Pre-Rolls Overtake Flower as Consumer Preferences Shift

For the first time ever, flower is no longer king of the cannabis industry, with a new report revealing that in 2025 pre-rolls became the first product to surpass flower in terms of unit sales, taking the top spot.

According to the State of the Pre-Roll Market Report 2026 from the Pre-Roll Experts at Custom Cones USA, more than 383 million pre-rolls were sold last year, up 18.6% from 2024. Pre-roll revenues topped more than $3.6 billion in 2025, a 9.8% growth over the previous year, the largest growth rate of any major category.

In fact, 2025 marked the fifth consecutive year that the pre-roll category had the highest rate of revenue growth and the fifth year in a row that the category outperformed the industry as a whole, which only grew 1.5% in 2025, according to the data.

The report, which combines point-of-sale data from cannabis analytics firm Headset with survey responses from pre-roll manufacturers from around the country, offers deep insights into an industry-leading category that will only grow bigger and better as producers dial in procedures and new technology makes it easier to produce high-quality products, particularly infused pre-rolls.

“Pre-rolls may have started as an afterthought, but they have become the primary driver of the cannabis industry,” said Custom Cones USA co-founder and CEO Harrison Bard. “It’s a highly competitive sector where quality, scale and smart branding are separating the top sellers from the rest of the pack.”

What is Selling?

According to the report, infused pre-rolls, which combine flower with a concentrate for increased potency and flavor, account for 47% of all pre-roll sales. In total, infused pre-rolls generated $1.68 billion in 2025.

They also saw the largest growth of any segment in both unit sales (27.8%) and revenue (16.4%).

However, in terms of total unit sales, the single strain hybrid outsells the rest, moving 175.6 million units compared to 144.6 million infused pre-rolls. But because of its lower price point, hybrid revenue tops out at $1.3 billion.

Together, the Infused and Hybrid segments account for more than 84% of all pre-roll revenues and nearly 84% of all units sold.

As for brands, California-based Jeeter easily takes the top revenue spot at $253.2 million, more than double second-place STIIIZY’s $151.6 million. But when we switch to units sold, Michigan’s Dragonfly charges to the top, selling 22 million units compared to Jeeter’s 11 million.

Who is Buying?

While pre-rolls appeal to shoppers of all generations and genders, no one buys more pre-rolls than millennials, and it’s not close.

Millennials make up a full 43.9% of pre-roll revenues and 43.1% of units sold, accounting for $1.6 billion in sales in 2025 on 164.6 million units sold.

And while males account for 58.9% of all pre-roll sales, when you break it down by generation and gender, millennial women come in second, just behind millennial males but ahead of men from Gen X and Gen Z.

Boomers, while still a force in pre-roll sales, lag behind in both metrics, but as a group, saw the largest growth in terms of units sold at 23.5%.

Read more: The Cannabis Consumer Has Grown Up. Has Your Hardware? – Cannabis & Tech Today

Where Are They Buying?

The top two pre-roll states tracked by Headset are California and Michigan, but the two very different states buy very different pre-rolls.

California, with its massive population and cultural history of cannabis, is the largest market in the country and accounted for $703.5 million in pre-roll revenues in 2025, selling 52.6 million units with an average price of $13.35. Both of those numbers are down slightly from the prior year though, indicating potential market saturation.

Second-place Michigan, meanwhile, with a population only one quarter the size of the Golden State, raked in $599 million in pre-roll sales. However, with an average price point of just $4.58, the lowest of any state, Michigan smokers bought more than twice as many pre-rolls as California, purchasing 133.2 million units.

Massachusetts lands in the third spot in both revenue ($344.9 million) and unit sales (37.9 million).

How Are They Buying?

This past year saw the largest growth of multi-pack sales of any previous year, reaching a full 48.5% of all pre-roll products sold and absolutely dominating the charts with 90 of the top 100 top-selling items. That’s up from 78 in 2024.

The 2.5-gram 5-pack format is by far the most popular multi-pack, accounting for $612 million, or about 17.2% of total pre-roll revenue and nearly 24 million units sold.

The multi-pack is becoming a consumer favorite for a handful of reasons, mainly a lower price-per-preroll cost and the convenience of being able to stock up and visit the dispensary less frequently.

For manufacturers, multi-packs can bring higher revenues with better margins (due in part to lower packaging expenses) and help lead to brand loyalty through larger purchase commitments that keep customers coming back.

According to the survey results, 72.4% of manufacturers said they sell their pre-rolls in multipacks, with 5-packs being by far the most popular (50% of multi-pack sellers).

However, even with a jump in multi-pack sales, the 1-gram single is still by far the top-selling single-product, generating $1.44 billion in 2025.

What’s the Future of Pre-Rolls?

The Custom Cones USA report predicts the pre-roll sector will top $4 billion this year and grow to more than $5 billion by 2030.

But Bard calls that estimate “conservative,” given the growth of the past five years and the advances in pre-roll machinery, such as new ways to infuse products at scale. He says that while this year has a limited number of new state markets opening, as more states open recreational markets, the potential for pre-rolls only gets bigger.

“We expect the infused segment to continue to lead the way as the cost of making them comes down and more consumers look for the biggest bang for their cannabis dollar,” Bard said, noting that consumers look for potency, price and brand. “And the best way to ensure they know which brand they are smoking is to customize your pre-roll filters with a logo or cigar band, like all 10 of the top-selling brands do.”

Bard also called out the Northeast as a growth market, citing explosive growth in New York and the expected opening of consumption lounges in Massachusetts and New Jersey, where he says pre-rolls are the prefect product to sell.

“Pre-rolls are fast, convenient and inexpensive ways to try new strains or grab something to take with you on-the-go ,” he said. “Any brand not looking to open or scale up their pre-roll line is leaving money on the table.”