Edibles have been gaining ground as one of the preferred methods of consumption for consumers of every age demographic across the country. According to New Frontier Data, 25 percent of consumers say edibles are their favorite form of cannabis, up from 22 percent in 2022. But no matter where you get your data, recent figures paint a similar picture of gummy popularity.
According to Headset, gummies accounted for about $1 billion in retail sales in 2021, making up roughly 70 percent of total consumer edible demand. The following year, the gummies segment grew by 18 percent despite total cannabis sales dropping by 1 percent from $1.60 billion in 2021 to $1.58 billion in 2022. In July, BDSA forecasted gummy sales would reach nearly $4 billion in 2023, up nearly 15 percent from $3.45 billion in 2022.
It’s no secret that consumers rely heavily on gummies for their digestible cannabis experience. The tasty and often low-calorie snacks are easy to share and transport while providing a relatively predictable experience. Recent innovations in low-dose, fast-acting gummies have made them incredibly approachable for first-time consumers who would be turned off by a homemade pot brownie or pre-roll joint.
However, what might remain a category secret is what it takes to be successful in this lucrative segment. In the absence of reliable national sales data, it’s difficult if not impossible to gauge success in any single category across the country. While Michigan, Illinois, and Massachusetts are catching up, they’re overshadowed by California’s massive population of nearly 40 million and their subsequent spending power. New Frontier Data provided mg with a list of the ten best-selling edibles brands in California, the country’s largest and most influential market. With this data, brands in emerging markets are provided with a consumer demand preview and roadmap to the tactics and strategies driving the most sales in the nation’s dominant marketplace.
1. Wyld
Wyld is the most popular edible brand in California in terms of sales for the second year in a row. While most edible brands claim to be made from “real” ingredients—whatever that’s supposed to mean—Wyld’s list of ingredients includes familiar names like pear juice concentrate in its pear gummies. The brand offers mature flavor options like marionberry, blood orange, and elderberry, put together in artistic box packaging that feels sleek, informative, and right at home in a boutique or large chain dispensary setting.
“Wyld’s delicious flavors and trusted dosing play a huge part in our popularity, said Corporate Communications Specialist Rachael Smith. “People know what they’re getting and how they’re going to feel when they purchase our gummies.”
According to Smith, Wyld’s stylish boxes are one of the brand’s most memorable factors.
“Our packaging is often the first thing consumers mention,” Smith said. “It stands out in dispensaries with its unique shape, clean lines, and beautiful botanical imagery. We also focus on educating our retailers so they’re informed, educated, and engaged with Wyld. That way, they remember us as a brand that they can trust and recommend to all sorts of consumers.”
2. Kiva
Kiva earned its spot as the second-most popular edibles brand for the second year in a row, which is not surprising among experienced retailers and consumers in California who’ve known the chocolate bar brand since 2010. But wait—chocolates aren’t exactly in high demand for edible connoisseurs. So, why are Kiva’s bars performing so well?
“We communicate early with retail partners to make sure every dispensary knows about our plans to launch new products or offer promotions,” said Vice President of Marketing Vilay Matuska. “We also spend a lot of our time and resources to provide educational material for our partners—not just for their budtenders’ knowledge, but for them to pass along to patients and customers.”
The team also hosted several events and pop-ups throughout the year, forging strategic partnerships with big names outside of the industry like Fatburger to destigmatize the plant and position Kiva front and center for new consumers looking to dip their toes in the cannabis market.
“The events we host are very impactful, but a lot of our success comes from word of mouth,” Matuska said. “Before we launched in Florida this fall, one of our partners conducted a survey on popular brands that consumers in Florida would want to see in their market, and our brand names came up big time. They know us from California— families travel and bring things home in their suitcases, and word spreads from there. It’s pretty remarkable, and a form of advertisement we underestimated at first.”
3. Kanha
Kanha prioritizes developing flavor and effect profiles that speak to every type of consumer, from the novice looking for low-dose gummies to the connoisseur hungry for quicker onset and greater potency.
“We get feedback from consumers on our socials and website every day, but we also go out of our way to seek it out,” said Cameron Clarke, co-founder at Kanha. “We post polls on social media; we regularly talk to budtenders and industry folks to see what demand is looking like. We also look at what’s happening in the CPG space—new, exciting flavors or trends to hop on that might make sense of cannabis.”
Another major secret to their success? How the team works with the retailers who carry their coveted products.
“We tell all of our retailers that we take responsibility not just for putting our products on their shelves, but for getting them off the shelves,” said Clarke. “We have a healthy marketing budget that we allocate toward appealing to consumers: attracting them to our retailers and offering sophisticated programs that help stores build awareness around our products so they can attract new consumers on their end as well. Our goal is to have our products fly off the shelves. We want our retailers to be blown away at the end of the month by how much Kanha they sold.”
4. FROOT
FROOT’s product roster is simple—affordable and effective edibles and pre-rolls—but if we had to take a guess, we’d wager it was their gummies that bumped them up from 2022’s fifth ranking to this year’s fourth spot on the list. With real fruit ingredients and easy-to-recognize packaging, FROOT’s watermelon chews are basic but eye-catching—the perfect last-minute impulse buys to keep by dispensary registers for an up-sell opportunity.
