The marijuana industry has grown exponentially and is attracting people from all walks of life by offering them alternatives to treat their certain mental and physical conditions, or simply for recreational purposes. Currently, there are several products made of marijuana, all of which come in different types of packages.
Without the right kind of packaging, people won’t get attracted to the product. After all, the packaging is the first thing that attracts the attention of the consumers. But have you ever thought about how marijuana packaging has transformed since the first product was introduced? Let’s check it out.
Use of Mylar Bags and Metal Cans in Marijuana Packaging Industry
For some time, marijuana producers have used Mylar bags to package their products. A low-cost option with multi-layer PET construction on the inside, aluminum foil as the main barrier, and PP or PE on the outside to prevent the product from coming into direct contact with the aluminum foil. Mylar Bags also offers cheap and easy multicolor printing.
At one point, producers were using metal jars filled with nitrogen gas to keep the product fresh. They used nitrogen gas instead of oxygen before sealing the cans as it can keep the product fresh for a longer period. However, the issue with this type of packaging is that the product tends to deteriorate quickly after the consumer opens the packaging. Due to these shortcomings, this first package option is currently less common.
Child-resistant Marijuana packaging
The FDA requires manufacturers, suppliers, and producers to comply with child-resistance marijuana packaging regulations to ensure the safety of the children. These strict regulations prevent children from accidentally opening or ingesting marijuana products which can cause adverse effects. Even sellers who offer personalized marijuana packages must comply with these regulations for all products.
The states that have legalized marijuana have also established specific guidelines for product packaging. These products need to undergo extensive testing to prove that they are child-resistant. The general requirements for obtaining a Child Resistance (CR) approval seal include:
- written product labels.
- A strong sealing feature to ensure temper-resistance
- Some tests require a demonstration to prove that the packing is child-resistant and keeps the product safe and away from the reach of children.
- The package must be difficult enough even for an adult to open, but still accessible.
- The package must be opaque and resealable.
These are the general requirements for approved CR seals. However, each state has guidelines that suppliers and manufacturers must follow to avoid legal issues.
Airtight containers and other latest options
In recent years, packaging marijuana products has also improved drastically, all due to the legalization of marijuana. One of those advances is the airtight container. These containers have greatly expanded the evolution of marijuana packaging. The airtight container keeps the marijuana fresh. Other types of plastic containers are convenient, but they cannot keep the product completely fresh and airtight. As a result, the demand for airtight containers has exploded.
In time, nitrogen-sealed marijuana packaging was introduced. This container resembles any other simple-looking can on the outside, but uses nitrogen instead of oxygen. This keeps the marijuana fresh in the container for an extended period. The airtight packaging market continues to improve and expand day by day.
There are also seals to make the product tamper-evident and to ensure the freshness of the product. Manufacturers can design heat-sealed aluminum foil liners to create “welded seals”. To do this, consumers need to break the coating to ensure tamper evidence. Alternatively, manufacturers may use “clean release materials” for easy access.
Such aluminum liners can also contain tabs that are very common in a variety of food packaging. You can also see them in the marijuana packaging for edible products. Inductive heat seal liners require special attention to the hot and cold end liners used in the manufacturing process. The reason for this is that containers, especially glass containers, tend to squeeze out heat-sealed liners over time.
Glass bottles are very popular when it comes to bringing freshness and giving consumers a “premium feel”. In states they have opaque packaging requirements, manufacturers can make glass bottles of white opal glass. For this reason, the bottles are spray-painted with a glossy or matte finish to make them opaque.
PET bottles are still available and come in a wide variety of materials. More common plastic materials include polyethylene terephthalate (PET), high-density polyethylene, polystyrene, or polypropylene. Among these options are the best PET manufacturers that create containers through a process called stretch blow molding.
Automatic Packaging
Marijuana industry companies and suppliers also need to consider how to efficiently fill their packages before making a final decision. For example, early marijuana growers filled bottles and bags manually using their hands. The main reason is that the flowers are different in weight and size and without proper handling are easily damaged.
Of course, we had to make sure that the quantity of these packets matched the weight shown on the label. Manual packing requires more people to be involved because the knobs need to be weighed and filled with packets. As the demand for marijuana products increased significantly, this type of package became unsustainable. Today it makes more sense to use a marijuana wrapping machine. Initially, automated packaging activities such as those used in the food industry were not ideal because they were not mild enough to handle delicate marijuana flowers and buds. As a result, automatic packaging machine manufacturers have worked closely with marijuana manufacturers to develop appropriate systems that can process marijuana weighing, sorting, and packaging more efficiently and quickly.
