With the legalization of marijuana sales in Washington, we’ve seen a new industry of cannabis products sprout up almost overnight, and it’s growing like a weed! This fledgling industry is extremely regulated and highly competitive, as Sonderen Packaging has recently learned from working with our new client, Henderson Distribution, the maker of “Incredible Edibles.”
“We’ve been getting a lot of calls from new companies in the cannabis industry, and it’s obvious that some of them have it together and some of them don’t. When Henderson Distribution came along, it was clear that they were serious about growing their business and taking it to the next level with their packaging. It’s been an interesting journey,” said Keva Sonderen. “For us, it’s kind of getting over the stigma, and not wanting to turn off our current customers. We don’t really want to tote ourselves as the cannabis packaging experts, but at the same time it’s exciting because it’s this whole new industry. How many times does a new industry come along?”
When Henderson Distribution decided to refine their packaging, they sought out a graphic designer and came to Sonderen for package design and printing.
“Because the WA State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) have such highly regulated packaging and labeling requirements, it was imperative that we chose a manufacturer that would assist us in ensuring that all of our packages were thoroughly reviewed and changes could easily be made to meet the WSLCB, as well as our own, high standards,” said Deanna Henderson, the owner of Henderson Distribution. “We did our research to make sure that we would be working with knowledgeable and professional individuals to help us reach that goal. In addition to having a much nicer-looking package on store shelves, the new packaging has helped to lower, not only our overall packaging costs, but our manpower costs as well. This allows us to streamline our process and be more productive with filling orders in a timely manner. The time and money this is saving our company has allowed us to pass those savings on to our customers and ensure we have the best opportunity to secure shelf space in their stores.”
Great packaging design is always a balance of esthetics and functionality. We worked hard to find a box size that would work well for a variety of their products in order to keep their cost down, and extended the panel from which the box hangs on the shelf in order to showcase their graphics. The cookie boxes were able to be used for the brownies as well, which created significant savings.
“When we first put in our inquiry, we were delighted that Keva Sonderen was the person who reached out to us. After consulting with her, she proved to be very instrumental with helping us choose just the right colors and perfect all of the final packaging details,” said Deanna. “She has obviously been in the industry for a very long time and offered some tips and advice that we had not been aware of. She went out of her way to consult with us numerous times before the final product went into production. We used Michael Roche as our graphics designer, Roche Illustrations, to create all of our new logos and work with us on the special requirements, his creativity exceeded our expectations. Sonderen worked very well with Michael to ensure all elements of the original design were captured.
“The quality of the final product is outstanding and our customers are very excited to get a new look on their shelves. We introduced our Kronic HD Tonic Tincture before our cookies boxes were introduced and it increased our sales, as well as, our ability to get our product into new stores that really didn’t care for our original packaging. The cookie boxes arrived yesterday, and after releasing the new design to our customers, we have received larger orders from some of them that they have placed in the past. We feel that our new design will help us continue to be successful and we love the fact that we are both Spokane based companies, helping our local economy!”
“Our drug policy is still the same, you’ll still get fired for testing positive for marijuana,” joked Keva. “But we’re open to doing business with people that want to do business. The cannabis industry is a niche that we can serve very well, and Henderson Distribution has been a great client to work with.”
Deanna had this to say about working with us:
If you are looking to work with a company to provide you with a quality product, has knowledgeable and professional individuals and a true team atmosphere, we would recommend that any company, large or small, new or established contact Sonderen Packaging, as they are just great people to work with. They listen to your needs and implement upon those expectations.
We had the opportunity to tour their facility while our products were being printed, and we were impressed with their staff and could tell that they had happy, dedicated employees that worked together with true team effort. Steve Agen, General Manager, walked us through the entire process during our tour. They have such an impressive facility, they made us feel like we are a very important client, though we are small in comparison to the packaging they create for some very large, national corporations. Their customer service and expertise exceeded our expectations, with a quality product on exactly the day were promised. Fabulous company to work with!
Deanna Henderson
Owner, Henderson Distribution Bakery
We look forward to continuing to make the packaging for this growing line of “incredible edibles.”