Guide to Packaging Costs in 2025

Calculating packaging costs is important for cannabis businesses looking to increase their profitability. Wise choices will reduce packaging costs while maintaining high-quality, eye-catching packaging that resonates with your customer base.

Umamii’s award-winning packaging lineup. Photography: Heard Creative

Packaging plays a vital role in how you market your business and its appeal to new customers. That's why it’s important to work with a savvy packaging supplier who will help you optimize costs while ensuring compliance and boosting conversions.

How Much Does Packaging Cost in 2025?

A balance between high-quality and cost-effective packaging is key to maximizing margins in your cannabis company. Many factors impact the final price of your packaging—including the materials and design you choose and the packaging company you work with.

General Unit Cost Ranges

The following figures are broad estimates and highly dependent on the many factors that impact packaging prices:

• Folding Cartons: Range from under $0.10 per unit for very basic, high-volume orders to $2.25 or more for smaller quantities with some customization.
• Corrugated Boxes: Expect to pay around $2 to $3 or more per unit for fully printed, identified corrugated containers, with significant variations based on size and customization. Simple single-wall boxes in bulk could be less than $1 for small sizes.
• Rigid Boxes: These are typically more expensive, potentially ranging from $4 to $5 per box for larger quantities of standard options, and significantly higher for premium materials and intricate designs ($8.5 to $10 per unit in some examples).
• Flexible Packaging (pouches, bags): Costs range from $0.10 to $0.25 per unit for larger runs (50,000 to 2,500,000 units), with higher costs for smaller quantities or specialized materials.
• Jars: Costs range from $0.40 to $2.00 per unit depending on the technology you choose to go with. For example, pop-vac jars which are engineered with a vacuum seal and proprietary lid are at the upper end for their flower jars but standard commodity glass with a child resistant lid in a concentrate format is at the lower end.

Economies of scale reduce the per-unit fixed cost, so ordering more units will lower the price of each item. The downside of this for small or startup businesses is that ordering large quantities of packaging impacts your cash flow and can lead to excess inventory. 

Protect Your Business Against Price Volatility in 2025

Businesses in the U.S. and around the world are subject to unusual unpredictability in 2025. This makes it more difficult to calculate the packaging costs. 

You can buffer your business against fluctuating costs by working with a specialized cannabis packaging company that offers diversified domestic and offshore packaging solutions. This flexibility puts them in the best place to withstand unpredictability and keep costs down.

The Importance of Agile Packaging Solutions

Agile, responsive packaging solutions that meet your business's requirements will always end up more cost-effective than clunky, slow, and inflexible options.

Agility in the packaging process takes the form of:

• On-demand packaging production 
• Flexible minimum order quantities to avoid excess inventory and protect cash flow
• Integration into your supply chain, meaning that packaging is ordered automatically when your stock is low
• Domestic and offshore solutions to match your cost and timing specifications
• Single-source solution that offers everything from wholesale boxes, jars, and tubes to printing and label application

Factors That Impact Packaging Costs

A range of fixed and variable costs impact how much your cannabis business spends on packaging. 

• Fixed costs in the packaging industry include rent, administrative expenses, and machinery.
• Variable costs include raw materials, labor, printing ink, and shipping.

Packaging Materials

The raw material cost itself varies greatly depending on the type of material chosen. Plastics and paperboard are often more economical than glass or metal. Within each category, variations in quality, durability, and whether the material is recycled or virgin will also affect the price. Sustainable materials, while potentially having a higher initial cost, might offer long-term benefits through reduced waste disposal fees or alignment with consumer preferences.

The material's fragility will dictate the need for additional protective packaging (like cushioning or specialized containers), adding to the overall cost. Furthermore, the chosen material will influence printing costs, as different surfaces require specific inks and printing techniques. Complex designs and multiple colors may further increase expenses.

Custom Packaging

Custom packaging solutions will raise the price of your packaging. However, most companies understand the importance of packaging in brand identity.

