Marijuana Business Magazine May-June 2020

Marijuana Business Magazine | May-June 2020 12 PackagingCorner | Margaret Jackson W hen Flint, Michigan-based Narvona’s line of flower and packaged pre-rolls landed on the shelves of the state’s medical marijuana dispensaries in November, it sold out immediately—perhaps because its packaging stood out from the competition. Unlike the plastic, pop-top containers most flower and pre- rolls are sold in, Narvona’s flower comes in glass jars encased in secondary packaging made of sustainable card stock sub- strate. Jared Mirsky, CEO of Seattle-based cannabis branding agency Wick & Mortar, describes the look as “Apple suction packaging.” “It’s super sexy packaging; it’s sleek,” Mirsky said. “You can hear the sound as you’re pulling the top box from the bottom box. We wanted to create something that made people feel like they were opening a piece of Apple packaging.” Earlier this year, Narvona became the first cannabis product to win a Global Packaging Award from the Markham, Ontario- based PAC Packaging Consortium. What message was the company trying to send with its packaging? Wick & Mortar had sustainability in mind when they designed the packaging for Narvona’s flower and pre- rolled joints. “We recognized that stores are going to look at sustainable packaging solutions; it’s a differentiating value proposition,” Mirsky said. “We also wanted to make sure the packaging solution we created was sexy. We wanted to create something that was attractive and affordable.” What measures does Narvona take to make its packag- ing sustainable? Wick & Mortar chose a glass jar with the Narvona logo embossed on the lid so that the glass would be recyclable. The boxes the products come in also are recyclable. What is the source of the physical packaging? The pack- aging is sourced from China. Narvona ordered a six-month supply of packaging before the coronavirus outbreak. At press time, Wick & Mortar was looking into alternate suppli- ers from Mexico and India as well as other options. How much of the product price is spent on packaging? Packaging accounts for about $1.20 of a $20 product. NARVONA Founded: 2019 Market: Michigan Products: Cannabis flower and pre-rolled joint packs Price: $20-$400 Designer: Wick & Mortar, Seattle Unboxing Experience Flower and pre-roll company Narvona opted for secondary packaging to make opening its products more exciting Packaging designer Wick & Mortar wanted the experience of unboxing Narvona products to be like opening Apple-brand electronics. Courtesy photos