KERNW Akerna Corporation

Business intelligence from Akerna (Nasdaq: KERN), a leading compliance technology provider and developer of the cannabis industry’s first seed-to-sale enterprise resource planning (ERP) software technology (MJ Platform®) in collaboration with *Ample Organics, shows, year-over-year, spirits sales have increased 32%. 

According to market insights from Ample Organics, Gin sales topped that growth with a year-over-year increase of 55% in March. This is among the few times where stronger growth in the basics like Gin at 55%, Rum at 38%, and Vodka at 36% has been seen. Tequila, recently a category leader, fell to sixth place with 18%. Some theories suggest consumers are turning to basics because of attractive price points per liter against more fancy and differentiated spirits. 

Business intelligence from Akerna also shows, year-over-year, March 2019 to March 2020, recreational cannabis spending is up with a 20% increase in ticket size. The ticket size for the under 30 age group also increased by 17%.  As the industry evolves to meet customer needs, product pick-up as a fulfillment method increased 200%, accounting for 9% of total sales.

“The data we see in terms of spirit sales and cannabis sales speaks to the recession-resilient nature of these industries,” said Ryan Ballman, business intelligence engineer, Akerna.

**The Numbers, Year-over-Year, March 2020 compared to March 2019:Total cannabis sales increased 78% year-over-year. Top categories:

• Concentrates increased 25%, accounting for 10% of total product sales
• Edible decreased 9%, accounting for 10% of total product sales
• Flower increased 2%, accounting for 44% of total product sales

With demand at an all-time high, the MJ Platform team is available to help operators make smarter business decisions through analytics and reporting. MJ Platform can help with:

1. Inventory Management: Know what you have on hand, know what you can promote, and know where things are limited.
2. Run Rates: Know what your sales velocity is and get a handle on daily run rates, trends, and spikes.
3. Ordering: Know what to order, not just based on demand, but on historical sales and what’s hot during this time of high demand.

Current clients can learn more click here.New to MJ Platform? Click here to request a demo today.

*About Ample OrganicsIn December 2019, Akerna announced its acquisition of Ample Organics. Founded in 2014, Ample Organics is adopted by more Canadian Licensed Holders than any other cannabis software solution. A complete ecosystem for cannabis businesses, the technology platform makes compliance easy by tracking individual plants from seed to consumer and reporting every detail of the growth, production, and sales processes. Ample’s team of cannabis industry and technology experts designed the platform to facilitate compliance and transparency while enhancing overall business efficiency and operational intelligence.

About AkernaAkerna is a global regulatory compliance technology company. Akerna’s service offerings include MJ Platform®, Leaf Data Systems®, and solo sciences tech platform. Since its establishment in 2010, Akerna has tracked more than $18 billion in cannabis sales. Akerna is based in Denver. For more information, please visit www.akerna.com and follow us on Twitter @AkernaCorp.

About The Akerna Flash ReportFlash Report is a look at buying trends in the cannabis market as captured by Akerna’s MJ Freeway subsidiary. MJ Freeway provides operators with MJ Platform, the industry-leading solution for regulatory compliance technology, from seed-to-sale-to-self. Some instances of the flash report may include business intelligence derived from Akerna’s family of companies, including Ample Organics, Leaf Data Systems, solo sciences, and Trellis.

**Data is derived from MJ Platform, the leading provider of cannabis compliance software for the marijuana industry. Reporting data is obtained from operators using Akerna’s MJ Platform solutions. Increases are relative to the prior period. Additional business intelligence data sources may include proprietary tools used by Akerna’s family of companies.

Akerna Media RelationsD. Nikki Wheeler Nikki.Wheeler@Akerna.com 303-514-2012

Akerna Investor Relations Jason Assad JAssad@akerna.com 678-570-6791

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements made in this release are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words “estimates,” “projected,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “forecasts,” “plans,” “intends,” “believes,” “seeks,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “future,” “propose” and variations of these words or similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include but are not limited to statements regarding sustained increases in demand for cannabis and the ability of the MJ Platform team to help operators make decisions through analytics and reporting. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, conditions or results, and involve a number of significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other important factors, many of which are outside Akerna’s control, that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Important factors, among others that may affect actual results or outcomes, include (i) Akerna’s ability to maintain relationships with customers and suppliers and retain its management and key employees, (ii) changes in applicable laws or regulations, (iii) changes in the market place due to the coronavirus pandemic or other market factors, (iv) and other risks and uncertainties disclosed from time to time in Akerna’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including those under “Risk Factors” therein.  You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All information herein speaks only as of the date hereof, in the case of information about Akerna, or the date of such information, in the case of information from persons other than Akerna. Akerna undertakes no duty to update or revise the information contained herein. Forecasts and estimates regarding Akerna’s industry and end markets are based on sources believed to be reliable; however, there can be no assurance these forecasts and estimates will prove accurate in whole or in part.