Recently, there has been some bad publicity for legal marijuana regarding children accidentally consuming edible weed products. Yet, it appears that legal marijuana has been great for the snack industry, even for the companies that aren’t producing edibles.
The Nielsen Holdings company recently released new data that showed an increase in confectionary spending of 2 percent in the parts of the U.S. where marijuana has been legalized for recreational use. Comparatively, parts of the country that have yet to legalize cannabis saw an increase of only 1.3 percent.
How did snacks do over all? Snack sales saw an increase of 7.2 percent in areas with recreational cannabis.
Since the snack industry is predicted to reach USD 32.88 billion by 2025, it makes sense that some would question if this rise in spending is truly caused by recreational pot.
According to this Nielsen article, “Marijuana consumption has been clinically and anecdotally shown to increase a consumers’ appetite and enjoyment of food. And sales data from within the U.S. Census divisions where cannabis has been legalized for recreational use supports the munchies’ effect. Nielsen data shows that growth rates for both candy and snacks are rising faster in these areas than in geographies where cannabis has yet to be legalized for recreational use.“
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