Author：Date：2020-12-22
1) The Substitution Effect
Cannabis is a formidable competitor for packaged goods like alcohol, nicotine, and pain relievers. Nielsen reports that 41% of American adults trying to quit smoking would consider using cannabis for smoking cessation. And, one out of every five beer drinkers indicated they would spend less on beer due to cannabis consumption.
The pharmaceutical industry will also be heavily impacted, especially traditional OTC pain relief products. In fact, of those consumers who use OTC pain relief medication, 35% would consider using cannabis to treat their pain instead. There is a growing movement to help minimize the opioid crisis by replacing addictive drugs with medical cannabis products. In August 2019, Colorado became the third state allowing doctors to recommend medical marijuana for any condition for which they would prescribe an opioid.
If manufacturers of substitutable products are not prepared to diversify, they will be at risk for major losses. Forward-thinking companies already are seeing the opportunity to add to their revenue streams with cannabis-infused or cannabis-adjacent products.
2) The Race to Automate
When cannabis products were illegal, packaging was done in small quantities by hand. Early on, legalization created new supply chains and markets, but cannabis companies still largely packaged their products manually. Now, the legal cannabis industry is growing at a rapid pace and the only way to keep up is automation.
As legalization spreads, packaging regulations arrive with it — the main issues being proper labeling, child-resistant closures and tight weight tolerances. Packaging equipment can easily meet legal requirements with ease, speed, repeatability, and high accuracy, making it even more attractive to growing cannabis companies.
3) A Boon for Packaged Snacks
Additionally, demand for cannabis and CBD-infused edible snack products is increasing. “Eating your cannabis” is seen as safer and more discrete than smoking, and so appeals to parents, grandparents and young professionals who may be hesitant to use it otherwise.
Whether consumers snack on their cannabis or because of their cannabis, demand for packaged snack foods is expected to rise as legalization continues.
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