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The Cannabis Gold Rush: New Business Opportunities in Packaging and Apparel Are Here for the Taking

The first in a series of articles about the current cannabis landscape. While this is a high-growth market opportunity for packaging converters, it is also still a Wild West environment, and there are many misunderstandings about what it is comprised of, what’s legal and what’s not, and what the actual benefits of cannabis-derived products are from a health and well-being perspective. In this introductory feature, Cary Sherburne provides an overview of the current state of the market, including definitions, and applications, as well as developments in packaging and even apparel.

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

(Be sure to register for “The Cannabis Gold Rush” LunchNLearn webinar, Wednesday, March 18, at 1 pm ET.)

Cannabis, once widely spurned by authorities as an illicit drug, is gaining legal status in a number of geographies around the globe. Research firm Smithers reports that the value of the legal cannabis market globally will more than double from $21 billion in 2019 to $55 billion in 2024.

Cannabis products also have special packaging requirements, depending on the chemical content of cannabis-based products and the strain of cannabis sativa, or hemp, from which it is extracted. Smithers forecasts that as the market evolves, the value of packaging for legal cannabis products will rise from $493 million to exceed $1.63 billion in 2024. This is equivalent to a year-on-year growth rate of around 24%, well in excess of other more established consumer goods.


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About Cary Sherburne

Cary Sherburne is a well-known author, journalist and marketing consultant whose practice is focused on marketing communications strategies for the printing and publishing industries.

Cary Sherburne is available for speaking engagements and consulting projects. To get more information contact us.

Please offer your feedback to Cary. She can be reached at [email protected].

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Tariffs and Textiles: Will They Help Bring Back U.S. textile Manufacturing?

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So supposedly, a goal of U.S. tariffs on products imported from other countries, including textiles, apparel, and footwear, was to incentivize bringing manufacturing back to the States. Of course, setting up a new factory takes time and money; it doesn’t happen overnight. But it seems that producers had other ideas…the results may surprise you. Read More

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Nothing better demonstrates the turmoil the textiles and apparel industry is going through than two news items I received in my inbox, basically back to back, stating that the U.S. is holding its own while Europe is losing steam. What else is going on in the industry today? We dive into that here. Read More

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