– Ben Burstein , an analyst and corporate development manager for LeafLink

Brown . “ They ’ re a little less invasive than smoking and consuming through inhalation , but every so often we do have some newer consumers that like to gravitate towards prerolls as their first introduction into cannabis .”

Planet 13 ’ s Las Vegas location features a Dazed consumption lounge where guests can consume products on site . Brown notes that pre-rolls are the number one seller in the lounge .

“ Pre-rolls are great for tourists coming in and also for connoisseurs that want to try some of our new flavors . Adults are able to go into the consumption lounge and experience them in a pre-roll format ,” he says .

Pre-rolls are also a top-selling category across medical and recreational cannabis company MWG ’ s Northern California portfolio , including their Perfect Union and Wild Seed Wellness stores within the area .

“ Year over year , our revenue from the pre-roll category continues to grow , and we see this as a lasting trend ,” says Heather Copeland , Buyer , Perfect Union and Wild Seed Wellness .

Among MWG ’ s top-selling pre-roll brands is Jeeter , which “ consistently stands out as the top revenue generator in all of our stores ,” Copeland notes . “ Other top-performing brands include Lime , Stiiizy , Blazy and Gelato , all of which are consumer favorites .”

Ben Burstein , an analyst and corporate development manager for LeafLink , a wholesale cannabis marketplace for

Left : Pre-rolls are also a top-selling category across medical and recreational cannabis company MWG ’ s Northern California portfolio , including their Perfect Union and Wild Seed Wellness stores within the area . Right : Stiiizy pre-rolls are one of the more popular brands among cannabis consumers . retailers , notes that the most popular brands on the site in 2024 by total sales included Jeeter , Stiiizy , Cali-Blaze , Glorious Cannabis , Presidential and Good Day Farm .

“ Margins on pre-rolls are higher than most other products at retail , largely due to manufacturers using lower grade buds , a longer shelf life than packaged flower and higher prices on a per-gram basis than packaged flower ,” he says . “ On LeafLink , the retailers that sell an outsized portion of pre-rolls have higher retail basket sizes and margin velocity on units sold , which indicates that pre-rolls are strongly margin additive for stores .”

THE FUTURE OF PRE-ROLLS

Given the convenience and innovation of pre-rolls , many experts believe this category will continue to grow .

“ Infused pre-rolls have grown at the highest rate of any product in U . S . cannabis , driven by consumer interest in live resin / resin product formats and new infusion technologies improving the consumer experience ,” Burstein says . “ We expect infused pre-roll sales to continue growing at a much faster rate relative to the rest of U . S . cannabis .”

As the category maintains an upward trend , Lawrence Perrigo , founder of Saints Joints , predicts the U . S . pre-roll market will resemble that of California ' s . “ Big brands will dominate , smaller artisanal ones will exist , and most customers will focus on variety and effects instead of growers ,” he says .

Echoing this sentiment is Brandon Dorsky , California cannabis attorney and CEO of edibles brand Fruit Slabs , predicting that the pre-roll market will see further differentiation and segmentation .

“ We ’ ll also continue seeing a lot of evolution in the infused pre-roll space ,” he says . More specifically , brands will create more high-end pre-rolls , as well as affordable products for every type of consumer .

To create high quality pre-rolls that can be either affordable or high end for certain users , automation is key . Machines are rolling out , such as the Blackbird from RollPros , that are creating pre-rolls more efficiently than humans .

“ At Planet 13 , we have a new machine called the Pre- Roller , which has dramatically increased our output of prerolls . It can do anywhere between 800 to 1,000 pre-rolls per hour ,” Brown notes . “ But even with all this new technology , it really comes back to the people that are operating the machines . You need that human element to do that final quality control and make sure the product is right .” •

26 Beverage Wholesaler • Spring 2025 www . bevwholesaler . com