Canada's cannabis market may balloon to $2.8 billion this year. Despite strict packaging rules, top edibles companies say they're racing to get a foot in the door.

• Canada legalized cannabis in 2018, but only recently has the country allowed products like vapes, edibles, and beverages to be sold on store shelves.
• US-based edibles companies are either gearing up to launch products in Canada or waiting to see how other brands fare. But regulations like strict dosing limitations and rules that put restrictions on colors or images on packaging make brand awareness a difficult feat.
• In a recent Brightfield survey, 35% of participants said they were unsure which cannabis brands they purchased and 50% said they were unsure which dosages they preferred.
• Business Insider talked to five edibles companies that are thinking about how to approach the Canadian market to understand what is making them consider taking the leap and why some think the pros outweigh the cons.
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The packaging on Canadian cannabis edibles is far from attractive.

It's plastered with yellow health-warning labels and prohibited from having images or fluorescent colors. Nor can it include cutout windows to show the inside of the container, meaning consumers can't even see what the edibles look like before purchasing them.

The idea is to make it clear that "there are risks associated with cannabis use," Ginette Petitpas Taylor, who was then Canada's health minister, told reporters in March 2018 when regulations for cannabis packaging were first proposed.

But according to the cannabis consumer-insights company Brightfield Group, the restrictions on advertising and packaging make it difficult for consumers to know which brands they're buying. Because of this, companies may find it harder to keep customers coming back to their products.

In its recent Canadian Cannabis report, Brightfield said 35% of surveyed consumers said they were unsure which brands they purchased and 50% said they were unsure which dosages they preferred.

Each package can also have no more than 10 milligrams of THC. Compare this with, say, California, which has a limit of 10 mg THC per serving and 100 mg of THC per package.

But that hasn't stopped some of the most popular US edibles brands from saying they still find the market attractive.

As Canada's cannabis program ramps up, and products like vapes, edibles, and beverages are beginning to hit the shelves, US edibles companies are debating whether they should enter the market or wait out the kickoff rush to see how the field plays out.

Despite the restrictions, Brightfield predicts the Canadian adult-use market will double this year to $2.8 billion from $1.2 billion in 2019, making it a lucrative target market for cannabis companies looking to expand.

By 2025, the market is expected to boom to a substantial $7.4 billion.

Business Insider contacted some of the top US-based edibles companies, based on a list provided by BDS Analytics as well as others known to be prominent in the field.

We talked to CEOs at five edibles companies in the midst of setting their strategies. They range from Bhang, a decade-old edibles company that has already launched two chocolate products in three provinces in Canada, to Cann, a California-based beverage brand that says it wants to focus on expanding into more US markets right now and wait to make sure the Canadian market is moving smoothly before venturing up north.