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Sep-2026
Sales
Trend
6-Month
Product Count
SKUs
Avg Price
YoY Sales Change
YoY Price Change
Market Insights Snapshot
In September 2026, Capsules held 77.76% share with year-over-year sales down 33.74% and month-over-month down 2.67%, while Tincture & Sublingual rose to 16.05% share with year-over-year growth of 16.30% and month-over-month growth of 27.66%. Topical accounted for 6.19% share with year-over-year growth of 37.00% but a month-over-month decline of 51.80%, and the brand’s average price slipped 1.49% year-over-year to $18.50. With Capsules ranked 3rd in Illinois for the category, the mix now leans less on the declining core and more on faster-growing, smaller formats, implying a pivot from a contraction-heavy anchor toward categories with near-term momentum.
The shift toward Tincture & Sublingual, up 27.66% month-over-month and 16.30% year-over-year, alongside a 51.80% month-over-month pullback in Topical despite 37.00% year-over-year growth, indicates a reallocation toward formats that convert quicker while trimming volatile bets. Coupled with Capsules’ 33.74% year-over-year decline and 2.67% month-over-month slippage, and a 1.49% year-over-year average price decrease, the pattern suggests Pure Essentials is consolidating its 3rd-place Capsules position in Illinois while cultivating a secondary growth pillar in Tincture & Sublingual to diversify revenue and mitigate category-specific drag.
Competitive Landscape
Pure Essentials holds rank #3 in IL Capsules in September 2026, unchanged from #3 year over year, a flat trajectory that coincides with category leaders moving in opposite directions: 1906 stayed at #1 while its sales fell 58.2% YoY, and Avexia remained at #2 with a 1.8% YoY sales decline, whereas Breez slipped from #4 to #5 alongside a 56.8% YoY sales drop. With Pure Essentials fixed at #3 for the past three months and peaking at #3 in September 2026, the stability amid competitors’ double‑digit YoY contractions implies a share-holding position that could convert into upward rank mobility if peer declines persist while Pure Essentials avoids comparable percentage erosion.
Notable Products
Indica Night Capsules 10-Pack (100mg) posted the standout move with a 3132.35% month-over-month surge to rank 4, while Relax Hybrid Chill Pill Capsule 10-Pack (100mg) fell 58.05% to rank 3, marking a split in momentum that shifts attention toward night-use formulations. Sativa Momentum Capsules 10-Pack (100mg) climbed 105.70% to rank 2, and Cronuts #4 Capsules 10-Pack (100mg) slipped 14.01% while holding rank 1, indicating rotation within the top tier rather than a category exit. With six of the top ten SKUs in Capsules and THC/CBN 4:1 Night Capsules 10-Pack (100mg THC, 25mg CBN) down 69.47% at rank 9, the portfolio concentrates demand into two poles—stimulatory day-use and sleep-night solutions—suggesting Pure Essentials is consolidating around functional capsule use-cases. The pattern implies a pivot to formulation-led Capsules that favor clear day/night outcomes, with Tincture & Sublingual and Topical lines like CBD/THC 2:1 Body Oil (200mg CBD, 100mg THC, 15ml) declining 51.79% ceding share to capsule-based routines.
Top Selling Cannabis Brands
Data for this report comes from real-time sales reporting by participating cannabis retailers via their point-of-sale systems, which are linked up with Headset’s business intelligence software. Headset’s data is very reliable, as it comes digitally direct from our partner retailers. However, the potential does exist for misreporting in the instance of duplicates, incorrectly classified products, inaccurate entry of products into point-of-sale systems, or even simple human error at the point of purchase. Thus, there is a slight margin of error to consider. Brands listed on this page are ranked in the top twenty within the market and product category by total retail sales volume.
