Los Angeles, CA - October 9, 2017) – Now that 21 states have approved legalized medical marijuana, and eight plus D.C. allow legalized adult use, more than half the country has access to legal cannabis. By 2021, all 50 states and D.C. are projected to have legalized cannabis — creating a $30 billion market. While the numbers rise, the stigma falls away driving an explosion of new products, events, and lifestyle choices.
Jeanine Moss, trend watcher, new product development czar, and CEO of AnnaBis—the first lifestyle brand for sophisticated cannabis consumers—has identified five trends to watch, plus five that are fading fast.
Trend #1: The Visible Woman
While products and services for female cannabis consumers are sorely lacking, women hold 36% of executive positions in the cannabis industry as compared with 22% in other U.S. industries, according to the Pew Research Center. A 2016 study by the Public Health Institute indicates that women’s cannabis consumption has “almost doubled between 1984 and 2015, from 5.5% of adults to 10.6%.”
Explains Moss: “It’s not that we weren’t always there. Since women are severely punished for challenging the status quo, they didn’t check the ‘I use cannabis’ box on surveys. With a new legal age dawning in California on January 1, 2018 (the largest legal cannabis market in the world), you’ll see us out there in droves.”
Trend #2: Social Mobility
Gone are the days when cannabis consumers hid behind trees like Sean Spicer, or inhaled in the bathroom while blowing smoke out a window. Today, social acceptability (Pew says 57% of U.S. adults believe the use of marijuana should be made legal), and the explosion in the sale of vapes (sales soared 400% in California between 2015-2016), edibles (Californian’s enjoyed $180 million worth in 2016) and other discreet forms of consuming, people are taking cannabis on the road—to parties, sporting events, concerts, hiking and yoga.
Trend #3: Welcome, Cannabis Tourism
Statistics demonstrate a huge spike in searches for marijuana tourism in states with legalized programs, according to Kushtourism.com. Tourism searches relating to Massachusetts increased by 1006%, Maine 576% and Nevada 378%. California Cannabis Tourism Association helps visitors find cannabis-worthy sights and attractions and along with cannabis-friendly AirBnBs there are “Bud ‘n Breakfasts,” restaurants with CBD-infused drinks (and even ice cream stores!), plus bars with outdoor lounges and more. With that, newsletters, forums and websites are cropping up to share information among canna-enthusiasts. AnnaBis Green Guides report on U.S. cities with insights into regulations and places where one can consume. This is a free download (see button on right) via www.annabisstyle.com
Trend #4: CannaTech
As this nascent industry grows, technology is applied to improve products and services. From lab testing to online ordering to new forms of combustion and ways to block the tell-tale odor, tech (as always) solves the problems consumers encounter. New processing techniques have created new forms of cannabis from concentrated oils to resin (solid), shatter (like quickly cooled candy), crumble (think pastry topping), and wax! Laboratory testing of cannabis ensures cannabis concentrates are residue free, and in our case, AnnaBis’ Aroma-Bloc™ Technology is used in handbags and other accessories to contain odors.
Trend #5: Transportation and Storage
Along with a need for mobility comes new ways to safely, securely and discreetly carry and store cannabis. Today’s sophisticated consumers are throwing away those tea-tins, baggies and shoe boxes filled with green, and replacing them with well-designed top-quality accessories combining fashion, form and function. AnnaBis offers handbags and purse accessories with odor proof hidden pockets and organizational design for equipment and supplies. And the Apothecarry Case is a Cannador that brings humidor technology into the home.
FIVE TRENDS ON THE WAY OUT
1. Cannabis advertising featuring big-busted women and marijuana leaf pasties.
2. Dark, dank head shops with stoned proprietors and posters of big-busted women and marijuana leaf pasties.
3. Dispensaries with bullet-proof windows (shades of gay bars in the ‘60s). Today’s dispensaries look more like the Apple Store.
4. Bye-bye black market! Gosh, buying cannabis in dark parks is so passé..
5. And holding your breath when you inhale, cause no, it does not increase the effect.
ABOUT ANNABIS
AnnaBis is the first accessories brand for the sophisticated cannabis consumer. Addressing the need for discreet and secure transportation and storage, AnnaBis handbags and accessories make women feel stylish, free and secure by combining fashion, form and function. Featuring Aroma-Bloc Technology™—secret odor-proof compartments and special design to accommodate equipment and supplies—AnnaBiS is first to focus on the underserved female cannabis consumer, beginning with wearable technology and more coming in 2018. AnnaBis was first to publish a downloadable travel guide for the canna-curious female: The AnnaBis Green Guides available at www.annabisstyle.com.
ABOUT JEANINE MOSS
Jeanine Moss is a branding and marketing expert who began in new product development for companies like Kraft Food and Seven-Up. A trendspotter and innovator, she created the Fun Pass and Restaurant Week for New York City; Bring Your Parents to Work Day for Organic, commenced the first newsletter for women business travelers; and headed communications for The September 11th Fund. Jeanine founded and operated marketing firm Turning Point Solutions, with clients including Accenture, HP, United Way of America, and major government agencies prior to her role as founder and CEO of AnnaBis, the first line of luxury aroma-bloc accessories meeting a need to discreetly and safely transport and store cannabis.
