Introduction to BudTrendz

Introducing BudTrendz, your go-to data tool for staying in the loop on the latest cannabis trends! We track and analyze cannabis product reviews from multiple sources, so you're always informed about what's buzzing in the cannabis community.

How We Do It: Review Sources

Our mission is to track and report on the pulse of cannabis reviews in Canada. Our approach begins with monitoring six influential subreddits where Canadian cannabis products are reviewed. We also intend to expand our coverage to include additional platforms such as Instagram, various blog sites, and Discord. Please note that the information provided in this post is exclusively sourced from Reddit.

AI-Driven Tech + Sentiment Analysis

We employ advanced language processing technology to analyze review data. Our program extracts sentiment and generates a comprehensive sensory analysis and sentiment summary. Additionally, we collect product data whenever available.

When: Started in March 2024

We just finished the prototype and are currently testing and gathering feedback. The data presented in this post spans from March 2024 and is current up to April 14, 2024.

Why: To Find What's Popular

We embarked on this project after realizing the value of Reddit in assessing the quality of cannabis products. Recognizing that Reddit's information can be overwhelming and varied, we sought to provide a curated and comprehensive perspective. Our aim is to assist individuals in finding quality and trustworthy cannabis products and the brands behind them.

Live Display Showing Trending Buds

We utilize an algorithm to compute a trend score for every reviewed product, presenting this data organized by brand. Our list refreshes every six hours, showcasing the top 20 trending products based on current discussions. Users can navigate through prior dates using the slider located at the top of the website.

Overview of Review Activity

We currently monitor six subreddits dedicated to Canadian cannabis product reviews. Among these, the Ontario subreddit accounted for over 57% of the total posts, with more than double the activity of the next most popular subreddit. On average, approximately 65 posts per day are shared on the Ontario subreddit, nearly twice the frequency of the next most active subreddit.

Subreddit Activity

The subscribership across these subreddits varies, ranging from under 5000 to just under 70,000. In total, we identified over 330 distinct authors contributing cannabis reviews, with 198 of them active on the Ontario subreddit. Moreover, the Ontario subreddit attracts the highest number of comments per post, approximately one-third more than the next two most commented subreddits.

Variations in sentiment are noticeable across the subreddits. Typically, comments identified as positive by our AI are also more frequently upvoted by readers. However, two subreddits diverge from this pattern: the Quebec subreddit and Canadients. On average, these two subreddits tend to vote negative or express ambiguous sentiment more often than positive sentiment.

Sentiment, Comment Count and Trend Score.

Analyzing the scatterplot below reveals a consistent trend among posts. Those with a higher number of comments tend to exhibit more negative sentiment. While these posts typically achieve higher trend scores, they do not surpass the trend scores of top trending products. Top trending products, on the other hand, typically receive between 10 and 20 comments per post but boast a higher upvote ratio.

By examining brands in the scatterplot, clear patterns emerge: posts with negative sentiment cluster towards the right of the chart, while brands receiving high praise from the community, and thus boasting high trend scores, are situated at the top left of the plot. We'll take a closer look at these brands and products shortly, but first, let's explore this same view categorized by the brands being discussed.

What Product Types Are Being Posted About

By a significant margin, flower and milled flower emerge as the predominant product types discussed across the six subreddits under our tracking. Specifically, flower products, excluding pre-rolls, constitute a striking 80% of posts. Vape products, including 510 cartridges or disposable pens, represent approximately 9%, with the remaining product types contributing just over 10% of all posts.

On average, readers can explore posts covering approximately 100 cannabis products in Canada per day. This number is subject to change, influenced by product availability and the preferences of reviewers.

Let’s take a closer look at the authors behind these posts.

Authors: Reviews, Comment Counts and Trend Scores

Examining the same scatterplot, we can identify authors who have achieved a high trend score positioned towards the top left of the chart. These top authors have written over 15 posts within the time span of this article, with some contributing over 20. In total, we discovered 331 authors responsible for 757 posts.

Looking at these posts by their trend score, we can determine what the favorite products were over the term.

Top Trending Products

The product with the highest trend score was Mendo Select Durban Poison. Additionally, Tuck Shop, a Carmel brand, introduced an ounce product that received significant favor from the community, with the Ghost OG version closely trailing at the top of the list.

Regardless of whether sentiment is positive or negative, it still contributes to the trend score. For example, a post concerning White Widow garnered significant attention due to complaints made by the author, securing its position at number three on our list. Back on the positive side, Simply Bare has seen notable popularity with two offerings: Power Mintz and Hollywood MAC, both ranking high on the chart.

Let's take a closer look at the authors whose reviews contributed to these top trending products.

The Mendo Select Durban Poison received the greatest number of reviews, which is reflected in its trend score. The Tuck Shop product garnered reviews from well-known reviewers. Primo’s White Widow, with a single post receiving double the attention of any other, stood out prominently. Additionally, more than 10 consumers from British Columbia reviewed Simply Bare products, catapulting Simply Bare to the top of the bud trending list during the last day this data was collected.

Key Contributors

In this section, we examine the top contributing authors based on their trend score, displaying the cumulative count over the data range. As previously noted, the top reviewers have authored more than 20 posts throughout the date range, with all reviewers completing at least 15 reviews.

Top Brands

Returning our focus to cannabis products, we can analyze trends from a brand perspective, considering all products reviewed for each brand throughout the date range.

Simply Bare's presence with two products in the top five secures its position as the number one brand. BLKMKT has ascended from outside the top five to claim the second spot as this data was being finalized. Carmel branded products occupy the third spot, followed by Volo, which has surged from outside the top five to secure fourth place on the trend list. Although Mendo Select has not received any fresh reviews in the past few days, it maintains its position on the list.

Regardless of whether brands receive positive or negative sentiment, they earn a place on this list based on their overall performance.

What's Next

• Take our survey. Let us know how we could be doing better.
• Join our Discord. Unlock new features on our site.
• Check out what’s trending now. View popular products live.
• Sign up for notifications on trending buds. We're currently testing notifications for products surpassing twice the average buzz.
• Look out for our 420 summary in May. We’re watching what’s popular over the 420 weekend. Can’t wait to see what the community favours!