Black Friday to New Year’s 2023 in Washington’s CCRS Era

Another Look at Year-End Holiday Season: Broader Mix, Deeper Discounts, Same Heavy Hitters

CCRS
Cannabis
Sales
Holiday
Published

January 31, 2024

The Bottom Line Up Front
Washington’s cannabis market entered 2024 with strong seasonal momentum. The data paint a picture of consolidated production, strategic discounting, and consumer diversification — hallmarks of a maturing, data-literate industry.

For established players like Happy Time, Freeland Cannabis Company, and Cliffs Cannabis, this holiday season affirmed their dominance. For emerging brands, it signaled a clear path forward: price intelligently, diversify product forms, and target the mid-December surge.

Plotting daily totals shows a three-phase cycle:

  1. Black Friday Weekend (Nov 25–27): Strong early engagement, led by flower and edibles.

  2. Mid-December Boom (Dec 7–22): Daily totals exceed $2 million, driven by extract categories and HM Extracts’ solvent concentrate runs.

  3. Post-Christmas Plateau (Dec 26–31): Sustained sales through New Year’s Eve, signaling ongoing consumer demand rather than a single spike.


Topline Summary

Metric Value
Period Nov 25, 2023 – Jan 1, 2024
Total Revenue ≈ $120 million
Top Product Category Concentrates for Inhalation ($23.4M, 22%)
Number of Reporting Licensees ~42
Peak Sales Day December 22, 2022
Peak Category Share Concentrates: 29.5% of total sales


Overview
From November 25, 2023 (Black Friday) through January 1, 2024, Washington’s cannabis retail sector recorded a robust seasonal surge, with more than $120 million in reported transactions across 42 licensees.

Unlike previous years, where inhalable concentrates dominated the field, the 2023–24 season saw a broader product mix — with flower, edibles, and infused products gaining ground as retailers competed for holiday shoppers through strategic discounting and product variety.

The Evergreen Canna Ledger analysis of CCRS data revealed three key themes:

  1. Licensee consolidation continues — the same top ten businesses accounted for 70%+ of total revenue.

  2. Discount depth increased — non-solvent and hydrocarbon concentrates saw markdowns over 20%.

  3. Edibles and infused goods expanded market share, showing consumers’ shift toward giftable and convenient cannabis formats.

We can now answer:

Who sold the most usable cannabis or pre-rolls?

Which product type had the most discounting behavior?

How efficient was each product in terms of revenue per gram?


Revenue by Product Type

Total Revenue by Product Type
InventoryType total_revenue
NA $59,965,052
Concentrate For Inhalation $52,302,174
Usable Cannabis $51,375,973
Food Grade Solvent Concentrate $31,724,785
Cannabis Mix Infused $24,673,761
Solid Edible $24,632,063
Cannabis Mix Packaged $6,197,973
Hydrocarbon Concentrate $5,520,005
Liquid Edible $4,424,048
Non-Solvent based Concentrate $1,321,506
Topical Ointment $1,052,212
Tincture $297,705
Flower Lot $211,213
Transdermal $200,549
CO2 Concentrate $77,634
Capsule $53,291
Ethanol Concentrate $38,130
Flower Unlotted $27,007
Infused Cooking Medium $2,176
Sample Jar $229


Revenue vs. Units Sold by Product Type


Daily Sales Trends by Product Type


Observation:
The top-grossing day, December 15, 2023, surpassed $3 million statewide, largely from inhalable concentrates and edible purchases.

The same core producers from 2022 retained their lead, but HM Extracts distinguished itself by nearly hitting $10 million in Food Grade Solvent Concentrate revenue alone — effectively reshaping the wholesale concentrate landscape.

What Consumers Bought
While concentrates remain central to Washington’s holiday market, edibles and infused goods surged — a sign that edible sharing, gift giving, and product exploration based consumption broadened the state’s holiday sales base.


