Cultivating Cannabis is not an easy job, we know. It demands efforts, time, and a massive investment.
Thus, if you are growing the marijuana for business purposes, you certainly cannot leave areas as pivotal as packaging, unattended (unless you’re a carefree hellish rich man!).
Cannabis packaging, perhaps, determines the fate of your product. This crucial factor decides whether your carefully grown valuable strain of the pot plant will flourish and dominate the market shelves, or will go unnoticed.
Or to make it more precise, it governs the position of your industry in the competitive and expanding market.
Yet many new brands tend to neglect it, unaware of the tremendous loss they’re signing up for.
Some of the old ones are also struggling continually, clueless about the reason for their industry’s decline. Either way, we can help and save you.
In this article, you will find everything you need to know about how the right packaging can save a marijuana industry and what is the proper packaging in the first place.
In addition to that, we will give you some tips and tricks of leveling up your entire cannabis-selling game!
The Role Of Cannabis Packaging
Every year, around 95% of new product launches fail. Hey, don’t be disheartened! Instead, try to ponder upon as to why these products fail?
Well, the answer is simple. Primarily, it is because while focusing on the product, the manufacturers often neglect the packaging.
Let’s suppose there are two pot products, with colorful and visually-pleasing packaging while the other in a dull packet.
Which product is likely to catch the attention of the customer?
Certainly, the one with colorful packaging. (Yes, we still judge a book by its cover) Remember that packaging reflects your brand, and it is the very first thing that a customer sees.
Regardless of your product’s good quality, no customer will make purchases until the packaging is attractive or useful enough.
According to a survey, 62% of people agreed that they were unlikely to buy from a company again if they had difficult-to-use packaging.
Hence, demonstrating that a company can lose sales if the product packaging does not prove to be convenient. It also shows that packaging guarantees the user experience.
Imagine your customer trying out your product for the first time, will you like them to enjoy it and turn up for more at the shop or hold negative reviews?
Is your aim to establish a prosperous cannabis business or a temporary show time? Think about it.
Concisely, the packaging and the product appears to hold equivalent significance in the cannabis industry.
Therefore, a well-thought and appropriate marijuana packaging can help your brand stand out and can even make you highly successful in the industry.
Challenges For Cannabis Packaging
As mentioned earlier, the pot plant and its cultivator faces challenges from the growing stages to the marketing, and more importantly, in packaging stages.
Here in this section of the article, we will have a look at some of the most common challenges faced by a marijuana industry related to packaging.
- Product Protection and Sustainability
One of the significant challenges faced by a cannabis producer is the performance of two difficult jobs together, i.e., safe delivery of marijuana products and taking care of the environment-friendly and Child-friendly legalities.
The manufacturer has to deliver the product in a packaging that does not depreciate the quality of cannabis products.
Also, it conforms to child-safety standards as well as eco-friendly ones. On the whole, the packaging, as per all these demands, becomes quite an expensive task for a cannabis-selling industry.
- Trusting Partners
Another challenging aspect of the Marijuana industry is finding and trusting a packaging partner.
Concerned mostly with the sales of their plastic bottles and containers, very few packaging partners think about your success.
Also, to increase their profits, they tend to neglect the legal standards that your product should meet. Most companies continue using weak quality plastic.
Thus, resulting in deterioration of the pot product kept inside before it reaches the customer.
When questioned by legal authorities, these packaging partners back down and are incapable of sufficing documentation of origin and one that confirms their compliance with FDA regulations.
- Rapidly Changing Laws
Legalization of Cannabis, even as a medicinal product, is only relatively a new concept.
Many states in the US and countries have still not welcomed the therapeutic, life-saving properties of the weed.
Some states that have lifted off the ban are also in their young, unstable conditions.
With new research every other day, the laws and regulations related to the growth, packaging, and delivery of marijuana and its products, are changing now and then.
For example, in December 2018, California’s Cannabis regulators discussed and settled upon some new packaging methods.
The discussed suggestions were implemented in January 2019 only, leaving the manufacturers with no grace period for compliance.
Consequently, cannabis producers who had bulk amounts of their current packaging in stock had to suffer through immense loss.
