Creating engaging packaging in the cannabis industry is a challenge, especially in Canada. The marketers behind the brands you love spend countless hours obsessing over every single detail: the colours, the logo, what information should/must be shared, and is it all compliant given the Cannabis Act? In the United States, the challenge doesn’t get any easier; brands have more freedom in how they present yet now need to stand out amongst their competitors. The finalists below have all cemented their brand in their respective markets.
Here is the final round of contestants for ADCANN’s best packaging design award.
The Green Organic Dutchman
Pro-certified organic cannabis grown in living organic soil deserves to be packaged in a way that matches the time and care put in before harvest. Organic cannabis growing is equal parts about the cannabis it produces and how it contributes to the environment. Organic living soil is reusable and compostable.
TGOD’s glass jars are fully recyclable, reusable, and last year’s winner. They can either go in your blue bin or back into your stash with new bud when you’re done. The angled glass jars are also an interesting choice aesthetically. Glass jars preserve the freshness and taste of your cannabis. It’s often the case that cannabis users will transfer their flower from bags or plastic into glass to preserve it. Giving your customers a jar to start is an excellent way to preserve your product and leave a lasting impression on your consumers.
WYLD Canada
WYLD Edibles have made their way up North. Whilst many American brands wait for federal legalization in the United States, WYLD pioneered their way up North to deliver a version of their product that’s compliant with Canadian law.
Due to scrict regulations in Canada, WYLD is unable to use their orginal dosages as well as the unique packaging they do in the United States, making them opt for a resealable bag with a twitst. As consumers continue the conversation about the waste caused by the cannabis industry’s abundance of single-use packaging, WYLD ensures their packaging is 100% biodegratable, making the packaging nearly as sweet as the product.
Ghost Drops
Ghost Drops is Canadian cannabis’ legacy-to-legal success story. Their founder, Organik, has been tapped in to Canada’s underground rap scene for over a decade, and with this knowledge of cannabis & hip hop culture founded Ghost Drops – a brand rooted in culture and quality. One thing hasn’t changed; legacy or legal, you have to hunt their latest drops as cannabis snobs across the country are doing the same.
While begining in humble mylar, Ghost Drops is now known for their iconic glass jars. The frosted black glass/label is complimented by the bright pink lid on the top; truly a sign of something sweet. If you get your drop early enough, it will even come with a limited edition trading card inspired by their dabbles in the NFT space.
Coterie
Coterie’s website, feel, and design scream “intention”. The name of the brand means “a group of people with shared interests or tastes” with the logo demonstrating the values and interests that founded the brand & that they believe their consumers connect with.
One thing everyone can get behind is Coterie’s amazing cannabis and the packaging it comes in. Their packaging is actually made of PHA and is 100% home compostable and takes a mushroom-like shape, meaning that no more struggles with trying to pop the top off your latest Coterie pickup.
Cognoscente
Avant Brand‘s Cognoscente is the answer to all of those moments at the dispensary where you just can’t pick. Cognoscente is Canada’s first premium craft tasting flight for cannabis, giving consumers the opportunity to leave with multiple cultivars rather than just one – if they can get one. The Cognescente brand is in high demand, low supply, as the original flight had only 420 units available across all of Ontario.
Cognescent’s packaging changes depending on which flight you depart on, however their progonal pack contained six 1.5 gram cannabis flower containers, as well as a 1 gram blunt and two 0.5 gram prerolls; all packaged together.
Minerva
Think of L.A in the 70’s – that’s the Minerva vibe. This vegan edibles company comes from California, seeking to deliver delicious micro-doses of ever size, for every consumer.
While “gummies” often contain gelatine, a vegan no-no, each Pâte de Fruit package from Minerva comes in a vibrant tin that contains all of the relevant dosing information. The unique design of Minerva ensures that every tin will be kept for either fancy storage, cannabis on the go, or to finally make your own candles.
WYLD
Wyld Edibles are currently claiming to be “America’s favorite gummy”. Founded in central Oregan by three friends who started with a single burner stove. They now operate in multiple states and Canada. Wyld’s gummies are based around real fruit and natural flavors. Their packaging reflects their ingredients quite well.
Lucid Design’s packaging for Wyld reflects the real fruit focus with artwork of real fruit. The unique shape of the boxes is magical, reminiscent of the packaging of the chocolate frogs in Harry Potter while the artwork to tell you exactly what you’re getting pears quite well. Be the judge, are they America’s favorite packaging?
Nuvata
Nuvata‘s packaging design has “fun” at the forefront while still remaining functional for those seeking out a new product. With the logo in a mix of bright colours and a bright splash of colour to match the device, the package is inviting and awe-inspiring.
Once reading the package, consumers will be delighted that Nuvata left behind “indica” & “sativa” on the packaging, instead telling users the flavour and if each product is more aimed for the mind or body. To make it even simpler, each package has an array of activities Nuvata recommends with each vape. Functional, informative, and perhaps the best package in the United States.
Lemonnade by Cookies
The Lemonnade store first launched in Sacramento in 2020. Founded by Cookies, Lemonnade was designed to bring the most flavorful and uplifting sativas to the market while the Cookies brand produces their Indicas.
Lemonade’s bright yellow resealable bags protect strains like Lemonchello, Lions Mane, Medellin, Tang Gray, and Yellow Fruit. The entire family comprises fruity, uplifting cultivars. The bright yellow packaging and fun name beg an important question.
What do you do when life gives you Lemonnade?
You smoke it.
BestBuds
One brand we couldn’t forget is BestBuds; the Peurto Rico based medical dispensary with multiple locations across the territory. While their website boasts countless cultivars presented in glass jars, their packaging is the star.
With their own custom mylar bags, BestBuds is sure that the cannabis they dispense is both fresh and stylish while their edibles come in a simple yet elegant container with all relevant dosing information for those in need of it.
Which of these cannabis brands had the best packaging design?
Last Updated on December 22, 2022 by ADCANN
