As April 20th quickly approaches, starting early with preparations for the cannabis holiday is essential. With high product demand volume, it is important for cannabis-based companies to stock up on extra supplies such as packaging and labels to ensure all their product can hit the shelves. With so many companies buying extra supplies in bulk, lead times can start to increase causing delays. Ordering all necessary supplies early helps to ensure what you need is in stock, and that you can get it in an ample amount of time. If you need to ensure your product is on the dispensary shelves for 4/20, then read through our lead time blog list below to get a better idea of standard duration times and when you should place your order by.
Custom Labels
If you are looking to get a custom label made for your brand or maybe a special edition label for 4/20 then you will want to place your order a minimum of about two weeks before you want to receive them. For high volume labels, expect a print time of 5 to 7 days to complete order requests. For low volume label quantities typical only 1 to 3 days are necessary. This does not include design process time, or shipping and handling time. Recommended purchase date for custom labels would be no later than March 30th to ensure the label will arrive in time for 4/20. *Start the process in mid-March if you are looking to create a new design.
Application
For those that already have a label designed and all your business needs is for them to be applied to your packaging solutions then this is the section for you. The estimated lead time to label 10,000 jars, bags, pre-roll tubes, tinctures, and more is approximately one week. If labeling two or more sides add an additional week for each side. For example, if your business wants to label two sides of a bag or box then application time will be two weeks. This does not include shipping and handling times which can add an additional few day to a week depending on location. Custom prints on jar lids typically takes between ten and fifteen business days per 10,000. Recommended order date for application jobs would be no later than March 16th to allow adequate time to receive product back and have time to get it to distributor locations.
Applicator
Label applicators allow your business to apply labels directly onto packaging and eliminate the time it takes to ship out and or receive back the packaging that needs labels. However, depending on the features and customization needs of the applicator, the time it takes to receive an applicator can vary between six and fifteen weeks for industrial sizes. For smaller compact or desktop version applicators they typically ship within one week of placing an order. For small applicators, recommendation to order would be early March to get started on all application jobs necessary in preparation for 4/20.
Custom Bags
Custom bags not only allow you to store your product in a way no other brand has, but it allows for the whole packaging design to represent your business. Since this packaging option is very personal and different for each brand, lead times are quite extensive and require planning months in advance. For orders placed by companies based in the United States, estimated times are between four to six weeks for completion, that does not include the design process time or shipping and handling time. For international orders, completion time can take eight to twelve weeks, again not including design time or shipping and handling. Use this month of March to get started on holiday designs, limited edition looks or general business designs to be used in the future.
Custom Boxes
Custom boxes are another great packaging solution for various reasons. Whether you are looking for additional space for required product information, additional branding, or to keep your other packaging safe from breaking, custom boxes are the solution you need. Once design and quantity have been reviewed and approved by the customer, average production time is ten to fifteen days per 10,000. Typically, orders are received through a local port, which takes four to six weeks, to arrive in the United States. However, ports are remarkably busy now and average wait times can be up to three months. Air shipment is a possibility and can be estimated at four to seven days to arrive in the United States before being available to ship to your business location, air shipment is a more costly option.