Such instances pose a tremendous threat to the economic stability of several cannabis businesses.
Legality
The legality of Cannabis is a prominent issue for the pot business owners. Up till now, it is federally-legal in a few countries like Canada.
In the USA, Marijuana is not federally legal but in different states. The following 8-states in the USA have legalized recreational use of marijuana and are selling it:
- Washington, Nevada, Oregon, California, Maine, Colorado, Massachusetts, and Alaska.
- Illinois, Michigan, and Vermont have legalized recreational use but are not selling it.
The following 22-states have legalized medical use but not recreational:
- Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Ohio, Missouri, Utah, West Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Arkansas, Louisiana, North Dakota, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Montana, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania.
Although marijuana has attained legal status (medical and recreational) in around 30-states of the USA, the packaging rules differ from state-to-state.
These marijuana packaging restrictions vary from edible, vaporizes, flower, and other cannabis-based products.
Here is an articulation of packaging rules in a few USA states with recreational marijuana legalization.
- California: The flower packaging must mention the cannabis strain name, THC concentration, and must be re-sealable. Vaporizers of more than two-fluid ounces in weight will not get permitted. Only a calibrated dropper will get accepted. Edible cannabis products must not replicate non-cannabis edibles and must have nutritional data. The concentrate packaging must include the strain name, batch number, ingredients, and THC servings.
- Alaska: Flower packaging must specify the total THC amount and net weight of the flower. If the manufacturer has intended the vaporizer packaging to be multi-purpose, then it must be re-sealable. Edible packaging must have THC amount and expiry date. The concentrate packaging must be child-resistant, re-sealable, and opaque. Logo and license number must identify the manufacturer and dispensary.
- Washington: This particular state demands disclosure of pesticides used upon the plant and the THC amount per 10-milligrams. Flower packaging must be child-resistant, non-reactive, and tamperproof. Vaporizer packaging must be at least 4-mm thick, and edibles must not be appealing to children. They must comprise of the expiry date and ingredients. Concentrate packaging must specify the net weight, appropriate consumption, extraction process, and potency.
What Are The Right Packaging Methods?
Now that we have discussed everything from the significance of the right packaging to the legal restrictions, let’s talk about some more reliable packaging methods.
If a cannabis-business owner makes use of the following proper packaging methods, then he/she can meet the state’s legal obligations and overcome the challenges mentioned above.
1) Child Resistance
The usage of Cannabis to treat several health issues may be beneficial for you but can have adverse effects on children.
Hence, child-resistant is a legally-imposed restriction on cannabis packaging.
As a business owner or manufacturer, you must package your product in a manner that a child cannot open easily. Try push-and-turn bottles, slide boxes, and tamper-resistant droppers.
Also, your pot packaging must not have cartoons or child-alluring graphics.
2) Appropriate Labeling
Remember to include the warnings and information demanded by the state government.
However, while following the legal obligations, often, little space remains for marketing products.
Hence, choose a product packaging, such as stand-up pouches, that provides sufficient labeling and marketing space.
Experiment with different types of packaging until you find an appropriate one.
3) Ensuring Sustainability
While product packaging, one must ensure that it is environment-friendly and compostable, considering that the prevailing climatic conditions.
A majority of consumers purchase products after checking their environment-friendly level. Moreover, the packaging must also lock the freshness and quality of the marijuana.
How Do These Methods Save The Industry?
We have already discussed the challenges faced by the currently operating as well as emerging marijuana industries.
Most of which revolve around legal standards and legal issues that can cause a company’s decline.
Along the same lines, we have also discussed some of the most logical, safe, and practical solutions to address these problems. Collectively, their implementation will save you from:
- Any legal charges.
- Opposition from legal bodies and health or environment enthusiasts.
- Encountering financial losses.
- Blames and claims regarding unsafe, inappropriate packaging or product.
- Damage to the Reputation.
Now, all you have to is, stay tuned to the Cannabis news of your state, continue considering aspects highlighted by us (in every stage of your company’s growth), and implement the standardized solutions stated above.
We assure the cannabis fortune and success is all yours, now and forever!
