The leading legal cannabis brands—such as Curaleaf, Trulieve, Tilray, Green Thumb Industries, Verano, Cresco Labs, and others—are overwhelmingly product-focused: they develop, cultivate, manufacture, and market consumer-packaged goods (CPG) across categories like dried flower, vapes, pre‑rolls, concentrates, edibles, beverages, tinctures, capsules, and topical formulations.
For example, Curaleaf and Tilray are known for selling a wide range of medical and recreational products—flower, vape carts, tinctures, edibles—while expanding into beverage formats. Green Thumb and Trulieve similarly invest heavily in branded products as well as leaf-to-sale cultivation and processing infrastructure.
Among consumer-tracked brands, inhalable products dominate retail revenue. According to BDSA’s top-five U.S. cannabis brand list, products like Stiiizy, Rythm, Select, High Supply, and Jeeter are overwhelmingly inhalables: the broader category (flower, vape, pre‑roll) generated approximately 84% of total dollar sales in 2023, with vape and pre‑roll especially strong. Importantly, flower remains the single largest subcategory, reflecting persistent consumer preference for inhalables overall.
While edibles, beverages, tinctures, topicals, and capsules are growing segments—especially among women and younger consumers—they remain secondary in volume. Women-led demand has shifted toward edibles, tinctures, topicals and beverages; brands like Tilray’s beverage line Solei and High Tide’s women-oriented product lines reflect this trend.
Marketplace vs. Retail: Why Products Lead the Way
U.S. multi-state operators (MSOs) dominate by generating most of their revenue from product sales, not simply from operating dispensary storefronts. For example, Trulieve reported $302 million in revenue in Q2 2025—94% of that came from retail sales of branded products—not service income, though the company does operate hundreds of physical dispensaries.
These vertically integrated MSOs control cultivation, processing, branding, and retail distribution, allowing margin capture at every stage—something that gives product-based revenue a strategic edge. In contrast, dispensaries by themselves—without branded products or production—typically generate lower margins and rely on high traffic and compliance-enabled service revenue.
Why Few Top Brands Are Dispensary‑Only
The top cannabis brands are almost never solely dispensary operators—they are CPG exporters that may also operate retail but focus on branding products across markets. Vertical integration gives better control over quality, consistency, and ability to scale across states. Dispensary-only brands are generally confined to regional or local operators and rarely reach national brand status.
Market leader Curaleaf, for example, operates both cultivation and over 100 dispensaries, but its brand value derives from its wide product portfolio and packaged goods sold across markets—not from the storefront itself.
Similarly, in Canada, public companies like Tilray, Canopy Growth, Aurora Cannabis, TerrAscend, and High Tide all emphasize broad product portfolios including flower, extractions, soft‑gels, tinctures, and in many cases branded edibles and beverages. Few hold pure retail licenses only.
Consumer-Facing Formats: Product Types in Focus
Inhalables (flower, pre‑rolls, vape)
Dominant category at approximately 84% of retail value. Flower remains strongest; vapes and pre‑rolls offer convenience and rising popularity
Edibles & Beverages
Growing segments, especially among female and younger consumers worried about inhalation health risks. Edibles and functional beverages are increasingly important to brands seeking women-led market share.
Tinctures, Capsules & Topicals
Often associated with medical or wellness-driven users. Offer discretion and dosage control; brands incorporate them to broaden appeal, particularly among older and medical users.
Summary & Outlook
The top cannabis brands are overwhelmingly product-oriented. Their core offerings are inhalable products—dried flower, vape cartridges, and pre‑rolls—accounting for most of sales revenue. Brands also diversify into edibles, beverages, tinctures, capsules, and topicals to capture broader audience segments—especially women and wellness-focused consumers. While most top operators also run dispensaries, these serve as retail channels for branded goods rather than being the definition of the brand itself.
Vertical integration—from cultivation through branded product to retail—drives revenue, margins, and scalability. Service-only operators lack that scale, making them unlikely to reach “top brand” status at national or multi‑state levels.
Looking ahead, consumer demand continues evolving: beverage innovations, micro-dose edibles, and precision wellness formats are rising. But the foundational strength of cannabis brands remains in consumable products, with dispensaries supporting rather than defining the brand identity.