Cannabis will be a major food trend in 2018. Here’s why.

So are we ready to have pot centric food in our pantry? Do you put it on the top shelf away from kids or is it the same as alcohol which probably is not.


“Spoiler alert for those attending the Winter Fancy Food Show today through Tuesday in San Francisco: There are no cannabis edibles on the trade-show floor. Cannabis cuisine is not the subject of any plenary panel.

However, for the first time since legalization sprouted in Colorado in 2014, cannabis is seducing the specialty food makers and marketers serving high-end retailers and well-heeled bellies across the Internet and America.

In November, the Fancy Food Show’s parent, the Specialty Food Association (SPA), ranked cannabis number eight of the top-10 food trends to watch in 2018.

“As more states legalize recreational marijuana, the varieties of pot-enhanced food and beverage will increase,” the SPA’s Trendspotter Panel wrote last November. “Look out for continued interest and acceptance in a host of snacks, treats and beverages with a little something extra.”

Shortly after, another pillar of America’s mainstream commercial food industry, Nation’s Restaurant News, predicted this will be the year restaurants in cannabis-legal states embrace cannabidiol (CBD). CBD is the plant’s second most common active ingredient. It does not cause a lift in mood (euphoria) but can treat pain, anxiety and inflammation.

“We’re continuing to see the surge,” said Kara Nielsen, the Bay Area food-trends expert and Trendspotter panelist responsible for cannabis’ inclusion on SPA’s foodie forecast.

Nielsen first noticed this brownies-to-bourgeoisie evolution while forecasting at food development agency Sterling-Rice Group in Boulder, Colo.”

Rest of story