Creating a Unique CBD/Cannabis ‘Global Packaging Language’

Strain specificity may work with some connoisseur-focused brands in certain markets, but now it has become secondary when identifying the intended experience a consumer will have with cannabis or CBD products.

Much like the traditional CPG world, you’ll notice major brands in categories like coffee, beer, wine and even milk all use what’s called a “global packaging language.” This is used across brands globally to ensure the consumer experience is easier and memorable. That said, cannabis and CBD both fall into three categories—medical, recreational, and wellness—making it nearly impossible to develop a global packaging language.

The cannabis industry used—and many “new” states still use—Indica, Sativa, and Hybrid as a way to differentiate the experience, but that has now been deemed a bit of a myth given most products are considered hybrids. One may just be more Sativa-dominant or Indica-dominant, but that doesn’t look or sound sexy on packaging. Brands in both industries, CBD and cannabis can now create their own unique packaging language, giving each brand the ability to communicate the effects of their products in a much more unique and distinguishable way.

When we examine wine, you’ll notice that most if not all wine brands use the same description as to the intended experience: Cabernet, Burgundy, Bordeaux, and so on.

So how can we apply this to cannabis? Well, we can and we can’t. As of now, there are no fully-national THC brands like in wine and beer. Because of the rules and regulations imposed on each state, it makes it very difficult to create a global packaging language. While it’s possible, many have failed. Because of this, unlike the traditional CPG world, there are no major players big enough yet to create a universal language that each brand would or could adopt.

However, you can create a language for your packaging, much like wine, that’s based on strain specificity and the origin as well as your customer personas combined. This will allow you to get creative when coming up with a packaging language of your own.

For example, if your focus is in the recreational category with a niche selling THC joints to consumers who love gaming, new technology, and social media, you might consider naming your products something like, Reset, Power, Play, or even Game Over, if you really have some potent stuff. On the subject of potency, it doesn’t always matter. There are many strains that are less potent than others but have more medicinal properties. So if your THC brand is focused on wellness and you also sell joints, you might consider naming your products after something that eludes to helping consumers transition from cigarettes to cannabis.

At the end of the day, when it comes to designing and developing packaging in the cannabis and CBD world, you can’t afford to miss these crucial opportunities to differentiate yourself.


About the author: Since 2009 Jared Mirsky and his award-winning cannabis-focused branding and marketing agency, Wick & Mortar, have been featured in dozens of magazines including Entrepreneur Media, Forbes, National Geographic, Wired, Cheddar, Huff Post, and CNN Money. 2018 was the most explosive growth year yet, and Wick & Mortar continues to rack up awards and honors such as Top 40 under 40 in Marijuana Venture Magazine, 2x Dope Industry Award Winners and most recently ranked #193 by Entrepreneur 360. Not content with simply winning awards, Jared continues to shape an industry and is now a regular contributor to Forbes, High Times, Entrepreneur, and The Fresh Toast. Despite the successes, for Jared, the greatest achievement in his life is his son. Rebranding cannabis is his mission, and he aims to accomplish this by helping to educate the industry on the power of successful branding in the cannabis space and the impact it has on the world.