The U.S. has come to be the most sophisticated and appealing cannabis market in the world. Even so, companies and investors are now tapping into chances that are specific to Europe.
The cannabis market found in Europe is mainly medical and is still in its beginning stages. However, business profit dramatically increased this year following two meaningful dealings. The first of said dealings is the acquisition of G.W. pharmaceuticals, the producer behind the special FDA-approved CBD treatment for seizures by Dublin-based Jazz Pharmaceuticals. Then, the purchase of EMMAC Life Sciences, the biggest vertically-integrated independent cannabis operator in Europe, by Curaleaf. Both dealings have driven industry executives to think again about Europe as a serious target for expansion.
The classical method to follow in newly developing cannabis markets is first to pursue plant-touching chances. But the peculiar customer habits and cannabis regulations in Europe have given rise to an especially conducive environment for American vaporizer organizations to flourish. These are what make the vape market so sought after.
Europeans Are Quite Familiar With Vapes
Europeans are well acquainted with vaporizers and, as such, help make this an excellent market for cannabis products and vape brands to penetrate. Contrary to what is being done in the U.S., tobacco remains a widespread part of European culture. It was discovered during a global medical study in 2019 that countries that record the highest cigarette usage rates are concentrated in Europe. Many users in recent years have made the shift to newer offerings such as e-cigarettes, which led to the generation of over 9 billion dollars in sales in 2021. On the other hand, consumers in Europe tend to go for discreet, design-forward devices, as shown by the high demand for IQOS heat-not-burn tobacco products. Philip Morris International, the brand’s parent company, reportedly shipped over 69 billion units of their products to the E.U. in 2021, which was a 45 percent increase compared to the previous year.
Cannabis vapes easily correspond with the lifestyle of European consumers, considering in particular how smokable hemp and medical flower products are dominating the regulated space. Because of pre-existing prejudices, European smokers are less likely to opt for joints as much as American consumers would because they prefer more subtle devices. As a result, brands that introduce creative whole flower vapes or heat-not-burn devices to this susceptible audience will place themselves in strategic positions as market leaders in this newly developing industry.
Vaporizer Brands Have A Pioneer Benefit
While Europe's regulated industry is in its early stages, consumer demand is profound. According to estimates, one in every ten Europeans smokes cannabis, and illegal sales total around $12.4 billion per year. However, there remains a lot of room for improvement considering how the legal EU cannabis market is projected to reach 906 billion dollars by 2025, which comes to less than 1.5 percent of the United States' established 61 billion dollar industry.
At this phase, vaporizer companies that make investments in European distribution channels are coming into the industry at the start of the bell curve. On the contrary, the vast majority of American vape brands became active in the middle of the bell curve when the customers were already used to smoking flower products without particular devices. European countries that are speeding up adult-use legalization timelines or increasing the capability of cultivation (such as Switzerland and Germany) are the perfect targets for American vape companies with goals of capturing additional market share. Going into such a new market could be perceived as a significant business risk. Still, the region’s capacity for growth yet to be utilized makes it a tremendous windfall for the entire hardware sector.
E-commerce Distribution Channels Have Been Established
The cannabis retail in Europe looks very dissimilar from America’s adult-use model; patients cannot easily just get a medical card and waltz into their most preferred dispensary here. Presently, medical cannabis is legal to some degree in 28 countries, but prescriptions are carefully constrained, and products are treated like traditional pharmaceuticals. In Germany, which has the biggest and most developed market in Europe, medical cannabis can only be administered as a drug of last resort to seriously ill patients through the country’s public health system.
While restricted supply and strict rules continue to hinder development for plant-touching companies, vaporizer devices can be bought legally through dozens of e-commerce sites, Amazon inclusive. This is one of the major things that differentiates the American and European cannabis industries and provides a profitable opportunity for hardware companies to create awareness for the brand and customer relationships vigorously.
Using this strategy can be especially profitable in countries that allow personal cultivation, such as Spain and Italy, or have robust CBD industries, such as Switzerland, which allows cannabis products containing less than 1% THC and has one of the world's largest hemp and CBD markets. Non-plant-touching companies can make notable progress in fresh customer acquisitions if e-commerce starts before brick-and-mortar operations.
Growth In The European Cannabis Market
Starting from the beginning of the year 2019, more than a dozen mergers and acquisitions or individual placement deals worth more than 5 million euros involving companies focused on medical cannabis in Europe have been completed. In all, from 2019 till date, 100 million euros of fresh capital has been invested in medical cannabis-focused companies across Europe.
Bottom Line
Sales of handheld medical cannabis vaporizers worldwide are witnessing notable growth due to their increasing use in the treatment of neurological disorders. A few more factors that are stimulating demand for handheld medical cannabis vaporizers are increasing awareness about the health advantages of vaporizers in comparison to smoking, legalization of cannabis in different countries, and the rise in usage of electronic smoking.
Lifestyle changes, growth in the socialize quotient, and altered spending habits on recreational activities are elements that trigger sales of cannabis vaporizers. An increase in social get-togethers and peer parties has led to increased demand in current times.
The millennial generation’s willingness to keep spending on leisure activities is an expanding trend. The influence of social media is another factor pushing this generation to indulge in leisure activities.
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