since this industry is so new, the question is whether cannabis fall flavors will work and whether there is data to support the launch of such products.
spice spice baby
Cannabis data firm Brightfield said its data shows some interesting trends.
“In our social listening analysis, we observed a staggering 290% year-over-year increase in conversations about cannabis, CBD, and cannabinoids mentioning spice flavors,” said Jennifer Kreger, head of product and operations at Brightfield. says Mr. “This shows strong consumer interest, which significantly peaks each fall.”
Chart provided by: Brightfield
Cregor went on to say that the company's distribution data clearly shows how these seasonal trends are reflected in the market.
“For example, ginger-flavored products hit a peak in-store share of 0.54% in November 2023, then fell slightly in the spring, but are now on the rise again heading into the cold season,” she said. said. “This clearly demonstrates the seasonal appeal of these flavors, similar to the cyclical popularity seen in products like Starbucks’ infamous Pumpkin Spice Latte.”
Limited time offer
The MariMed team said it took note of the global “fall season” trend focused on pumpkin-flavored products, including big brands like Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks, and brought it to the cannabis industry. They say sales of pumpkin spice-flavored products increased 47% between 2017 and 2022, according to numbers obtained from Supply Side's Food & Beverage Journal.
Additionally, Jay O'Malley, MariMed's senior vice president of marketing, comes from Boston Beer Co. (NYSE:SAM), the producer of Samuel Adams Seasonals such as Summer Ale and Oktoberfest. MariMed noted that these brands now account for about 60% of the Samuel Adams brand as consumers seek new flavors and crave next season's products.
These two marketing data led to the development of new Bubby's Baked Pumpkin Bread Bites. The company plans to pilot this strategy in 2023 with a limited-time offering of Betty's Eddy after seeing great success with Beach Time Betty's, Sweater Weather Betty's and Betty's Bubbly. This is also the second year.
Startups and small businesses without detailed data benches like Glenn are experimenting with limited-time offers to get a taste of the market. As part of the company's regular seasonal releases, Glen will be offering a special Halloween product lineup including Phantom Pearl and Mystery Mega.
The limited-edition Phantom Pearl is flavored with white lychee lemonade and glows in the dark inside and out. These products will be available at pharmacies in Arizona, Missouri, Oregon, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio.
Insa Cannabis is a leader in seasonal flavors, and this year the company has raised the bar for itself. Founded in fall-crazy Massachusetts, the company sells maple bacon chocolate bars and caramel apple gummies.
While most seasonal flavors of cannabis are available as edibles, Insa also rolled out apple and cinnamon vapes in three versions: cartridges, vape pens, and dart pods. Cannabist's Columbia Care dispensary in Pennsylvania also just launched three new fall-inspired flavors for its Seed & Strain 1-gram vape cartridges, including Pumpkin Spice, Cinnamon Roll, and Apple Fritter.
“This pattern suggests that while in-store presence is more stable, social buzz is significantly outweighing it, a potential that remains under-tapped in the retail scene. “It shows the growing enthusiasm of some consumers,” Cregor said.
