Headset Launches Its Popular Cannabis Market Intelligence Tool, Headset Insights, in Canada

Alberta is the first province with access to the powerful competitive intelligence software for brands, producers, dispensaries and investors

Headset, the leading provider of data and analytics to the cannabis industry, announced today it is launching its competitive intelligence tool, Headset Insights, in Canada. Recreational cannabis has been legal country-wide in Canada since October 2018, and the young and growing market is still developing. This will be Canada’s first retail-derived cannabis market read based on aggregated Point of Sale data at the receipt-level.

Headset Insights will first be available in Alberta, the province with the most robust private retail footprint. With Headset Insights, businesses in and out of the cannabis industry will be able to understand the competitive landscape, identify opportunities and measure brand performance. The platform will give brands, licensed producers, retailers and investors the information they need to be a competitive player in this marketplace.

“After the success we’ve experienced in the U.S., we’re excited to bring Headset Insights to the Canadian market, thanks to the efforts of our team and through our strategic alliance with Nielsen and Deloitte,” said Cy Scott, Founder and CEO of Headset. “This is an opportunity to bring a tested product to market in Canada, helping companies there get a better sense of category, segment, brand and product trends relevant to their markets. With its own unique rules and restrictions, our data already shows that the Canadian market behaves significantly different than U.S. recreational markets. Understanding those nuances will be key for incumbent and new players to maximize their potential for success.”

Headset will measure all categories and subcategories currently available in Canada (flower, pre-roll, oil, and capsules) and will incorporate new formats rolling out as regulation changes. This product, combined with Headset’s U.S. market read, will allow businesses to get a holistic view of the adult-use/recreational cannabis market.

“While lack of data in the market is a critical challenge for our Canadian and global clients, we believe the Canadian cannabis industry would benefit from transparency through data,” said Rishi Malkani, Deloitte Canada’s Cannabis practice leader. “We are investing heavily with Nielsen and Headset to help our clients make informed business decisions and succeed in the marketplace. This is another step in our strategic alliance and making cannabis as an industry successful.”

“We are pleased that our strategic alliance with Headset is allowing us to join forces and be the first to market with transactional level market measurement,” said Richard Lee, VP Business Development, Nielsen Canada. “The combined power of the Headset Insights tool with our end-to-end analytics information and the strength of our consumer insights will bring unparalleled information to the Canadian cannabis and FMCG markets.”

“This announcement is further proof that Headset will continue to dominate the cannabis data and analytics vertical – first in the United States and now in Canada,” says Narbé Alexandrian, President and CEO of Canopy Rivers Inc., who invested in Headset earlier this year. “This announcement validates our belief that in the cannabis industry, like other mature industries, data will be king.”

Headset plans to launch Headset Insights in additional provinces over the next few months. Cannabis regulations vary by each province, so discrepancies in purchasing trends across Canada are to be expected as each province develops their own unique cannabis market.

Headset is a data analytics company in the cannabis industry with a mission to help businesses make better-informed decisions through data. Headset focuses on collecting and analyzing consumer transaction information. Headset’s models and dashboards help cannabis retailers better optimize their day-to-day operations. In addition, product manufacturers, processors and distributors leverage the aggregated, standardized and anonymized receipt-level sales data in real-time to identify trends and opportunities, stay competitive and collaborate with retail customers.