How To Differentiate Your Cannabis Packaging

With custom canna packaging, brand owners can create instant recognition within a niche. As a brand’s credibility and visibility rises, so sales increase. 

Brands use every available option for differentiating their packaging including using unique shapes, colors, finishes, child-resistant features and eco-friendly materials. Here are some of the elements that can help to differentiate a brand. 

Unique child-proof packaging solutions

Child-resistant packaging has come a long way and brands need to provide child-proof packaging solutions unique to their image. Child-resistant cannabis packages, like smell proof bags, are subjected to tests to make sure they are not easy for children under five to open, and yet relatively easy for adults to open. Innovative designs for child-resistant packaging have to not only be functional but trendy too. 

Joint cases are being made with sleek designs, lock mechanisms and airtight compartments to keep the product fresh. Edibles require smell proof bags that are opaque, resealable, clearly labeled and do not appeal to children. 

Mylar bags fit the bill and are often used as exit bags. A barrier bag or smell proof bag can have various roles and be used as both product packaging and exit packaging. 

Captivating colors, shapes and finishing

While custom canna packaging must be unappealing to children, it still needs to be visually appealing to adult users. Great packaging using the right colors, shapes and finishing can help to make packaging stand out on shelves and tell a brand story. It is critical to differentiate products from competitors and packaging gives that critical first impression. 

Brands can promote their image through the colors they choose. For example, natural health supplements often use the color green. Using white can convey the medicinal nature of a product. Stay away from stereotypical imagery and color choices because the industry is still trying to overcome the stigma that surrounded cannabis use. 

Shapes also attract attention, such as creams packaged in dome-shaped containers like top beauty products. Embossed or debossed print on custom canna packaging offers users a tactile experience. Some cannabis brands are even creating limited edition artist-designed packages and loyal fans cannot wait for the next release.

Functional design

Custom canna packaging not only needs visual appeal but has to be very functional. Beautiful design concepts are no use if they are difficult to use. How will customers feel when they try to open a product? Is it a seamless experience or do they need to start searching for scissors? 

Lids must be child-proof and yet not so too difficult for adults to open. Containers that do not seal tightly may mean that cannabis is exposed to oxygen and light and which makes the product deteriorate. Companies are focusing on ways to make sure that products stay fresh and potent. 

Pre-rolled cones that are easy to fill will be more popular than others. Brands are coming up with functional ways to re-use cannabis packaging and making sure it has a second life so it stays out of landfills. Selecting the right materials and closures to use is an essential part of differentiating packaging from competitors. 

Eco-friendly materials

The use of eco-friendly materials helps to win over the many customers who want to support brands committed to sustainable solutions. Using plastic retrieved from the ocean and biodegradable plastic made from hemp are alternatives that do not add to the negative impact of plastic on the environment. 

If brands can convey messages about sustainability or the recyclable nature of a package by using cannabis stickers, they can speak directly to consumers concerned with eco issues. 

Pre-rolls form a significant segment in the cannabis industry and many pre-rolled cones are being made from organic materials, such as a blend of rice and hemp. The paper used to make pre-rolled cones may have fun designs printed on them with soy ink to indicate flavor. Another natural paper used for pre-rolled cones is cotton cellulose, which is safe to smoke, although it has a plastic-like appearance. 

Custom presentation

When consumers can see what they are getting, they are more likely to buy. This can be a problem when containers have to be opaque. Boxes with die-cut windows create more of a lasting impact than a standard tuck-top box. Doors, windows, tear-aways and reveal flaps in barrier bags and other packaging provide customers with unique opening experiences that stick in their minds. 

Custom cannabis stickers offer a more personalized experience and it is possible to use them on a barrier bag. Cannabis stickers can be used in various ways, such as on smell proof bags as food-safe labels for edibles. 

If cannabis stickers are biodegradable, this is even better. They can be made with post-consumer waste and use a zero-waste release liner that is completely recyclable. Other custom canna packaging solutions include custom weed bags, pre-roll packaging and rolling papers. 

Interactive packages

Interactive packages are likely to feature strongly in brand differentiation in the future. Interactive packaging pulls the customer into the brand and allows them to connect with a product in a way that traditional packaging does not. 

Some packages already have digital and wireless technology that allows customers to interact with them. Drug packaging, for example, may highlight possible drug interaction issues. 

Custom canna packaging innovations include giving consumers information about plant origins, dosages, safety precautions and state regulations. 

Interactive packaging does not always have to be complex and sometimes, simply changing the design while using the same materials can help to offer customers a more interactive experience. Interactive packaging basically invites customers to interact with products in physical and emotional ways. 

A final word

Differentiating a brand is essential to achieve retail marketing success. Custom canna packaging plays a large role in this by drawing attention to products and making them stand out from those of competitors. 

Unique messaging, shape, color, child-resistant innovations and using technology in creative ways are just a few of the options for forward-looking brands who know how important it is to gain the attention of consumers and stand out from the competition.