Every fall, coffee drinkers eagerly anticipate the pumpkin spice latte (PSL, IYKYK) drop at Starbucks. The limited-time-only flavor is such a huge hit that the company moved up the drop date this year to garner even more sales. It’s a decision that is being watched closely to see if customers jump right on a longer PSL season – or if the excitement wanes with the lengthened timeline.
That limited edition flavor trend isn’t just for coffee though. The cannabis industry is also jumping on the fall season flavor marketing campaign.
However, since the industry is so new, the question is whether cannabis fall flavors work and if there is any data to support the launch of such products.
Cannabis data firm Brightfield said that its data shows some fascinating trends.
“In our social listening analyses, we’ve observed a whopping 290% year-over-year growth in conversations around cannabis, CBD and cannabinoids that mention spiced flavors,” said Brightfield’s Head of Product and Operations Jennifer Kregor. “This indicates a robust consumer interest that peaks significantly during the fall each year.”
Chart provided by Brightfield
Kregor went on to say that its distribution data provides a clear view of how these seasonal trends are mirrored in the market.
“For instance, ginger-flavored products showed a shelf share peak of 0.54% in November 2023, then dipped slightly in the spring, and are now climbing back up as we head into the colder months,” she said. “It’s a clear indication of the seasonal appeal these flavors have, akin to the cyclical popularity seen in products like the infamous Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte.”
Limited-time offers
The MariMed team said it looked at the global “fall seasonal” trend, which focuses on products with pumpkin flavoring, including large brands such as Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks, and brought that into the cannabis space. They said that according to numbers sourced from Supply Side’s Food & Beverage Journal, sales of pumpkin-spice flavored products increased by 47% between 2017-2022.
In addition, MariMed’s senior vice president of marketing, Jay O’Malley, came from The Boston Beer Co. (NYSE: SAM), which is the producer of Samuel Adams Seasonals such as Summer Ale and Octoberfest. MariMed noted that those brands became approximately 60% of the Samuel Adams brand, driven by consumers seeking new flavors and craving the next season’s offerings.
Those two pieces of marketing data drove them to create the new Bubby’s Baked Pumpkin Bread Bites. It is also the company’s second year doing limited-time offerings for Betty’s Eddies after piloting the strategy in 2023 and seeing tremendous success in 2023 with Beachtime Betty’s, Sweater Weather Betty’s and Betty’s Bubbly.
Newer and smaller companies without the deep data bench, like Grön, are experimenting with limited-time offers to test market flavors. Grön will offer a specialty Halloween lineup of products, including Phantom Pearls and Mystery MEGAs, as part of the company’s recurring seasonal releases.
The limited-run Phantom Pearls are white lychee lemonade flavored and glow-in-the-dark from the inside and out. These products will be available at dispensaries in Arizona, Missouri, Oregon, New Jersey, New York and Ohio.
Insa Cannabis has been a leader in seasonal flavors – and this year the company raised its own bar. The company, which was founded in fall-crazy Massachusetts, is featuring a maple bacon-infused chocolate bar and a caramel apple gummy.
While most seasonal flavors for cannabis come in edibles, Insa also rolled out an Apples and Cinnamon vape with three versions, cartridge, vape pen and dart pod. The Cannabist Co.’s Columbia Care dispensaries in Pennsylvania also just launched three new fall-inspired flavors, including pumpkin spice, cinnamon roll and apple fritter for its Seed & Strain 1-gram vape cartridges.
“This pattern suggests that while the presence on shelves is more stable, the social buzz significantly outpaces it, pointing to a growing consumer enthusiasm that may not yet be fully exploited on the retail front,” Kregor said.
[[{“value”:”Marketing data demonstrates that consumers like the limited time seasonal flavors.
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