Its been nearly 10 years since Colorado and Washington became the first states in the U.S. to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Since then, more states have allowed recreational marijuana use with five new states joining the movement in 2020 bringing the total to 15 states with another 34 legalizing medical use of marijuana. With the growing legality of cannabis use, comes the growing market of edible cannabis in the baking industry.

US cannabis sales increased 46% om 2020, growing from $12 billion to $17.5 billion from 2019 to 2020. These increases are expected to continue growing and reaching $41.3 billion by 2026. What does this mean to the baking industry? Well, the edibles category accounted for 15% of the US cannabis market in 2020. On those percentages, that means the edibles market made $2.5 billion in 2020 and is projected to make $6 billion in 2026. The opportunity for success is there for the taking.

In the world of edibles, baked goods like cookies and brownies are the most popular form. A familiar product in the delivery of an unfamiliar ingredient is always the most successful. As the popularity of edibles grows, bakers must consider how they will be able to keep up with the increased demand. If bakers are going to invest in the edibles market, then they are going to also need to invest the machinery to help streamline production.

For those who are looking to streamline and automate their edibles production, baking for dispensaries, or looking to get started in the edibles business without spending too much on labor, Empire Bakery Equipment has the solutions for you. Empire’s line of Cookie Depositors allow one person to produce hundreds of cookies per hour while maintaining quality and consistency, and most importantly save on time and labor.

For those edibles bakers who are operating out of a small shop with limited floor space in the bakery, Empire offers the BabyDrop MAXX Table-Top Cookie Depositor. This compact design may be small but it can produce 2-3 trays of consistent and quality cookies every minute. That’s 180 cookies per hour without having to take up valuable space or the need to hire extra help during the holiday rush.

For those mid to large-sized cannabis bakeries looking to produce edibles at a larger scale or wholesale level, Empire offers larger cookie depositors with a greater output that will help automate your larger scale edibles production. Empire’s SUPREMA Cookie Depositor can produce 3-5 trays of cookies per minute, while the MAXIDROP Cookie Depositor can do 5-7 trays per minute. These three depositors feature 7” touch screen displays and are capable of stationary drop, rotary drop and wire-cut depositing. These machines are also capable of batter depositing for cakes & brownies. If you are looking to get into the cannabis bakery market or just looking to grow or keep up with the increasing demand for edibles, Empire has the solutions to help automate your production while providing consistent and quality product time and time again.