Cannabis Association’s Latest Member Benefit? Analytics

The legal cannabis industry—still going strong in Colorado and other states—is starting to embrace analytics.

And now a new collaboration between the National Cannabis Industry Association and an industry startup is ensuring that businesses in the state will have access.

Starting in June, NCIA will offer its nearly 1,000 members access to reports from BDS Analytics that will help them better understand the full scope of the industry, including market size, growth, and retail price trends. This new member benefit will help legal cannabis providers better understand an industry for which such reporting has previously been limited, at best.

“We hear from our members all the time that one of their biggest challenges is the scarcity of reliable market intelligence and data in the industry,” NCIA Executive Director Aaron Smith said in a recent news release  (opens in a new tab). “Being able to offer this kind of data as an included benefit of NCIA membership is incredibly valuable. We’re proud to partner with BDS and grateful for their support of NCIA’s mission.”

BDS Analytics  (opens in a new tab) is a relatively new company, which launched through the startup accelerator CanopyBoulder  (opens in a new tab) last year. The firm is taking advantage of strategies that have already proved successful in industries such as natural products and outdoor-recreation spaces, where the company’s principals worked previously, according to the Boulder Daily Camera  (opens in a new tab).

Since its founding in 2010, NCIA and the cannabis industry as a whole have experienced significant growth and increased public awareness. In the past year, the group  has been working with lobbying firms on both sides of the aisle in an effort to push for legislation that would make it easier for legal marijuana businesses to use banking services. Last June it also hosted a fundraising reception at its Cannabis Business Summit and Expo  (opens in a new tab) f or former Republican presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul.

(Associations Now photo illustration/iStock/Thinkstock)