Cannabis Vape Retail Market Report
Statewide · Statewide · all cities · generated 6/9/2026, 3:00:00 PM
Executive summary
Montana's vape category spans 13,866 product listings from 256 brands, stocked in 347 of 399 tracked dispensaries (87% of the state) — distribution is broad and effectively table-stakes.
The category is moderately concentrated (HHI 1,600): the three largest brands hold roughly 38% of observed shelf presence, with the balance split across a long tail of 253 brands.
Distillate cartridges is the largest sub-segment at 33% of vape listings, at a statewide median of $30.
The statewide median 1g cartridge carries $35 on shelf — $35 / gram on a normalized basis.
Glacier Gold leads on shelf presence (211 stores, 72 SKUs) and sets the mainstream reference point a new entrant has to clear.
Distillate carts anchor the value core and live-resin carts the mainstream, while all-in-one disposables are the fastest-growing format and solventless-rosin vapes lead the premium tier.
Is Montana's vape category worth entering — and if so, where is the open lane?
347 of 399 dispensaries already carry vape, so the question is not whether the category exists but where shelf is winnable. With 256 brands competing and the top three holding ~38% of shelf, the field is moderately concentrated; other / proprietary pods (2% of SKUs) is the least-crowded sub-segment.
Exhibits
Exhibit 1 — Where the SKUs concentrate
Share of vape products by sub-segment, statewide.
Exhibit 2 — Shelf leaders
Brands ranked by store count (shelf presence) across the state.
Exhibit 3 — Geographic demand
Dispensaries stocking the category by region.
Exhibit 4 — Price ladder
How shelf splits across value, mainstream, and premium tiers.
Recommended action plan
Lead with the open lane: Other / proprietary pods
Why it matters: At 2% of vape SKUs it is the least-crowded sub-segment, so a focused entrant faces the fewest incumbents.
Action: Build the launch line around other / proprietary pods to establish shelf, then expand into the crowded core once velocity is proven.
Price into the premium tier
Why it matters: The ladder splits 31% value / 22% premium; the thinner tier is where pricing power is least contested.
Action: Anchor the hero SKU in the premium band ($43–70) and let velocity confirm the tier before widening the line.
Benchmark the shelf leader: Glacier Gold
Why it matters: Glacier Gold sets the category reference at 211 stores and 72 SKUs (mainstream).
Action: Beat the leader on one axis — potency, format, or price-per-unit — rather than competing across all three at once.
Seed the launch in Billings / Yellowstone
Why it matters: Billings / Yellowstone holds 17% of the dispensaries carrying the category — the densest demand to win first.
Action: Take a beachhead cluster of stores and prove velocity there before chasing statewide distribution.
Re-pull this report at launch
Why it matters: Montana menus move weekly; a market entered on a quarter-old read is the wrong market.
Action: Order a fresh snapshot the month you commit, then again ~90 days post-launch to measure your own shelf gains against the field.
Analyst notes
Category concentration
Montana's vape shelf is moderately concentrated (HHI 1,600). The top three brands hold ~38% of shelf presence; the rest is a long tail of 253 brands fighting for the remainder. That shape sets how hard it is to take — and hold — shelf.
- Glacier Gold: 211 stores, 72 SKUs, 15% shelf — mainstream.
- High Plains Extracts: 184 stores, 64 SKUs, 13% shelf — premium.
- Cabinet Mountains Cannabis: 148 stores, 49 SKUs, 10% shelf — value-mainstream.
- Northern Lights Botanicals: 112 stores, 38 SKUs, 6% shelf — mainstream.
- Sapphire Standard: 96 stores, 31 SKUs, 5% shelf — premium.
- Continental Divide Cannabis: 81 stores, 26 SKUs, 4% shelf — value.
Potency & price economics
The headline format (1g cartridge) clears a $35 median, or $35 / gram normalized. Where a tier is thin, pricing power is least contested — that is the band an entrant can price into rather than fight for.
- Value (31% of SKUs): $18–28, $23 / gram. Distillate carts and 0.5g formats.
- Mainstream (47% of SKUs): $29–42, $35 / gram. Live-resin carts and disposables — the core.
- Premium (22% of SKUs): $43–70, $55 / gram. Live-rosin and solventless vapes.
Demand geography
Distillate carts anchor the value core and live-resin carts the mainstream, while all-in-one disposables are the fastest-growing format and solventless-rosin vapes lead the premium tier. Geographic concentration shows where to seed first and where shelf is already saturated.
- Billings / Yellowstone: 59 carriers (17%), median $35 — Largest metro; disposables surging.
- Missoula: 47 carriers (14%), median $32 — Value distillate over-indexes.
- Bozeman / Gallatin: 44 carriers (13%), median $40 — Live-rosin vapes concentrate here.
- Flathead (Kalispell–Whitefish): 41 carriers (12%), median $36 — Tourist demand for disposables.
- Helena: 30 carriers (9%), median $35 — Mainstream carts.
- Great Falls: 26 carriers (7%), median $30 — Value-weighted.
Recent price movement
Observed shelf-price changes over the last 30 days indicate where the category is repricing — promotional pressure, clearance, or a durable reset.
- Distillate Cart 1g @ Garden City Cannabis: cut 14% ($28 → $24) on 2026-06-08.
- Live Resin Cart 1g @ Glacier Greens: raised 7% ($40 → $43) on 2026-06-07.
- Disposable 1g @ Rimrock Remedies: cut 10% ($40 → $36) on 2026-06-06.
- All-in-One 1g @ Big Sky Botanicals: cut 12% ($50 → $44) on 2026-06-05.
- Live Rosin Vape 1g @ Bitterroot Buds: cut 9% ($60 → $55) on 2026-06-04.
- 0.5g Cart @ Copper Mountain Cannabis: raised 8% ($22 → $24) on 2026-06-03.
Key metrics
Sub-segment economics
Brand landscape
Price & potency ladder
Geographic demand
Recent price movements
Methodology
- Market size, reach, and shelf share are computed across every tracked Montana dispensary menu in the current snapshot — not a sample.
- Shelf share is presence-based (product listings and carrying stores per brand), a proxy for visibility — not verified retail sell-through or wholesale volume.
- Concentration uses a Herfindahl–Hirschman Index over brand listing share; sub-segment and price-tier splits are share of distinct listings.
- Potency- and size-normalized prices use observed dose and pack size where present; items missing that data are excluded from the per-unit figure only.
- PDF output is generated from the stored report snapshot, so the report is reproducible and stamped with its data date.