Cannabis
packaging
With the cannabis market exploding and more and more states pushing legalization,
Berry wanted to be ahead of the game. Our goal was to learn anything and everything
about current packaging on the market and how it effects stakeholders to uncover opportunities that we can solve with innovative packaging solutions. We visited Colorado and met with users, grow facilities, dispensaries, packaging distributors, and concentrate/edible manufacturers to understand their current process and problems associated with it.
My Role:
I planned and conducted all aspects of this project.
My strategy manager was great to bounce ideas if needed
and to review plans and deliverables as I completed them.
Research & Activities:
Secondary Research - used to understand the market and legal restrictions
Exploratory Research (Dscout) - used to get a base understanding
Contextual Inquiry - in-context field research to dive deep
Team:
Design Strategy Manager
Industrial Designer
Biggest Challenge:
Recruiting from another state without using an agency – cold calling is NOT fun!
Favorite Part of Project:
The characters I got to meet were far from boring, but I truly enjoyed impacting innovation in a rapidly growing movement.
THE PLAN
272 Applications 18 Scouts
145 Entries 2 Parts
APPLICATION/INVENTORY
Asked questions focused on what types of
products they purchase, reasons they use the
product, and their favorite package & why.
1 - MOMENTS
Asked users to show any moment they interacted
with a cannabis product and it's packaging "as they
are talking to someone who has never seen it before."
We learned how users interact with products and
how packaging influences their experience.
2 - STEPS
Asked users to Identify four steps that impact
experience positively or negatively. By diving into
the specifics of each step we learned which steps
of the process was currently working and which
had the greatest opportunities.
CONTEXTUAL INQUIRY
CONSUMERS - 60 min. sessions
6 Participants
410 Observations
DISCUSSION & OBSERVATION
Our visits were geared to learn and observe
user's goals, challenges, and desires within
their interactions. Some of the topics covered include child-resistance, portability, freshness, preparing, opening, and dosing.
BUSINESSES - 90 min. sessions
10 Places of Business
249 Observations
DISCUSSION
The discussion was focused on how each business fits packaging into their process and what hurdles they have experienced along the journey.
OBSERVATION
While visiting businesses we were able to
observe all aspects of the product process,
from growing to packaging and being processed
into other forms, to the moment consumers
purchase and consume products.
SECONDARY RESEARCH
MARKET
Gained a foundational understanding of demographics, categories, products and packaging within the landscape.
LEGAL
With the legal regulations and restrictions on cannabis and its packaging, it was imperative that we understood these restrictions before ideation.
THE FINDINGS
CATEGORY LANDSCAPE
DSCOUT
BUSINESSES
COMPLIANCE
Companies' top concern is compliance
and the MED is constantly enforcing
stricter regulations regarding packaging
and label requirements making it
difficult for them to keep up
DIFFERENTIATION
As the industry moves forward, companies are
beginning to focus on how they can differentiate
themselves by focusing on packaging and branding
EFFICIENCY
Companies are trying to maximize process efficiency
through packaging because current inefficiencies are
costing them money by taking extra time and labor
CONSUMERS
FRESHNESS
Fresh flower provides better flavor, a better
high, and a longer lasting high so people
take extra measures to keep it fresh
TRAVEL
Although cannabis is legal in Colorado,
people still feel the need to be careful about
carrying it in public so they seek convenient
discretion for on-the-go occasions
PREPARING
Extra steps, messes, and cleaning are all
barriers for the primary drivers for using
cannabis - relaxation, fun, and relief
(click to enlarge)
(click to enlarge)
THE OUTCOME
BUSINESSES
EFFICIENCY
Eliminate manual labor
through packaging design?
COMPLIANCE
Make a package that is
impossible for kids to open?
DIFFERENTIATION
Make a package that can be used
for a variety of cannabis products?
HOW MIGHT WE...
CONSUMERS
FRESHNESS
Make it impossible for a flower
to dry out in its package?
PREPARING
Eliminate the need to touch and handle
flower when preparing and dispensing it?
TRAVEL
Make a flower package
comfortable to carry in a pocket?
IDEATION REFINEMENT
WHERE WE ARE
The project's final concepts are patented and currently in unit mold production. With the cannabis market growing exponentially, this project has received a lot of attention and interest. We are expecting to have the first run soon to hopefully bring these products to market making cannabis packaging safer and more user friendly.
WE'VE GOT PRESS, CHECK IT OUT:
http://www.studioblueclover.com/
https://www.packagingstrategies.com/
THE DETAILS
PRELIMINARY RESEARCH
& PLANNING
category landscape.
