This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
This Website Uses Cookies
By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Learn More
This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
Prepared Foods logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Prepared Foods logo
  • Home
  • Trends
    • 2020 Trends
    • 2019 Trends
    • 2018 Trends
  • Products
    • Bakery
    • Beverages
    • Breakfast, Cereals & Bars
    • Cannabis
    • Dairy
    • Meals & Sides
    • Meat, Poultry & Seafood
    • Sauces & Marinades
    • Snacks & Appetizers
    • Soups
    • Food & Beverage Product Videos
  • Ingredients
    • Phosphates & Acidulants
    • Antioxidants & Nutritionals
    • Batters, Breading & Coatings
    • Cheese, Sauces & Bases
    • Colorings
    • Dietary Fiber
    • Emulsifiers, Fat & Oils
    • Flavors, Seasonings, Spices
    • Flours, Grains, & Pasta
    • Fruits, Vegetables and Nuts
    • Gums & Starches
    • Proteins & Enzymes
    • Sweeteners
  • Formulation
    • Allergens & Intolerance
    • Gluten Free
    • Authentic & Ethnic
    • Calorie Reduction
    • Cost Reduction
    • Fat Reduction
    • Organic & Natural
    • Shelf Stability
    • Sugar & Sodium Reduction
    • Weight Management
    • Vegetarian
    • R&D Lab Tech / QA-QC / Food Safety
  • Better for You
    • Functional New Products
    • Functional Ingredients
    • Functional Benefits
  • Food Master
  • Multimedia
    • Favorite Products Poll
    • Videos
    • Image Galleries
    • Interactive Spotlight
    • Polls
  • More
    • eNewsletter Archives
    • Events
      • New Product Conference
      • Spirit of Innovation Awards
      • Industry Events
      • Webinars
    • Prepared Foods Store
    • White Papers
    • First Person Q&A
    • 19 Product Development Resources
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Editions
  • Contact
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
Home » Blogs » Our Viewpoints » Will Legal Marijuana Create New Food Opportunities?

Darren Seifer is the Food & Beverage Industry Analyst at The NPD Group, a leading market research firm. Darren provides insights based on NPD’s food-related research to organizations and companies across the country. Visit www.npd.com for more information.

Will Legal Marijuana Create New Food Opportunities?

Cannabinoids are touted as having natural remedies for stress relief, skin issues, and other maladies

Seifer_NPD
March 28, 2019
Darren Seifer
No Comments
KEYWORDS cannabidiol (CBD) / edibles / food innovations / marijuana
Reprints

If you’ve been to a food conference lately you’ll notice there’s at least one session talking about cannabis, CBD, cannabinoids, or whatever term we’re using now. I’ve been to two conferences in recent weeks that addressed the topic and I’m writing this post while in California, where voters legalized recreational use of marijuana via referendum in 2016. Therefore, I have pot on the brain – so to speak.

At NPD we’re always analyzing how trends affect the food and beverage industry and if you talk to a - what shall we call them, “pot enthusiasts” — you’ll know food plays a major role when they use marijuana. This can be from how they ingest the marijuana to the munchies leading them to eat a variety of indulgent foods.

We took a look in our SnackTrack® information, which monitors the consumption of ready-to-eat convenience-oriented snack foods in the US, to see if there are changes since legalization occurred. In those states that legalized recreational marijuana, brownie consumption has increased a whopping 107% compared to pre-legalization times. Chewy candies, which had a stable consumption level for years, grew by 17% after legalization, and fruit snacks also increased after legalization.

I’m not sure yet if this is a result of the munchies, pot brownies, or gummies, and all I can fully say with confidence is these changes are correlations. However, these correlations are in line with what we’ve known anecdotally for some time about recreational pot usage and can point to growth opportunities should more states allow it.

There’s also the question about the cannabinoids or the elements of the plant that lack THC, which is the element that makes people feel “high.” Getting back to the conferences where this is a major topic, they tout cannabinoids as natural remedies for stress relief, skin issues, and other maladies, with great tolerance and little to no addiction. Can this be another way to innovate in the food industry with natural relaxing elements? Oftentimes we have indulgent snacks at the end of a long day to try to counter the stress. Will we one day see cannabinoid-infused foods to help us further manage stress? I think it’s more than possible since these foods already exist with long lines waiting to try them at trade shows.

It will be an interesting future for cannabis since there are recreational and functional sides for its use. I’m going to keep a close eye on this and let you know what I find. It wasn’t too long ago when this was totally illegal across the US and anyone who thought it can change was told they were smoking something. Times have certainly changed – to be blunt!

Blog Topics

David Feder

Bob Garrison

Nick Roskelly

Recent Comments

eat healthy food

Darren Seifer is the Food & Beverage Industry Analyst at The NPD Group, a leading market research firm. Darren provides insights based on NPD’s food-related research to organizations and companies across the country. Visit www.npd.com for more information.

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Subscribe For Free!
  • Print & Digital Edition Subscriptions
  • Prepared Foods eNewsletter
  • Online Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service

More Videos

Popular Stories

Innova_StreetCouple_900

Innova Market Insights Top Trends for 2020

SFA_900

2020 Food Trend Predictions

SteepFuze Coffee Flavors

A look at cannabis-infused coffee and tea products

Cannabinoids Molecules Graphic

Beyond CBD and THC: Other cannabinoids offer possibilities for cannabis edibles

BlueDiamond_Pickle_900

Blue Diamond Spicy Dill Pickle Almonds

Prepared Foods Favorite Products Poll

Events

January 1, 2030

Webinar Sponsorship Information

For webinar sponsorship information, visit www.bnpevents.com/webinars or email webinars@bnpmedia.com.

View All Submit An Event

Poll

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

How many conferences do you or your team travel to each year?
View Results Poll Archive

Products

Accelerating New Food Product Design and Development, 2nd Edition

Accelerating New Food Product Design and Development, 2nd Edition

See More Products

Prepared Foods

Prepared Foods December 2019 Cover

2019 December

Check out the December 2019 issue of Prepared Foods, featuring food and beverage industry trend predictions for 2020!

View More Create Account
  • More
    • Want More
    • Connect
    • Editorial Guidelines
    • New Product Submission Form
    • Food & Beverage Brands
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey And Sample
    • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise With Us
    • Advertise
  • Subscribe

Copyright ©2019. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing