Kelly Nielsen
Vice President, Insights & Analytics
BDSA
Kelly Nielsen is the Vice President of Insights and Analytics with BDSA, the premiere market research firm serving the global cannabinoid industry. She leads the Insights and Analytics team and engages with clients to generate insights from a vast quantity of data to make informed business decisions and drive results.
Prior to joining BDSA, Kelly spent 13 years at The Nielsen Company within the BASES Innovation division. She brings with her experience partnering with alcohol beverage, consumer package goods, and cannabis manufacturers to improve innovation outcomes. At BASES, her most recent role was lead efforts to bring innovation insights specifically to the alcohol beverage and cannabis industries.
In her current role, Kelly prides herself in making data come to life with storytelling and actionable insights to help clients drive success in the cannabis market. Together with her team, she works with manufacturers, retailers, and investors to deliver unmatched insights and analytics to drive their businesses forward.
Cannabis Moves Toward the Mainstream
Legal US cannabis sales passed $17.5 billion in 2020, a 46% increase over 2019’s $12.1 billion. And market tracker BDSA forecasts U.S. sales will reach $41.3 billion in 2026, a CAGR of 15%. Looking at the market a little more closely, BDSA estimates that food and beverage edibles (including gummies) constitute 15% of total CBD dollar sales sold through retail dispensaries and food and beverage will generate nearly 30% of retail sales by 2025. There are even greater prospects for mainstream retail and foodservice sales as more consumers become familiar with cannabis edibles and market grows. This bodes well for traditional cannabis product food and beverage processors as well as those active CPG giants (including Molson Coors and Ocean Spray) already exploring the market. What do the experts predict when it comes to mainstream market opportunities, cannabis ingredients, product development, labeling, safety and more?