Welcome to the Custom 420 Supply custom cannabis packaging blog! We’ve set out to help change the stigma of this amazing crop and how its packaged! The days of using zip-lock bags are no longer acceptable. If you want your brand to stand out from the rest it takes more than growing or producing the best products. Now people want to see how it looks on a retail shelf or behind a glass case.
When it comes to custom cannabis packaging, it can be overwhelming to determine where to start and what’s the right fit for your brand. However, that’s why we started this business and this blog. We want to help those getting started or fine-tuning a coordinated line for an established brand. Navigating your way through this world can be confusing and costly and we’re here to help! We pride ourselves on customer service and building long-term partnerships for years to come. Our main goal is to help you Brand Your Grow and Grow Your Brand!
We set out to keep all of our brand imagining down to earth and realistic. Helping our clients understand the process and allowing them to be hands-on to bring visions to life. We’ve seen many of the suits at various trade shows offering cosmetic and food packaging as “cannabis packaging.” While packaging can be repurposed, don’t be fooled by said “Cannabis packaging specialists” who have not smoked a joint since the 70s. They’re out of tune with your customer base.
Stay tuned for informative and fun videos, articles, demos, and much more from a team that truly lives on both sides of the industry. Also, all videos will be certified 100% ego-free! Sure, we see organic and natural products all over… but ego-free? That can be hard to come by these days in the cannabis industry. So hopefully we can help you find success without rubbing it in others’ faces. But if that is how you get down, ultimately you can still steal ideas from our blog and rub them in people’s faces! (But not recommended by us!)
This is a multipronged question with multiple answers. The correct way to package your products will differ from company to company. Ultimately, the best cannabis packaging coincides with your brand’s identity and product quality. You might still ask, “What the hell does that mean?”
Let me explain. The old Lamborghini salesman’s sweatpants scenario comes into play here. If you’re not familiar, it’s in essence to portray your brand in line with the quality of your product. For instance, if you were going to buy a Lamborghini and the salesman is wearing stained sweatpants, no matter how much you want the car you’ll most likely consider taking your business elsewhere. The reason? You’re afraid to purchase that kind with a poor upfront presentation.
Comparing Cannabis Packaging to Product Quality
I’m here to say that the same goes for cannabis packaging. Let’s discuss a scenario with two companies:
You’re Company A and think you have the best live resin cartridge on the market. You have a great product and it tests well. You spend a good money to refine your product and can command top dollar for it. When most companies reach this point, they run into the dilemma of not wanting to add any other major costs.
You package it in a plastic blister pack with a paper insert printed at Staples. It makes its way into the shop and you get a few very enthusiastic/educated connoisseurs who rave about the product. Still, being sold as a high-end product, its shelf appeal is not apparent in the cheaper packaging. At first glance, customers will think it’s just an overpriced lower-end product. If you get it in people’s hands, it speaks for itself. However, getting it in the right hands, or enough hands, can be the hardest part.
Now let’s take the example of someone with a middle-of-the-road product, Company B. It is not bottom of the barrel nor is it being sold that way. But its cannabis packaging is in a magnetic box with foil and sharp colors. The type of box someone would hold on to after the purchase.
Some of the high-end customers buy it based on the packaging. The true connoisseurs will appreciate Company A as they’re not fooled by packaging or the cost difference. A few of the lower-end customers buy it as a special purchase. However, as company B, you have now found your sweet spot in the middle. The everyday consumer loves that it’s a quality product for the price and looks higher-end. Despite having a lower-cost product, Company B ends up with a much larger percentage of the market share and continues to grow faster.
You might say, “So what company A has crap packaging? The product is better and the customers must be sheep!” While that might be the case, packaging will continue to play an integral role in marketing as this industry continues to grow.
Customers will lean on the brands that jump out at them. Again, with great products, you’ll likely always have a core following. But if you want to take that next step in growth, your packaging has to coincide with your brand.
Price Comparisons
The last comparison we will make is a cost vs selling price analysis. Company A sells their carts for $80 – they have a $50 profit margin and it costs them $0.30 per package. They sell 1000 in the first 3 months, netting them: $49,700 (minus all the fees, etc.).
Now let’s look at Company B. Company B sells their carts for $65 each – they have a $40 profit margin and go all out and spend $2 per package. But with the packaging appeal, they sell 1750 units in the first three months, netting them: $66,500.
You can see that despite having a profit margin of nearly $15 more and a better product, by avoiding packaging costs, Company A limited its reach. Their core customer group will grow exponentially slower. So, even though they still have a good reputation, their sales are not on par with it.
Final Word
Lastly, this isn’t a pitch to promote BAD PRODUCT IN EXPENSIVE PACKAGING. If that’s what you took from this, then you have missed the point. At the end of the day, a product’s quality will speak for itself regardless of the packaging and you’ll have a level of success or failure based on this ALONE.
Still, packaging is the second piece of the puzzle. If you have a terrible product in a nice package in an attempt to charge more, customers will eventually see through it. Then word of mouth of your overpriced and poor-quality product will bury you in due time. Customers might overpay the first time, but will not be fooled again by the tricks!
Custom Mylar Bags in a variety of styles! Foil, Spot UV, Clear windows. There are plenty of unique options whether you need customize child resistant exit bags, or standard ziplock barrier bags, we have got you covered!
At this point, you’ve surely seen cannabis cans. If you have, it may be time to broaden your horizons. The concept is fairly new and has developed a love-hate relationship among manufacturers. Still, there is one thing we can all agree on – it’s different than how we’re used to seeing our cannabis packaged.