The packaging is bright, colorful, and seemingly Gen Z-minded. It’s reminiscent of the face mask you can’t help but toss into your basket as you’re waiting to check out at Ulta, which might be why the brand has seen so much success this year.
5. Camino
Chocolate bars weren’t the only Kiva Confections treat to make the top ten list. Kiva-owned brand Camino earned fifth place with trustworthy and sustainable packaging, fun flavors, and social equity efforts that allow consumers to feel good about how they’re spending their hard-earned dollars.
“Kiva co-founders Scott and Kirsti Palmer come from artistic photography backgrounds, so since day one, they’ve always been committed to going above and beyond in terms of packaging,” Matuska said. “If you look at Camino, you’ll see we make it fairly easy, even for someone who doesn’t know much about cannabis. We focus on effects: ‘Are you trying to sleep? Chill? Be social? Recover?’ That’s very approachable language, and I think it plays a major role when it comes to how our products are received.”
The Palmers also remain very hands-on with all of their brands, encouraging opportunities to give back—like through Camino’s annual Pride program—and taking the time to make regular visits to local dispensaries that sell Kiva products.
“We recently had a launch for Camino Chews, and everyone from marketing to the CEO spent a day going to various dispensaries, talking to the budtenders and store managers to learn more about how our products are moving in real-time,” Matuska said. “We bring samples, offer education, and do product demonstrations on the spot. We don’t just delegate these efforts to a team of brand ambassadors—we’re wholly involved across the board.”
6. Lost Farm
This Kiva brand is a little different from the rest, but a testament to the Palmers and their winning approach to cannabis product marketing nonetheless. Lost Farm’s infused edibles cater to the consumer majority preference for gummies and chews, while also serving the serious connoisseur who’s on the hunt for live resin and live rosin infusions.
The Lost Farm team takes catering to the cannabis connoisseur a step further by prioritizing legacy farmers and small business owners who’ve been in the game the longest.
“Lost Farm is a strain-specific live resin and live rosin brand, and it’s designed for people who know more about weed,” Matuska said. “We’ve done collaborations with small farmers—most recently Sonoma Hills Farm. We’ve held various events at their location, inviting budtenders, influencers, and buyers to spend a day at the farm and enjoy a fabulous dinner inspired by the strains we work with.”
7. PLUS
PLUS’s products may have slid from sixth place in 2022 to seventh in 2023, but it’s still a crowd favorite when it comes to infused gummies. The company’s classic line is now vegan but they also offer CBN gummies geared toward insomniac consumers, CBD-rich gummies for targeted effects, and solventless hash gummies for someone interested in potency.
The brand’s secret to success seems to stem from its marketing approach. These infused gummies aren’t just for catching a fun buzz. PLUS products feel much more scientific—designed to treat ailments, encourage wellness, and help erase the stigma that continues to hinder cannabis’s acceptance rate. With the company’s packaging and presentation, consumers aren’t just picking the gummies up and saying, “Oooh, pretty”—they’re perusing products intentionally, hoping to address specific issues with a purchase that makes them feel like they’re giving back.
8. Heavy Hitters
A brand best known for its potent vape cartridge offerings, Heavy Hitters hoisted itself up from the bottom of the top ten edibles in 2022.
But how?
Consumers and operators in California are most familiar with the Los Angeles dispensary favorite for its vapes, which are wildly popular among connoisseurs with more than 10 million units sold to date—and that existing legacy might help explain why their fairly new line of gummies have been doing so well.
At 20mg of THC per piece, Heavy Hitters gummies are twice as potent as the state’s industry standard. Couple that with the fact that the brand already appeals to loyal cartridge buyers, and you’re looking at a gummy that cuts through the noise and speaks directly to the high-potency consumer. The packaging is also dark, sleek, and very reminiscent of the OG industry. With company roots that go back to the ‘90s, Heavy Hitter appears to know its customers and speak their native language well.
9. Drops
A newer brand on the market, it doesn’t take more than a quick glance to see that Drops is geared toward the youngest legal consumer on the market: Gen Z. Much like Kanha or FROOT, this recyclable steel packaging is bright, fun, and designed for both portability and reuse.
Drops offers a variety of THC, CBD, and hemp gummies with different flavors, effects, and potency levels. Unlike many edibles makers, Drops includes the strain used to produce each flavor and effect. The brand has also hopped on the live rosin trend, which is rapidly growing in popularity—especially in the edible landscape.
10. Emerald Sky
Emerald Sky rounded out the top ten list of popular edibles brands by sales in California for 2023. The simplistic brand with the eye-catching logo feels as legacy-industry-minded as it is spiritual—a winning combination and feat for any cannabis brand. In fact, Emerald’s candy-making experience dates back to 1989. The cannabis-infused brand launched in 2018 and has grown steadily with a presence in 400 dispensaries across the state.
Emerald Sky offers gummies, hard fruit drops, fudges, cookie balls, truffles, and peanut butter cups, but in keeping with the rest of this list, it’s the brand’s gummies that are the most sought-after among consumers and retailers alike. They’re sweet, soft, and come in four different fruit-focused flavors like wild berry and apple pear with non-GMO ingredients, offering enough variety to feel bespoke without overwhelming decision-makers.