A need for innovating the new cannabis market that once upon a time remained underprivileged, but has shown exponential growth with the legalization in many countries, has increased. Even though it has not been federally legalized in many states of the US. the prevalence of it across the media can be frequently recognized. The legalization and the resultant accessibility has created a demand for marijuana not only in the youth culture, but has shown a meteoric rise in demand towards the stressed-out parents, to doctors and lawyers, and even to those such as senior citizens seeking to utilize it in a medicinal capacity.
The world of Cannabis consumers is substantial enough to be understood. It requires proper and full-fledged understanding as typical marijuana usage has evolved to various recreational, medicinal, or therapeutic cultures. With evolution, the preferences in each of the usages differ. Other than the young men and marijuana medical the market of cannabis consists of multiple groups.
For a better understanding let’s rehash some traditional stereotypes we all have heard about, and learn about the different types of cannabis buyers in 2019 that we never even knew existed!
THE 6 TYPES OF POT SMOKERS
1 – THE STONER.
Considered as the backbone of the cannabis market, this is the basic consumer of cannabis. Their consistency in the consumption of cannabis makes them the basic level consumer who might also be an influencer for the new suspected buyers to enter into the cannabis market. Usually, in the movies and entertainment world, they are personified as grimy, lazy and stupid, in short unappealing to the people. This personification of the stoners is also considered by the society as well, this makes the stoners feel insulted and they are likely to turn away from well-established marijuana brands and look for the alternate products from the prying eyes of society, hence making it one of the major obstacles for the cannabis industry to break the old stereotypes.
2- THE INGENIOUS.
This is part of the group which requires recreation for the development of their work. This group basically consists of the creatives- the artists, and intellectualists who seek leisure from work. To elaborate, this is the character of a movie where the artist can’t seem to find the inspiration to begin their big masterpiece, so they light up a joint to help break through their mental hurdle, Or maybe, is an intellectualist who needs a break from the busy work schedule and knows no other best way than lighting up a joint for the sole purpose of relaxation. This group believes that cannabis has been working as an energy booster for them, perhaps has been improving their thought process and increasing their ability to think and analyze critically about their work.
Hence this conceptualization of marijuana by the ingenious has fastened them as a firm customer.
3 – THE PATIENT.
The patient is the customer who is more critical and analytical about the usage of the type of marijuana than the ones having recreational needs. They tend to use selective categories of cannabis that would be well suited for them, so as to get the health benefits from it. This kind of consumer mostly consumes medicinal hybrid marijuana belonging to the family of Indica strains.
A considerable number of people have started to use cannabis for the treatment of insomnia in particular. Other than insomnia, it is also being used for treating headaches, reducing anxiety and stress, improving bowel conditions, relieving muscle pains, etc. Therefore, it can be said that this type of consumer seeks a refined form of cannabis that will adhere to the medicinal value only, and is likable enough to shy away from the branding created for the many forms of recreation.
4 – THE ENTHUSIAST.
This kind of consumer claims to have a sound knowledge of the cannabis culture as well in having knowledge about the background, types, and origin of cannabis. They do not shy away from trying out the undiscovered varieties of marijuana, as they believe in collecting sound knowledge about the subject. These are a bunch of enthusiastic people who will try out every variety and will be found having a stock of varieties of cannabis as well. For the enthusiast- Cannabis is a culture upon which they require in-depth information and are ready to break every fence to reach out to the information.
Their willingness to pay steep premiums for a variety of cannabis and critically analyzing Cannabis as a subject makes them an expert in this area. The Cannabis industry can target them for any kind of premium cannabis which has not yet been tried.
5 – THE MILLENNIALS.
The growth and innovation of technology and the birth of social networks form the structure of millennials. Any person born in an era of technological and generation advancement in the 21st century is considered to be a millennial. With the legalization of cannabis in many countries, the cannabis industry has flourished with various new edible cannabis products. The rise has also led to an increase in many proponents complimenting cannabis with technological instruments and being spread via social media applications like Facebook, Instagram, etc. The millennials are part of cannabis consumers who are likable enough to be influenced by the various posts and advertisements relating to marijuana. These types of consumers want to enjoy different experiences of cannabis.
Cannabis brands that target the younger group will have to work hard not only to attract customers in the first place but also to keep them coming back.
6 – THE ADULTS.
This demography consists of the “Generation-X” as well as the “Parents” who have come out of the phase of youthhood, yet some are considered youths carrying a broader sense of maturity and wisdom regarding their life. These people are often not the first image that clicks in our minds when we think about cannabis consumers. They are at the stage of ‘normal adults’ and assume a sense of responsibility. They have put their adventurous life behind them and are now subjected to a host of new responsibilities, such as careers, marriage and family, and overall quality of life. These adults tend to have become mentally burdened as a result of these responsibilities. This a wide demographic to target for the cannabis industry but at the same time difficult to track the users.
It can be rightly said that these types of consumers are looking for stress-busting therapies. The cannabis industry can target them through further education and information on true comprehensive data. The stigmas of the adults can be removed and a whole new world of potential customers looking for better peace of mind can be unlocked.
THE UNDERSTANDING:
After knowing and understanding the shades of customers of the cannabis industry, it can be said that the cannabis industry does not depend upon a single category of customers only. New shades of customers can be discovered and approached. This will help the cannabis industry in providing varieties in the branding of cannabis. And to create branding it is very important to segment and targets the customers according to their requirements. Although positioning for them will be difficult but looking at the positive aspects, it will help in the exponential growth of the cannabis market.
With market research on cannabis, new and different ideas can be found and even help in discovering the innovation required in this industry. Ever since the legalization movement, the future of the cannabis industry is bright, innovative, and diverse enough to help in finding out the right opportunity for the branding of cannabis consumer goods.
