Partners + Napier Releases New Report Identifying Athletes as Next Frontier for Cannabis Marketing

Cannabis is a $100 billion industry in the United States, with $33 billion in sales and 520,000 full-time employees, with that number set to grow exponentially as more people realize how cannabis can play a role in relieving anxiety, managing pain, improving focus, recreation, and so much more.

Partners + Napier’s new report, “Hidden In Plain Sight: The Untapped Cannabis Consumer” sheds light on a high-value but potentially overlooked audience for the category: athletes who do not currently use cannabis. By studying what current cannabis users and non-users have in common, as well as non-users’ barriers to entry, it became clear that this non-user athlete audience could be a new frontier of growth for the cannabis category. They have strong buying power, their interests align with the benefits of cannabis use, and their barriers are easy to overcome.

The opportunity:

• In examining current cannabis consumers, there is a large cohort (5.6 million people) who exercise several times per week and use CBD.
• There are 53 million athletes (individuals who work out 2+ times per week) who share many of the same behaviors and characteristics as their cannabis-using counterparts, but have not yet tried it.
• Common reasons that the non-user athlete audience cite for why they have not yet tried cannabis are that they did not know enough about how to use it, and/or they are concerned about its impact on mental and physical health. These barriers can be overcome by education and trial with edible products.

For a complete breakdown of the marketing opportunity, as well as behaviors, preferences and demographics on this Athletes Among Us audience, download the full report.