Revenue by Business + Product Type


Revenue per Gram by Product Type

Average Revenue per Gram by Product Type
Inventory Type Revenue Per Gram (Mean)
Tincture $110.10
Non-Solvent based Concentrate $53.69
Concentrate For Inhalation $20.78
CO2 Concentrate $18.11
Hydrocarbon Concentrate $17.67
Ethanol Concentrate $12.45
Topical Ointment $10.02
Transdermal $8.35
Solid Edible $7.56
Cannabis Mix Packaged $6.35
Cannabis Mix Infused $6.15
Usable Cannabis $5.52
Liquid Edible $3.58
Capsule $3.42
Food Grade Solvent Concentrate $1.62
Infused Cooking Medium $0.37
Sample Jar $0.02
Flower Unlotted $0.00


Price and Value: How Much Was a Gram Worth?
The tincture segment led in per-gram value, a reflection of niche, high-margin sales to loyal customers despite limited volume. Meanwhile, non-solvent and CO₂ concentrates maintained premium pricing, underscoring continued demand for “clean extract” branding in the upper tiers.


Discount Behavior by Product Type

Average Discount % by Product Type
Inventory Type Discount Percent (Mean)
Non-Solvent based Concentrate 28.6%
Capsule 23.0%
CO2 Concentrate 20.7%
Hydrocarbon Concentrate 18.7%
Infused Cooking Medium 13.7%
Solid Edible 13.2%
Cannabis Mix Packaged 10.3%
Tincture 10.1%
Liquid Edible 8.8%
Ethanol Concentrate 7.8%
Usable Cannabis 7.7%
Concentrate For Inhalation 7.4%
Sample Jar 6.1%
Topical Ointment 6.0%
Cannabis Mix Infused 2.8%
NA 1.7%
Transdermal 1.0%
Food Grade Solvent Concentrate 0.0%
Flower Lot 0.0%
Flower Unlotted 0.0%


Discount Behavior: Who Marked Down for the Holidays
This season brought a notable increase in promotional depth, especially among concentrate producers and capsule manufacturers.

While average markdowns grew across the board, usable cannabis and inhalable concentrates still saw relatively restrained discounts, reflecting confidence in baseline demand. The deeper markdowns among capsules, non-solvent extracts, and edibles suggest an active effort to move inventory and attract new consumers through price incentives.


Who Drove the Market: Top Holiday Licensees Total Revenue per Licensee

Total Revenue per Licensee – Holiday Season 2022
Business Name Total Revenue
FREELAND CANNABIS COMPANY $38,852,036
HM EXTRACTS $31,820,375
HAPPY TIME $31,360,668
ANACORTES CANNABIS $27,423,935
CLIFFS CANNABIS $20,105,376
CLARITY FARMS $18,272,853
MOUNTAIN HI $16,747,500
BUD COMMANDER $16,626,857
LUCID AUBURN, 21+ CANNABIS, 21+ MARIJUANA $14,231,864
LUCID PUYALLUP $12,386,285
SHAWN KEMPS CANNABIS SODO $9,031,439
HAPPY TIME LLC 2 $6,388,254
ISSAQUAH CANNABIS COMPANY $6,329,366
ORIGINS $5,433,993
HIGH END FARMS $2,612,629
GREEN LADY LACEY $1,669,025
BLOOMING CITY $1,376,908
OIL AND GAS CO. $1,137,500
LUCID $741,789
AVITAS $315,286
EXPERIENCE ORGANICS $302,448
SASQUATCH CANNABIS COMPANY $240,936
DOGTOWN PIONEERS $163,358
EAST MOUNTAIN BUD $111,827
AMERICAN MARY $75,605
HYPOTHESIS GARDENS $64,814
ORIGINS CANNABIS $50,353
SUNNCO WASHINGTON $41,214
BOTANICAL ARTS $40,771
HAYAA GREEN LLC $31,200
DIAMOND GREEN $21,182
LEGACY ORGANICS, LLC $19,500
DANDELION FARMS $17,784
AGRO COUTURE $17,332
HERBAL E SCENTS $15,229
ROSLYN HERBS $10,203
GREEN ADVENTURES $3,744
LOCALAMSTER $2,725
SECRET HERB SHOP $1,924
LOCAL AMSTERDAM $990
NÍKXNA OMAK $407
BINX BUDS $0
ROYAL GARDENS $0
SATURN GROUPCERES $0

Strategic Takeaways