July 6, 2026
Flower built the cannabis industry. In 2026 it lost the top spot. Pre-rolls became the best-selling category by units, and the engine driving that is the infused pre-roll, now the fastest-growing format in both units and dollars (Custom Cones USA 2026 Market Report).
When a category overtakes the thing the whole industry was built on, dispensaries reorganize around it. For anyone selling into those stores, that's a shelf event worth understanding.
Pre-rolls aren't just growing, they're outrunning the market. Pre-roll revenue rose 9.8% year over year and units jumped 18.6%, while the overall cannabis market grew just 1.5% over the same stretch (Custom Cones USA).
Inside the category, infused leads:
Two forces. Convenience, because a ready-to-smoke product with higher potency beats buying loose flower and rolling it yourself. And price compression: five-packs of infused pre-rolls now sell at price points where two single pre-rolls cost the same just a few years ago, driven by automation and tougher competition (Custom Cones USA).
That price drop is the part operators feel most. Cheaper units at higher volume changes the math on everything from shelf space to supplier choice.
A store reacting to this is making real operational moves. More facings for pre-rolls, fewer for loose flower. New infused-brand relationships. Packaging and automation suppliers entering the conversation as stores and producers chase the same per-unit economics that made five-packs possible.
Price compression also squeezes margins, which pushes operators toward vendors who help them run leaner: better POS data, tighter supply, anything that protects margin on a cheaper unit. A category in this kind of motion is a category placing orders.
A dispensary leaning into infused pre-rolls is chasing volume and efficiency. That's a buyer actively reworking its assortment and its supplier list, which makes it a more receptive prospect than a store coasting on flower.
The move is to reach those operators while they're choosing partners. A current, license-verified list with owner-level contacts is how you get in front of the decision-maker before the shelf is reset without you.
Are pre-rolls really outselling flower now? By units, yes. Pre-rolls became the top-selling cannabis category by units in 2026, with revenue up 9.8% and units up 18.6% year over year (Custom Cones USA).
What's an infused pre-roll? A pre-rolled joint enhanced with concentrate or other cannabis extract for higher potency. It's the fastest-growing pre-roll type at about 47% of category revenue.
Why does the trend matter for B2B sellers? A category overtaking flower forces dispensaries to re-merchandise, find new suppliers, and protect margins on cheaper units, all of which open vendor decisions.
The stores resetting their shelves around pre-rolls are the ones worth reaching first. See verified, owner-level dispensary contacts across six states. Free preview here.
Holden Leads
Holden Leads tracks every licensed dispensary across California, Michigan, Illinois, and Massachusetts — cross-referenced weekly against official state regulatory databases and enriched with phone numbers, emails, websites, and social profiles. Stop manually hunting for contact info. Get the full list today.