With more and more states legalizing the use of both recreational and medicinal cannabis, the industry is buzzing with high hopes for 2022. While some small cannabis outlets and stores are said to have largely suffered during the peak of the pandemic in 2021, new cannabis startups and offshoot companies, like cannabis bookkeeping businesses for instance, plan on thriving as the world tries its hardest to return to normal.
According to a new report, the cannabis industry continued to bud in 2021 despite the pandemic. In 2020, $22 billion were spend on legal pot sales. It continued its growth throughout 2021. Legislation efforts to legalize cannabis products all across the U.S. saw many wins including New Mexico and New York.
However, the legal marijuana industry has been being mainstreamed for a quite a while now, and most believe that the industry will only continue to expand. After all, almost 70 percent of U.S. adults openly support legalized cannabis.
2022 Cannabis Industry Outlook
So then, what’s next for marijuana? With its continued growth and expansion, the overall cannabis market is expected to do $40 billion in sales by the end of 2022. This will amount to a 208 percent increase over 2020.
Says Arcview Market Research, the U.S., Mexico, and Canada are slated to do around $17 billion in sales in 2022. This translates into a compound annual growth rate of somewhere around 25 percent. Canada is said to be poised to overtake the U.S. as the largest cannabis market on the North American continent, with overall sales projected at $6 billion compared to $1 billion in Mexico, and $4.8 billion in the U.S.
3 Expert Cannabis Predictions for 2022
Says, Jake Kuczeruk, Strategic Advisor for Arcview Consulting, a cannabis research company, 2022 will more than likely produce lots of activity along with more mixed messages from the federal government regarding cannabis expansion and the regulations that go with it. Kuczeruk remains optimistic however, that there will be renewed effort to take on “flawed policies and tax schemes” that have been stunting pot growth.
Despite the high times ahead, 2022 will see about a third of existing cannabis operators going out of business. That’s because the ever-declining price per pound of weed is causing what’s called a “cultivation pullback.” Also, the money that’s surrounded CBD products is said to be drying up, which means brands will need to find ways to adapt and innovate or die out.
Forget the middleman in 2022, Kuczeruk stresses. This will be the year of DTC (direct to customer) sales, much in the same way as authors are choosing to skip traditional publishing houses altogether, vying instead for an independent publishing model where writers sell directly to readers.
Marketing and advertising expert and co-founder and CEO of OASIS, Laura Albers specializes in both the cannabis and hemp industries. Her brainchild, Oasis Intelligence is said to specialize in consumer insights and data analytics which in the end, represents the voice of cannabis consumers.
Albers points out that cannabis brands can take advantage of creative marketing opportunities, e-com initiatives, local events, and partnerships that will drives sales in the short and long run. Paying attention to the needs and wants of shoppers is of paramount importance for brands and retail outlets so that they can give the people precisely what they want.
The cannabis beverage business is also expected to expand, Albers goes on. Cannabis laced drinks are said to be perfect for social gatherings or for unwinding at home after a long day at work. Cannabis drinks include wines, beer, and other flavored liquors that are said to offer consumers a “mild buzz.”
CEO and founder of Latina-led and women-owned NYC lifestyle business, House of Puff, Kristina Lopez Adduci, predicts a normalization of cannabis use in 2022. She and others like her are pushing for art and fashion-inspired consumption devices via their multi-channel digital content network.
Says Adduci, New York will serve as the epicenter for Northeast legislation. Because it’s the fashion, media, and nightlife capital of the region, it is expected to become the “cannabis industry H.Q.” New York and New Jersey will also be stressing the importance of diversity in the cannabis industry while at the same time, focusing more on legalization efforts and investment, especially from women entrepreneurs.
In the end, Adduci predicts that many investors who were once hesitant about investing in cannabis and hemp products will now “come out of the woodwork” and see the financial opportunity in legalized marijuana.
Disclaimer: This content does not necessarily represent the views of IWB.