Although it is an ever-present necessity, packaging is an often overlooked aspect of the cannabis industry. For the most part, legal cannabis is dispensed in plastic pill bottles, often without a child-resistant cap, and only a select few dispensaries, cultivators, and hash makers seem to put much effort into branding.

With that said, traditional pill containers are far from aesthetically pleasing, and they are often used in the black market. Further, pill bottles can stir up bad memories for medical marijuana patients who may have had bad experiences with pharmaceutical drugs in the past.

New packaging solutions will surely emerge as the legal cannabis industry continues to develop, and RODAWG aims to lead the way.

RODAWG Aims To Elevate The Status Of The Cannabis Industry

With headquarters in New York, RODAWG‘s early beginnings can be tied directly to Colorado’s evolving cannabis industry. Josh Gordon, CEO of RODAWG, has family ties to the Centennial State and he had a front row seat as cannabis policy reform began to take form.

“When you walk into a liquor store and buy a nice bottle of Cognac it’s well branded, comes in a nice glass bottle, sometimes even a felt case. When you walk into a marijuana establishment, you should really have that same experience.” – Josh Gordon

Mr. Gordon witnessed the progression of the cannabis industry as it began to evolve from black market to mainstream commerce, and he wanted to get involved. However, his business group was based in New York, making it impossible to open a retail cannabis facility.

Accordingly, Mr. Gordon started thinking about the best way to make a meaningful impact on the developing cannabis industry.

Taking a nod from the alcohol industry, he realized that branding is sorely missed in many legal cannabis dispensaries.

“When you walk into a liquor store and buy a nice bottle of Cognac it’s well branded, comes in a nice glass bottle, sometimes even a felt case,” Mr. Gordon explains in an interview with ABC News. “When you walk into a marijuana establishment, you should really have that same experience.”

RODAWG: Classing Up The Joint

RODAWG was launched in 2012 with the intention to bring classy, aesthetically pleasing packaging and branding solutions to the legal cannabis industry. The company’s flagship product, a customizeable smell-proof tin that houses pre-rolled joints, can be found in a number of dispensaries.

While it may not sound like much at first, the RODAWG case does tend to grow on you once you consider the amount of thought that went into it. Not only are they elegantly designed as far as appeal is concerned, but their child-resistant functionality means that they are compliant with state law in both Colorado and Washington.

As a result of their early success, RODAWG was able to raise $500,000 in investment capital in April to help grow the company. They have designed an assortment of products for dispensaries and patients alike that are set for release this spring. The soon-to-be-released RODAWG product line will include a variety of brand-able packaging solutions for legal cannabis establishments.

In addition to their pre-rolled joint cases, the company has options for collectives who wish to display and distribute their products in a more sophisticated fashion. Included in the line is RODAWG’s take on a few traditional packaging options, such as glass jars and “doob tubes.”

Even further, RODAWG intends to offer fully compliant labeling solutions for their products, in order to facilitate the law’s requirements in legal and medical states. Tamper evidence, potency levels, and warnings to keep the product away from unsuspecting children will all be printed and applied directly to the entire product line.

They have created a few products all their own as well. The RODAWG Safeguard, for instance, is a smell-proof, tamper-evident jar with built in safety locks that can hold either a gram (small) or an eighth (medium) of cannabis; larger sizes and joint containers are in the works as well.

For cannabis concentrate storage, the company has created the RODAWG Saturn, which consists of an anti-stick, food-grade silicone interior encased in a self-balancing, smell-proof acrylic shell.

As mentioned above, each RODAWG product is fully customizable, but the possibilities don’t end there for establishments who really hope to stand out from the crowd. The company worked closely with Harborside Health Center to create exclusive jars for their newly released line of sun-grown medical marijuana, and more collaborations are already in the works.

According to Mr. Gordon, RODAWG hopes to elevate the status of the legal cannabis industry by placing an emphasis on professionalism, aesthetics, class, quality, and safety.

“RODAWG worked closely with Harborside Health Center to create exclusive jars for their newly released line of sun-grown medical marijuana.”

It should be noted that RODAWG intends to be much more than a manufacturer of cannabis packaging and storage products. Mr. Gordon refers to the company as a lifestyle brand, and he explains that a line of consumer products is not far down the pipeline.

In addition to apparel, there will be jewelry, iPhone cases with a hidden compartment, and more. All in all, the goal is to create products with cannabis undertones that are elegant enough to appeal to lawyers and businessmen, he said.

Without a doubt, we here at Medical Jane love seeing advancements that add a touch of elegance to the industry. It won’t be long before the experience of purchasing your cannabis from a legal cannabis establishment is on par with the quality of product you pay for.

Let’s face it, people expect to get more when they pay more; well-branded, sophisticated packaging can go a long way to add value to your dispensary or collective.