Report: Millennials Purchase the Most Pre-Rolls

Millennials account for the largest share of pre-roll purchases, with the cohort cornering 45% of the market from 2023 to mid-2024, according to a white paper from Custom Cones USA and cannabis intelligence firm Headset. Pre-rolls represented the third most popular and fastest-growing category with $4.1 billion in sales from 2023 to the middle of this year, the report says. 

Gen Xers were the second-largest cohort to buy pre-rolls (24%), followed by Gen Z (19%) and Boomers (13%). Ninety-four percent of the more than 900 cannabis consumers surveyed for the white paper indicated that joints were their preferred mode of consumption, followed by vape pens (67%), edibles (66%), and bowls (65%). Most pre-roll smokers (80%) consumed cannabis multiple times daily, while 12% smoked once a day, and 5% a few times weekly.

The paper found that full-gram pre-rolls were the most popular (57%), followed by half-grams (28%), and three-quarter grams (9%).

Infused pre-rolls’ market share rose from 34.4% in 2019 to 44.4% in 2024, the report says, with kief the top concentrate preferred in infused pre-roll products (78%) followed by live resin (77%) and rosin (59%). Forty-three percent of those surveyed buy both single-use and multi-pack pre-rolls, with 31% preferring multi-packs, while 59% of smokers buy pre-rolls with premium filter tips – 51.8% for special occasions – 21.4% weekly. Glass-tipped pre-rolls are most popular (80%), followed by wood (70%); while nearly 55% have tried ceramic tips, the report says.

According to the white paper, the average pre-roll price fell to $9.50 in September 2024, down from $10.67 in 2023, and $11.68 in 2022. Washington and Oregon have the lowest per-gram prices at $3.36 and $3.87, respectively, while New York ($13.74) and Illinois ($11.90) are the highest. 

The white paper found Jeeter leading the pre-roll market with 8.8% share, selling 18.6 million units or about $504 million in sales.