Competitive Analysis
Overview: This section is geared for the licensee’s business and marketing teams. The analysis is quite detailed but can be summarized as such. There is an enormous and growing base of customer who ingest cannabis extracts. The overwhelming majority choose to ingest the extracts in vapor form through the pulmonary track. The data herein gives evidence to this statement. “Once successfully commercialized VCT vapor cartridges will be highly preferred over flower or vape pens by customers who choose to ingest the cannabis extracts through the pulmonary track.”
There is a huge and rapidly growing demand for cannabis extracts. The two markets, recreational and medical vary greatly in customer needs, regulations, distribution, and formulation (e.g. THC, CBD) based on the desired outcome.
There are three routes to get the drug into the bloodstream.
By far the current most popular method for ingesting the drugs is by extracting the cannabinoids using heat and then inhaling the vapors. These methods require raw cannabis as a retail product and extraction by the customer using a heating process. Of these methods, shown below, smoking is still the most common, and as such, it is the market share leader.
https://norml.org/news/2020/03/05/survey-smoking-cannabis-remains-most-popular-method-of-ingestion/
Dried flower heads (both legal and illegal) and pre-roll joints are the current market share leader. The Vapor Cartridge Technology will change that by meeting the consumers’ needs in a far better fashion.
Edibles are popular for people who prefer not to inhale. However, edibles have major problems. First understand the process for making edibles.
However, cannabis extracts bonded to lipids are metabolized in the liver and suffer for first pass metabolic loss of 90%! Worse, the delayed gratification leads to overdose, also they can attract underage users.
Whereas dried flower heads are currently the most popular form of retail cannabis product, the use of vape pens is growing rapidly. Many people have turned to vaping over smoking for perceived health benefits and because it is easier, more discreet, and more portable.
Vape pen products use cannabis oils extracted using solvent-based processes. The list of solvents used in the cannabis industry includes butane, propane, alcohol, carbon dioxide, and more. As such, there is a waste stream. This is a multistage, chemical batch process requiring constant supervision by highly skilled technicians. One batch can take 6 hours. The extracted cannabinoids are highly viscous and need to be diluted with an excipient cutting agent before being formulated for use. This overall process is used in the drug product Sativex ® produced by G.W. Pharma. The cannabinoids can also be formulated into an oil to be used in commercial handheld vape pens.
By contrast, Vapor Cartridge Technology promises to be a far less expensive way to deliver safe vapor to the consumers’ pulmonary track.
Many people have turned to vaping over smoking for perceived health benefits and because it is easier, more discreet, and more portable. However, there are several issues with vaping.
Safety:
Vaping-associated pulmonary injury (VAPI), also known as vaping-associated lung injury (VALI) or e-cigarette, or vaping, product use associated lung injury (E/VALI), is an umbrella term, used to describe lung diseases associated with the use of vaping products that can be severe and life-threatening. Symptoms can initially mimic common pulmonary diagnoses, such as pneumonia, but sufferers typically do not respond to antibiotic therapy.
Furthermore, vaping pens deliver a must stronger dose of THC oils leading to an overdose.
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-vaping-thc-oil-5069928
Vapor Cartridge Technology uses no oils, the vapor is clean and the dose is precise and consistently accurate.
Convenience:
Whereas vape pens are portable and simple to use they require maintenance and troubleshooting.
Counterfeits:
There are two huge problems with counterfeits. First, illicit THC oils from the black market used to refill the cartridge often use excipient oils that are dangerous. Second, the increase in counterfeit pens is not only dangerous but is significant competition to legitimate vape products.
https://www.hemper.co/blogs/news/real-vs-fake-thc-vape-cart-how-to-tell-the-difference
https://internationalhighlife.com/top-20-fake-carts-2021/
Vapor Cartridge Technology is essentially counterfeit-proof and the company that has the technology will have an exclusive legal monopoly in the markets they serve.