Paper Tube Differentiates a Unique Brand of Cannabis

Kralick adds that the brand also wanted to bring a touch of professionalism into the CPG world of cannabis. “I’ve worked with a lot of brands in the past, and we’ve always followed the norm of what the industry was doing,” he says. “We really wanted to raise the bar and bring something new to the market.”

Blair Kralick, CEO, äktaThe solution came from a Google search. It was there that Kralick came upon The Paper Tube Co., a supplier of eco-friendly paper-based packaging. Wanting to avoid plastic as much as possible and looking for a format that would align with the brand’s soft, approachable aesthetics, äkta selected a paper tube format. “When I came across the tube, I liked that it was made of paper and had rounded edges—it was everything I was looking for,” Kralick says.

Äkta is using two different tube designs. One is for its Live Rosin Vape Cartridges in three varieties. The tube measures approximately 3.5 in. tall x 1.5 in. wide and holds a cartridge with 500 mg of full-spectrum, strain-specific, solventless live rosin hash oil. The consumer accesses the cartridge by pushing up on a paper insert on the bottom of the tube, which features a round hole to hold the product upright. Says Kralick, the insert “slides up and down like a push-pop,” propelling the product out of the tube.

To meet regulatory compliance, the tube is topped with a plastic, child-resistant closure with a lineup feature that only allows the consumer to open the lid when it’s lined up on the ring of the tube.

The second tube, measuring 1.25 in. tall x 1.5 in. wide, is used for its Live Rosin Concentrates and is made from paper only. The concentrates are packaged in a CR jar, with the tube acting as a marketing vehicle.

For the tube graphics, äkta worked with a Brooklyn-based graphic artist, who designed the brand logo and the aesthetics for the entire line. Says Kralick, äkta was looking for a Scandinavian pop-art feel for the packaging to align with the brand’s name, which in Swedish means authentic, genuine, real, and true, as well as the inspiration for the brand, which the company says is “the untouched elements of the Scandinavian alpine.”

Read this story on what to consider when moving into cannabis packaging.

Approachability was also at the top of the design brief. Says Kralick, “In the solventless world, we see a lot of dark colors, a lot of edginess, kind of almost a cool factor, per se, but very masculine. We wanted to lighten that up and give it more of a feminine feel with more colors and more brightness, so even if you didn’t know what product was inside, it wouldn’t be intimidating.”

The resulting design uses a rainbow of colors—up to seven, according to Kralick. “It allowed us a lot of flexibility on which color we wanted to lean on for which variety, so there wasn’t necessarily a primary color,” he explains. “This also gives us a lot of flexibility as we expand the brand into the future.” Designs include stylized illustrations of marijuana leaves, water, and the sun, conveying nature and a breath of fresh air.

The design of the packaging took eight months, but it was time well-spent, says Kralick. “I’m glad we took our time and went in that direction because it really sets us apart,” he shares. “Especially when you’re looking at a lot of packaging in some of these stores, you can really see the difference in the work that went into it.”

Äkta launched its first vape cartridge SKU in October 2020, followed by two more in spring 2021. Its products are available in 120 retail cannabis locations in Colorado, primarily in the Boulder and Denver areas.