Founded in 2015 in Upstate New York, Etain produces carefully formulated CBD and THC products for medical and recreational cannabis users. They offer an innovative and accessible product line—from flower and capsules to lotions and lozenges—out of their four dispensaries located throughout the state. With recreational legalization on the horizon, Etain reached out to Zenpack for new packaging to match their rebrand. The relationship bloomed into a multi-year partnership when Zenpack started sourcing secondary packaging and improving operations, helping Etain present cannabis in a new light. Zenpack analyzed the full line of products, taking note of structural design needs and sustainability goals, eventually choosing SBS paperboard as the primary material for most of the products and wrapped rigid board for the vape pens and batteries. Sturdy and durable, both materials are perfect for high-quality lithographic printing, resulting in crisp lines and colors. SBS takes just seconds to assemble and ships flat to save on transit costs. In addition to SBS packaging, we designed a custom rigid box and cardboard insert for their line of rechargeable vaporizers. To protect the glass jars and bottles inside the boxes, we needed to design interior structures that would prevent vertical movement. Simple solutions include foam or plastic pieces, but customers can’t throw these in curbside recycling; they also don’t align with the brand. SBS was the clear choice as it would allow us to extend brand colors to the inside, print in the same run as the boxes, and keep Etain’s carbon footprint to a minimum. After many prototypes, the structural engineering team created a 2-piece system. The top section secures the bottle dropper while the bottom section creates just enough space between the outer box and bottle underside to prevent breakage. Four center cuts fold down to form a plus sign, like an upside-down castle turret fortifying the bottle from exterior impact. In addition to outer packaging, Etain needed glass containers for their cannabis products. Rather than coordinating between multiple packaging providers, we combined operations to source glass bottles, droppers, caps, labels, and even metal spoons. Each container and component presented a unique challenge. The dropper caps came black, so we custom painted them with a Pantone silver. We spray painted the glass bottle with opaque white to protect contents from UV rays and match brand colors. Working with Etain to forecast their future releases and sales, we consolidated jar and bottle quantities to allow for a flexible and inexpensive lithographic label printing system. We even custom printed the metal spoons with the Etain logo. From bottle to box, a matte finish unifies the materials, reminding customers that they’ve chosen a high-quality product designed to improve their health. This attention to the detail is a crucial feature of our packaging design services. Our quality control managers maintain details like these across all packaging and operations. Every print finish, structure, and material illustrates the same precision and quality Etain puts into their cannabis formulations.