https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultalbot/2018/07/13/the-cannabis-branding-battle-ahead/#2eae30ac7857
The author opines, “where is the source of the Brand Value” as the main question around cannabis branding? Newly introduced Fireball Cannabis Gummies, https://www.fireballcannabis.com/, has developed an outstanding marketing strategy, that includes packaging and labeling from Color Label Solutions.
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| Fireball Cannabis Gummies |
Let me tell you about the work Fireball Cannabis did to bring this
exciting new brand to market; and our work with them.
Some time ago, Kevin Forde and Mike Sandrin of Fireball Cannabis, contacted
us about our containers, MPACKS. MPACKS
are the first new pharmacy vial since the 50’s.
This package is child resistant and tamper evident as well as offers 5X
more label real estate than the traditional vial. According to Mike Sandrin, “we needed a
tested and approved child resistant package for our gummies. We found the MPACK was a good choice for our
brand.” In addition, Kevin Forde added,
“the MPACKS travel well; and do not crush in pant pockets. Plus the MPACK is almost water and air tight.”
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| MPACK Colors |
In the past, I’ve written about our MPACK package for cannabis. You may remember this post covering District
Edibles and their use of the MPACK.
Based on the benefits, Mike, Kevin and the team at Fireball Brand
selected the Silver MPACK for their package.
The silver color worked well with the Fireball brand.
Once the MPACK was selected, we then turned our attention to labels. To label the MPACK, we suggested two options:
1, 8” label that wrapped the entire package and included the test data. Or 2 labels, one 6.38” brand label and a 1.5”
secondary white label for the test data.
Both options include a perforation to act as a “tamper evident” seal.
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| Fireball Gummies Label Artwork |
To create the label artwork, Mike and his graphic artist created
several iterations to create the best possible look and feel. As the brand label had only 1 version,
Fireball Cannabis decided to purchase preprinted labels. To make sure the
colors and text were correct, we produced “press proofs for Fireball Cannabis to approve.
And I just happened to be in the plant when we were slitting and rewinding
the labels after production.
For the secondary, lab test data, we recommended a traditional thermal
transfer printer to produce the black only text.
When asked, what was the most difficult part of bringing the Fireball
brand to market, Mike said, “the blister packs.
We purchased a custom machine and had to tune the viscosity of the
materials in order to fill the blister packs correctly. This process took time and a lot of work.”
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| Fireball Blister Packs |
As I’m not from the packaging world, I can only imagine the work this
process took; and the risk involved to get the packaging correct.
After getting the blister packs and MPACKS, Fireball Cannabis had to apply
labels; correctly. With the requirement
to place the label perforation correctly over the seam between the top and
bottom of the MPACK, they elect to use a Take-A-Label applicator with a
custom-made jig to hold the package in place. The affordable label applicator
insures the labels are placed in the correct position every time. Watch the operator use this applicator to
apply the labels:
With
the product ready, Fireball launched their gummies, to great success. At a recent Fireball Pop-Up event (find an
event near you here):
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| Fireball Gummies Pop Up Event |
I asked Kevin about the success of the launch. “We’ve had great success
with our gummies, both in terms of sales and market share. Instead of
large-scale advertising, we’re spending our time in dispensaries like this
pop-up event today, demonstrating to Budtenders, how to sale our product. Our brand ambassadors work with budtenders to
recommend and sell the gummies. So far,
this training strategy has worked well”.
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| Fireball Gummies Marketing Efforts |
In the article “Cannabis Branding Battle Ahead”, the author states, “Many
of the branding tenets and practices that have served marketing savvy brewers,
distillers, and vintners so well will take root in the cannabis industry.” The success of Fireball Cannabis demonstrates
this statement as very true.
As for next steps, Mike says, “we’re currently working to launch our
product into several new states.
California, Michigan and several other states are in our plans”.
I believe that Fireball Cannabis has done an
outstanding job not only with the branding, but also with getting this complex
product to market. I admire their work;
and their efforts to make this brand a success.
Given the success of their brand, as well as their product and marketing strategies, I
had hoped to nominate them for the MJBIZDAILY’s Cannabis Industry awards:
But alas, I can’t as I don’t have the confidential data to submit the
application. So please visit the Fireball Cannabis website or purchase their
gummies the next time you visit a Nevada Dispensary to show your support for
their branding and marketing efforts.
If you need labeling and branding support, contact Color Label
Solutions. We’ll help you build your
brands as well.
Guy Mikel
855-962-7670
info@colorlabelsolutions.com