This article originally appeared in the April 2018 issue of Cannabis Dispensary. To subscribe, click here.
Cannabis marketing can feel a bit like shooting in the dark. However, as legalization rolls out across the country and more data becomes available, one thing is becoming crystal clear: Women are driving the consumer market, especially women over 40. This is a huge opportunity for cannabis because, despite the vast amounts of research supporting the fact that women are responsible for over 80 percent of household spending, most feel underserved and misunderstood by brands, especially when it comes to healthcare.
By choosing to focus on women as a target market, brands provide a conduit for bringing new people into cannabis. The more women feel that the industry is actually listening to them, and providing the products and experiences they want, the more money they will spend and the more products they will recommend to friends and family.
Aliza Sherman, CEO of Ellementa, a cannabis education company for women, says that women in their 40s, 50s
I’ve spoken with countless dispensary owners and product brands about their target audiences and found many to be hesitant about overtly focusing on women. Oftentimes I hear fearful pushbacks such as, “We’ll alienate men,” “Women are mainly in the medical market,” or “The ‘O.G.’ market won’t like it, and you’ll lose business.”
None of this is true.
Since women do most of the buying in households, it only makes sense that often men will be introduced by women in their lives to the products they use. When I was applying for a license for my female-centric dispensary, I heard over and over again from men I spoke with that it sounds like the kind of place they’d like to hang out. Where the women go, we find that men will follow.
To read the full article in Cannabis Dispensary's April 2018 issue, click here.
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