By Alexander Parker, Head of Design for Burgopak
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A day doesn’t go by without us interacting with packaging of some description.
We barely notice it unless there’s something annoying or fiddly about it, or if it’s so stylish and cool it stops you in your tracks.
Good or bad, you’ll have made up your mind about it, and the product inside.
The legalized cannabis market is still nascent, creating a wild ride for brands to understand the best way of approaching packaging. There’s a long list of things that its packaging has to deliver to be merely adequate and exceptional packaging can have a transformational effect for a brand.
Getting to market is one hurdle, but it’s another ball game to harness the power of packaging to grab the attention and delight of the recipient. The most recognizable brands out there, and the most successful, are often the ones that predicted the importance of packaging and toiled away behind the scenes to get it right.
Strong Brand Is Essential For Legalized Cannabis
Building a brand is essential for any business but especially so for legalized cannabis – it’s a competitive marketplace, with minimal sales channels, interesting consumer segmentation – and not forgetting stigma, legitimacy and trust issues.
A strong brand can smash through some of those roadblocks. It knows how to differentiate, emotionally connect with customers and drive brand advocacy.
Packaging is a brilliant tool to build some of those key elements that make a brand.
For example, building a brand identity – using the power of print for logos, typography and graphics.
And it goes beyond what you see externally on the box – brand values can be incorporated within the packaging, with material choices demonstrating a commitment to sustainability or using high quality materials and finishes to mirror the same qualities for the product. It can be used to position the brand – for example, conservative and muted or eccentric and bold.
Lowell Herb Co has built a phenomenal brand with packaging at its very heart, the highlight being the Lowell Smokes pre rolls. The vintage inspired artwork nods to a historical connection to their fictional namesake, farmer ‘William “Bull” Lowell.’ The box is high quality, and the brown kraft material has the feel of an artisan product.
Another strong example is Houseplant’s rebrand by MA-MA and Pràctica. There’s a clear, fun visual identity based around bold colours and simple, striking typography. There’s also a clever level of collectability around the stackable custom tins and boxes. The packaging can be retained and reused, something that’s out on display at home long after purchase, which also results in long-term brand exposure.
Compliance With Laws and Regulations
For every cannabis business, a tremendous amount of care must be taken to make sure all business activities are complaint with laws and regulations. That challenge is increased for multi-state operators, as laws can be different between jurisdictions. There are multiple ways this can affect packaging, and if they get it wrong they could be facing fines, product recalls, loss of license, reputational damage and risk to customers’ health and any liabilities.
Labelling can be a big headache but, a necessary evil. Brands have to include a range of information and ensuring that it’s accurate and current is critical. Specific information about the product like strain, potency, chemical additives, weight, batch and certain dates will need to be factored in. Ingredient lists, allergen information and dosing guidance are essential for customer safety. Health warning messages may also need to be included. Some of this information can be pre-printed when ordering packaging and other aspect added later during fufilment, via stickers or overprinting. Businesses need to scrutinize stock levels and have a plan ready to roll out in the event of labelling changes, so packaging can be changed without disrupting supply.
Obviously, the packaging also has to protect the product, from physical damage but also contamination from other substances including oxygen, moisture or UV exposure. The packaging and the materials used need to be suitable and tested accordingly.
Several states require child resistant packaging be used in a bid to stop children accidentally ingesting cannabis. The gold standard for determining if a package is child resistant are the testing protocols in the Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970. This law covers various hazardous household chemicals, including prescription oral medication.
For the testing, packaging is placed in front of 50-200 children between the ages of 42-51 months who in pairs are instructed to open the pack by any means necessary. They might be the 99th percentile for size and strong as an ox, or the brightest child you’ve ever met who simply reads the opening instructions. The kids have two timed attempts, and in between an examiner will show them how to open it. The full test also includes a panel of senior adults who conversely must be able to gain access. This presents a real challenge for packaging designers, finding a solution that meets those two contrasting needs.
There is an abundance of different pack formats for brands to opt for. Jars or tins with the child resistance incorporated into the lids or paperboard packaging, such as the solutions from Duallok, where pressing buttons or tabs unlocks it.
Alternatively, an exit bag can be used. This is a bag with a child resistant closure into which the product or non-child resistant pack is placed before leaving a store. The big drawback here is that the bag is likely to be binned the moment a customer leaves a store, offering no further protection and creating waste.
A Long Term Investment
The key players in the cannabis industry understand that packaging must be considered as a long-term investment in the success of their business, with clear opportunities from getting it right and severe risks with getting it wrong.
Putting time, effort and resources into developing the right cannabis packaging solution and a reliable network of trusted suppliers is imperative. There’s no quick way to be build a brand but getting the packaging on point provides a solid foundation for long term success.