Cannabis cans have a few different names to them. These include:
More specifically, we’ve teamed with Cannaster to become an official re-seller. Their product allows customers to add customized labels and designs easily. We often get questions about nitrogen backfilling and various snake oil techniques that leave some skeptical about the whole concept. While some might insist these are necessary features, we’re here to tell you they’re not.
Cannaster seals with an even PSI every time and closes it with consistent pressure to keep an airtight seal against the rubber lining. Multiple tests have held up for up to six months with many saying it helped the cure. If you do not believe us I will put it to the challenge. For those who say it’s too short of a shelf life, maybe this is not for you. It is an ideal solution for those looking to stand out from the crowd or do mixed batches. We offer a more enterprise solution if you have a larger scale.
But check out the video and see it in action!
Can your bud! Help your brand stand out from the crowd!
We often get questions about custom-printed Mylar bags and how they’re produced. There tends to be confusion about direct printed vs a blank Mylar bag with labeled stickers.
However, your printing options with Mylar bags go even further than this. Throughout this article, we’ll explore how you can print on custom Mylar bags.
Most Popular Ways to Print on Mylar Bags
Direct Printing
Through specialized flexographic or digital print equipment, you can directly print on Mylar bags. This method is best for high-quality graphics and detailed images.
However, for this method, you’ll need a combination of pouching machines and custom Mylar bag printing machines. These machines are designed with specialized inks that can print directly to Mylar film or other barrier films. As a result, you receive a resilient and enduring print.
If your products require barcodes and other specific product information, direct printing is best for Mylar bags. On top of that, it’s the quickest and most efficient way to print for wholesale supplies.
Naturally, these printing machines can be costly and most small businesses don’t have the extra capital for such. In such cases, you can always source your custom Mylar bag printing through a third-party.
Thermal Transfer Printing
Thermal transfer printing is a technique that applies heat to transfer ink from a ribbon and onto the surface of a Mylar bag. Most brands incorporate this to print text and simple designs.
That said, this is a good option for variable information (i.e. lot numbers and expiration dates). It’s most commonly found in the food and medical industries, where it’s important to ensure this information lasts a long time and doesn’t smudge with age.
Labeling
If you’re a small business, you may want to simply label Mylar bags yourself. You can print a label using your standard household printer, then directly apply it to a Mylar bag.
Similarly to the above methods, labels can be fully customized to provide customers with:
However, these labels tend to be lower-quality than that found on custom direct print Mylar bags. On top of that, labels can be easily removed and replaced. This makes them a subpar choice when it comes to longevity.
Handwriting
Another option for small businesses, handwriting is the most cost-effective solution on our list. Simply put, you can write the content of a product directly on the Mylar bag. Most brands use a permanent marker or ballpoint pen to ensure longevity.
However, handwriting is not an ideal option for most businesses. This makes it difficult to ensure that all the required legal information is on a product. Furthermore, it’s a time-consuming process which can result in content that’s difficult for customer’s to read.
Which is Our Favorite Printing Option?
When it comes to custom Mylar bags, it’s hard not to love direct print. There are simply too many options here, from (but not limited to):
On top of that, direct print offers the most cost-effective solution while maintaining a professional look.
Here at Custom 420, we have ASTM-certified child-resistant bags, required in all legal states. We encourage our customers to move forward sustainably and compliantly as laws continually change.
Decide on direct printed Mylar vs labeled Mylar bags? Whichever type you need, we have you covered! Drop us a line on our contact page to learn more!
Custom-Printed Mylar Bags FAQs
Can I print on a Mylar bag?
Yes, you can print on Mylar bags through the methods of direct printing, thermal transfer printing, labeling, and handwriting.
Can you write on Mylar bags?
Yes, you can write directly on Mylar bags. However, for legal cannabis businesses, this is not an effective option to ensure label compliance.
Are Mylar bags FDA-approved?
Yes! All of our Mylar bags are made from FDA-approved food-grade materials. This is because they’re made with tear- and puncture-resistant material, ensuring protection against moisture, oxygen, light, and other contaminants.
You’d be surprised how more often than not, some of the best producers in this industry fall short on branding. Sure, there are the recognizable top brand identities and the fanboys will be all over. But how about when you get something good but cannot determine the producer? You would go back again and again to purchase this product… but just one problem? Who the hell made it??
The time and effort it takes to produce a great product is undoubtedly a full job on its own and immensely painstaking without a large workforce. So, often that effort falls short if you cannot establish a powerful brand to solidify your place in the market. A brand to show why your product is different from what others do the same. This is where word of mouth only gets you so far in 2024. Customers now want to know the story behind your product, and the nuances of the production and ingredients that put it on the shelf in the first place. If you are one of those who can relate to this, then you have come to the right place!
A key to successful entrepreneurship is recognizing your strengths and when you need help. As much as we wish we could master every aspect of this industry, let’s be honest because that is not the reality. The bottom line is to focus on what you’re good at and be the best at it. Then use those in your circle or connections to help maintain the other areas. For those who are not good at branding, the best advice we can give you is to PREPARE! You have no idea someone has called with tons of product ready to go, but in need of thousands of containers and labels or wants you to print a design for them they drew with crayon.
Take a step back and think, “What will my production numbers be?” What are the highlights of this product and what makes it different? Can people easily find me again to purchase if they like my products? and most importantly: if it does well am I prepared to package more in a timely fashion? The moral of the story? Don’t wait until the last minute to choose your branding and packaging. Helping to determine these things ahead of time will make your road to success way less rocky!
