Cannabis Consumers: The Dream Demographic?

More and more companies are realizing that cannabis consumers may just be their dream demographic. Bloomberg explains that the cannabis demographic is becoming so attractive to companies that “some consumer-goods and technology companies are actively courting them as customers.” But what exactly makes cannabis consumers the dream demographic for companies across a variety of industries? Let’s find out. 

Uber Actively Seeks Cannabis Demographic

Uber is an example of one of the many companies seeking to attract the dream demographic, particularly through its food-delivery division known as Uber Eats. According to Bloomberg, Uber hired the cannabis advertiser Fyllo in order to make its food advertisements more appealing to cannabis consumers. Travis Freeman, Uber’s global head of media, explains that gearing Uber Eats’ advertisements toward cannabis consumers is not simply about serving people who have the munchies. 

Freeman told Bloomberg in an interview that this approach is being taken since “a cannabis consumer is younger than the normal consumer, has more disposable income; they are busier than most, they are working all the time, exercising all the time, going on adventures all the time.” The results of the advertisement efforts have been nothing but positive as Uber finds that “cannabis users are more likely to watch and complete video ads than the average consumer.” 

According to Fyllo, companies unrelated to the cannabis industry are also making efforts to attract the cannabis consumer demographic. In fact, cannabis consumers are so sought after that Fyllo was able to “close a $30 million funding round last week,” stated Bloomberg. Fyllo CEO Katie Ford explains that “we are seeing a lot more mainstream brands” trying to target the cannabis consumer demographic, which includes “some of the biggest alcohol companies” and that the Fyllo platform “allows them to do that.” 

Fyllo commissioned a survey from Forrester Consulting that found that 82% of American companies are interested or very interested in having more insight into medical cannabis consumption, 77% are interested in insights behind recreational cannabis use, and 76% would be interested in insights for CBD product consumption. Fyllo explains that these statistics demonstrate how important the cannabis consumer demographic has become across the industries. 

Why Are Cannabis Consumers the Dream Demographic?

An MRI-Simmons survey released in 2020 revealed that compared to other kinds of consumers, cannabis consumers are:

• 22% more likely to seek out variety in their everyday lives
• 32% more likely to want to try new products and services
• 25% more like to make impulsive purchases
• 27% more likely to keep social media feeds up-to-date
• 25% more likely to rate, review, and share opinions on products and services

Cannabis consumers of the modern era are no longer defined by the “stoner” stigma unfairly attached to previous generations of consumers due to lack of education. The canna-consumer demographic now consists of everyday people, regardless of the status quo. Dave Kustin, cofounder/CMO at Ice Butcher, explains in his paper, “All cannabis product consumers are not created equal. The more you know about demographics and buyer intent, the better you can market to them.” 

Additionally, the cannabis technology company known as Dutchie conducted a survey of around 5,000 adult cannabis consumers from America and Canada. The study revealed that today’s cannabis consumer demographic has sought to end the “dazed and confused” depiction of the demographic and are actually more “successful, motivated and health-conscious people.” 

Casa Verde Capital cofounder, Dutchie investor, and cannabis icon Snoop Dogg weighed in on the matter and stated, “I smoke cannabis, advocate for it on a personal level, but I’m also an investor and entrepreneur. The opportunity in cannabis is clear, and this data highlights that consumers are highly educated, with more buying power than these stereotypes would have you believe.” The stereotypes he’s referring to revolve around outdated claims that cannabis users are lazy and simple-minded.

The study conducted by Dutchie revealed that cannabis consumers are actually highly educated with 54% of them having a college degree or higher. Consumers are also more likely to join the workforce than average Americans. Ross Lipson, a cofounder/CEO at Dutchie, explains that cannabis consumers are high-achievers and include the likes of doctors, lawyers, mothers, creatives, Olympic-grade athletes, among many others. He states:

“It’s time to set the record straight once and for all. Negative stigmas around cannabis—not to mention overcriminalization—must be a thing of the past…People use cannabis to relax and as a crucial element of a health and wellness routine, and we should encourage people to share the benefits cannabis brings for them.” 

Dutchie’s study also revealed that 58% of the respondents enjoy active lifestyles filled with activities such as hiking and sports, and 57% identified as health-conscious—especially in terms of believing that cannabis is far better for their health than other substances like alcohol or tobacco. Lastly, the results showed that 55% of the respondents actively look for safe, transparent, and convenient shopping experiences—an important insight for companies. 

Fyllo CEO Chad Bronstein points out that some of the companies seeking to attract this dream demographic may be doing so out of fear of losing “their slice of the pie.” For example, “A beverage or liquor brand would want to target them because they’re losing market share” as growing cannabis popularity threatens the alcohol industry.

Whatever the reasons, the cannabis-consumer demographic’s attention and buying power are becoming increasingly desired for the first time in history. Cannabis consumers are the dream demographic because they are more likely to try new things, make impulsive purchases, watch video ads to the end, be highly educated, come from all walks of life, be health-conscientious, be motivated workers, enjoy more physical activity, and be more chill in the face of adversity. Would you agree? Let us know in the comments.