Why CannaBev Summit x CannaDataCon
Ian Dominguez ยท September 15, 2026
A week in the life of the THC consumer
Consumers don't live in sales channels. They live through a week of occasions: the weeknight wind-down, the Friday night out, the restaurant dinner, the after-work drink, the farmer's market, the concert. For years, THC has been sold safely in all of the above, in different forms, for different occasions, and under different rules. And if alcohol is any lesson, this variability will persist.
Regardless of what happens with federal laws this fall, a veil has been permanently lifted: more Americans now use cannabis daily or near-daily (21.4mm) than smoke cigarettes daily (19.9mm) or drink alcohol (17.2mm).
We used to think the cannabis consumer was different from the everyday consumer. Now we know better. So the question for every THC retailer, from Target to the local dispensary, becomes: which occasions can we own, and how much of the consumer's week can we serve? No single business can serve the whole week, yet every retailer today treats THC as an isolated category decision, and nobody treats the consumer's path across those retailers as the unit of opportunity.
CannaBev Summit and CannaDataCon will bring those different occasions into the same conversation with industry leaders from traditional retail, dispensaries, brands, and distribution. Which products fit each setting? What earns a repeat purchase? What can businesses serving the same consumer learn from one another?
We call the businesses and relationships connecting those moments the Occasion Infrastructure. This infrastructure requires both sides of the industry: the neighborhood relationships and occasions that hemp uncovered, and the legitimacy and capital coming to state-licensed cannabis in the midst of policy liberalization.
Why bring the two events together?
CannaBev Summit, in its second year, focuses on building the business of THC beverages.
CannaDataCon, in its fourth year, focuses on purchasing decisions in dispensary retail, and how AI is transforming the cannabis industry.
A product that sells well in a dispensary can struggle in a liquor store. The explanation could lie in the customer, the occasion, the price, or how staff introduce it. Understanding the difference takes both the people selling the product and the people interpreting the data.
Dispensary buyers, beverage retailers, brands, distributors and technology teams can examine the same commercial problem from their respective sides of the transaction and learn from each other. This is why we're offering two tracks in 2027.
What we intend to accomplish
We'll work through specific examples: a buyer's reorder decision, a retailer's evaluation of a new category, a brand's results across different retail formats. The goal is to leave with a method to test in your own business, and contacts who can help you maximize the opportunity at hand.
We'll also offer a framework for evaluating buying performance across retail formats and recognize buyers whose results others can learn from. We think both cannabis buyers and broader retail should help define those measures.
Each side has something to offer: cannabis buyers have deep context on today's cannabis consumer, while retailers like Total Wine offer a distinctive view on where we're headed.
Our track record
CannaBev Summit 2026 received 442 applications and admitted 245 attendees, a 55% admit rate. Among 65 post-event survey respondents, our Net Promoter Score was 86, with zero detractors. Of those respondents, 98% said they would definitely or probably return, and 80% said they planned to bring colleagues next year.
The event attracts speakers that a general cannabis event simply doesn't pull: Total Wine, DoorDash, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, Spec's, Circle K, Breakthru, Allied, Southern Crown, Constellation, Boston Beer, J.P. Morgan, NielsenIQ.
In addition to the panels, attendees most valued the networking opportunities between sessions. In last year's survey, attendees asked for a wider range of perspectives and more practical content. CannaBev Summit + CannaDataCon is our response to those asks.
We're planning more time for networking, workshops, and tastings. On stage, we want buyers and operators to compare results and disagree where their experience warrants it. Over meals and between sessions, there should be time to follow up with someone whose experience bears on your business.
(A drink ordered with dinner has a different job from a product chosen for an evening at home. Familiar formats and trusted retailers can make an unfamiliar product approachable. A retailer's recommendation or a conversation with a dispensary team can give someone the confidence to try something new.)
CannaBev Summit + CannaDataCon
February 18-19, 2027
Kimpton Surfcomber, Miami Beach
Attendance by application. One gathering, access to both tracks.