Starting off I looked at the market
to understand the primary products
with the largest market share. This helped
us narrow our focus during research and again ideation to prioritize our efforts.
While looking at demographics we learned that while younger people are the primary users, older generations are increasing
use as well (due to medicinal benefits).
Older generations are more likely to
use products not required to be
smoked like edibles, topicals, or pills.
demographics.
exploratory research.
Dscout was especially helpful with
this project as we truly had little
knowledge of the cannabis world.
Using Dscout we were able to
understand the types of packages and interactions people were experiencing prior to traveling to Colorado to dive deeper.
observations.
Each entry on
dscout includes a
video accompanied with questions. With
145 entries we were able to see first-hand people's experiences interacting with cannabis packaging.
statistics.
While we only had 18 scouts
in our mission, we had 272 apply. Using the questions we asked
in the screener we were able
to see a snapshot of how people use cannabis within their daily life. Ironically, cannabis is commonly thought of as a substance
included in parties, but zero percent of participants associated cannabis with partying.
USERS
6 participants
1 hour interviews
5:38 hours of video
410 Observations
stakeholder map.
Users, budtenders, and operators primarily interact with cannabis and its packaging. Others are more backstage, but are just as important within the process.
personas.
While many people use
cannabis for a variety of
reasons, we identified
three primary groups.
People want
- to feel better
- to relax
- to have fun
journey maps.
While with users we observed
their interactions with their products. Each product type required different steps and
tools with each having their
own benefits and pitfalls.
key observations.
While synthesizing the data, patterns emerged. I grouped
like-minded comments and observations to pull some
key observations from
each unveiled category.
Categories:
- opening
- package
- preparing
- travel
- dispensing
- transferring
- mess
- identification
example video.
I find videos to be one of the most important takeaways for stakeholders. Although they weren't there during the interviews, they are able to witness key moments that occurred. For each category of observations, I create a corresponding video using Premiere Pro.
This video is an overview of flower >
FRESHNESS
Fresh flower provides better flavor, a better
high, and a longer lasting high so people
take extra measures to keep it fresh
TRAVEL
Although cannabis is legal in Colorado,
people still feel the need to be careful about
carrying it in public so they seek convenient
discretion for on-the-go occasions
PREPARING
Extra steps, messes, and cleaning are all
barriers for the primary drivers for using
cannabis - relaxation, fun, and relief
BUSINESSES
10 participants
1-2 hour interviews
5:17 hours of video
249 Observations
process overview.
While there are many different products containing cannabis compounds, they all start
from the plant itself. This map shows the process from
growing the plant to preparing
it in a few of its many forms.
Overall companies were primarily focused on keeping up with the ever-changing regulations. They wanted to be prepared for an unexpected change, but were also trying to maximize efficiency within their packaging process.
key observations.
check it out!
I find videos to be one of the most important takeaways for stakeholders. Although they weren't there during
the interviews, they are able to witness
key moments that occurred. For each category of observations, I create a corresponding video.
This video is an overview
of business challenges >
COMPLIANCE
Companies' top concern is compliance and the
MED is constantly enforcing stricter regulations regarding packaging and label requirements
making it difficult for them to keep up
DIFFERENTIATION
As the industry moves forward, companies are
beginning to focus on how they can differentiate
themselves by focusing on packaging and branding
EFFICIENCY
Companies are trying to maximize process efficiency
through packaging because current inefficiencies are
costing them money by taking extra time and labor
KEY USABILITY TAKEAWAYS
& IDEATION
With the cannabis market containing so many different products, we identified some key attributes for each and prioritized them using
our research findings.
To help narrow our focus
we developed key takeaway
pages explaining the biggest challenges for the primary cannabis categories.
insights & opportunities.
In order to develop new innovative packaging, we needed to understand what was already on the market. I gathered different packages that we saw and others on the internet to use as a baseline for what is already available.
packaging landscape.
Cannabis products are very complex and require many different tools to consumer the product. I gathered typical tools cannabis users own to help
provide an understanding of the preparation process and what consumers are currently using.
tools used.
Make it impossible for flower
to dry out in it's package?
Make a flower package
comfortable to carry in a pocket?
Eliminate the need to touch
and handle flower when
preparing and dispensing it?
HOW MIGHT WE...
Using our findings from research we developed a set of
"how might we's" to encourage innovative ideas through
ideation. Our ideation sessions consisted of quick post-ups, group thinks, and pass-the-sketch ideas. These sessions
cover the research so each idea has the user in mind.
concept refinement.
final concepts & updated personas.