A 2024 study into the impact of packaging on preferences for cannabis edibles found packaging style to be the most important attribute in shaping consumer choice. 

Furthermore, a 2022 study into cannabis packaging characteristics on perceptions and intentions found that brand personality expressed through cannabis packaging is an important factor in consumer perceptions and choice. For example, products in medical-looking packaging were perceived to be less harmful, whereas fun and adventurous packaging was linked with a more youthful product at a lower price point.

Packaging choices like color, style, and the use of premium print and embellishments are vital when expressing your brand identity. Elaborate packaging design and high-quality packaging are investments many cannabis brands make to stand out and appeal to their target audience.

Packaging Material Quality and Design

The cost of high-quality packaging will naturally be higher than a cheap alternative. However, premium cannabis brands must reflect the quality of their offerings in their product packaging. Superior packaging offers a range of benefits that extend beyond customer perception. These include:

• Protection: Packaging’s primary purpose must be to protect your product from damage and deterioration. Premium packaging solutions will take this to the next level. For example, POP VAC jars protect flower and concentrates from environmental factors like oxygen, light, and moisture with a vacuum seal that “pops” every time you close the jar.

• Safeguarding health: Consumables like cannabis products require packaging that prevents mold growth and contamination.
• Brand visibility: Your packaging must grab customer attention and build brand awareness. It's also an invaluable way to communicate your cannabis brand’s values to new customers. 
• Compliance: Your packaging must comply with the regulations enforced in each state. This includes child-resistant packaging requirements and regulations surrounding the use of certain images and colors.

Type of Packaging

There are three main types of packaging: primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging. For cannabis products, primary packaging tends to be the most expensive to produce as it's the packaging your customers will interact with and must be child-resistant which can be more expensive than packaging that is not. This means its design, materials, and shape must all be optimized to attract new customers and be compliant to sell on shelves.

External Factors

Several external factors influence how much you spend on packaging. For example:

• Fluctuations in raw material prices for petroleum, paper, plastics, metals, and other packaging components directly increase or decrease expenses.
• Changes in tariffs and trade policies will impact the cost of imported packaging materials or finished packaging goods.
• Currency exchange rates affect businesses sourcing materials or exporting goods.
• Supply chain disruptions, whether due to transportation bottlenecks, labor shortages, or geopolitical instability affecting shipping routes, typically lead to higher freight and logistics expenses for packaging materials. This makes it important to put systems in place to solve supply chain bottlenecks wherever possible.
• Environmental regulations and consumer preferences regarding sustainability also act as external cost drivers.

Sustainable Choices

Sustainable choices are becoming increasingly important as consumers look for brands that seek to reduce the environmental impact of packaging. 

Packaging (especially food packaging) accounts for almost 59% of all plastic waste in Germany. This underlines the responsibility companies producing consumables have in promoting sustainable practices.

With the spotlight on sustainable choices, cannabis brands face a decision. Sustainable options tend to be pricier. However, this investment is well worth it if your brand centers on holistic concepts like sustainability, wellness, and health.

Shipping Expenses

Shipping expenses depend on the type of packaging you choose. Lighter materials like mylar reduce shipping costs both for inbound material delivery and outbound product distribution.

Storage Costs

Storage is another key element in the overall cost of packaging. The higher the vendor’s MOQ, the more you will need to spend on storage. Working with a packaging company that doesn't enforce excessive MOQs is essential for controlling costs.

Be Proactive in Making Packaging Cost Savings

Navigating the landscape of packaging costs in 2025 requires a proactive and informed approach. Understanding the interplay of material choices, production volumes, design complexities, and external economic and regulatory forces empowers businesses to make strategic decisions to optimize their packaging expenditures.

Embracing efficiency, exploring sustainable options, and staying abreast of evolving trends will be crucial for maintaining profitability and competitiveness in the years ahead. Ultimately, a holistic understanding of the factors that affect packaging prices will allow businesses to manage these costs and leverage packaging as a strategic asset.