Pre-Pack vs. Deli-Style Cannabis: What’s the Difference?

The cannabis industry is making great strides with the legalization of cannabis sweeping across the country. As cannabis enters the mainstream market, there is a need to familiarize ourselves with the terms used in the industry. One of the biggest debates in the cannabis industry is the choice between pre-packaged and deli-style cannabis. This blog post will dive into the differences between these two types of cannabis and help you decide which one is best for you.

The Types of Cannabis Flower

The cannabis flower can be divided into two broad categories: pre-packed and deli-style. Pre-packed cannabis refers to flower that has been pre-packaged in a container, while deli-style cannabis is weighed out from a storage container for each purchase.

Pre-Packaged Cannabis Flower 

Pros

Pre-packed cannabis provides a clean and quality product for the consumer, as it follows strict packaging and labeling requirements to ensure an uncontaminated product every single time.

Pre-packing flower seals in the humidity and preserves all the yummy compounds such as cannabinoid and terpene profiles that are paramount in a consumer’s search for the best strain.

Pre-packed flower ensures customer satisfaction and the quality of the bud remain high. This flower will also prevent inventory discrepancies; shrinkage and loss prevention are significant issues.

Pre-packed weed bags can save time with each customer, leading to higher daily sales and increased revenue.

Cons

Pre-packaged cannabis adds an extra material cost, making it not an ideal option for companies looking to cut costs.

Customers may argue that they don’t know what they are getting, making it difficult to assess the quality of the product until they open it at home.

Pre-packed flower isn’t ideal for the consumer who wants to buy in bulk and get the discounted rate that can often come with buying flower in this way.

Deli-Style Flower 

Deli-Style Cannabis Flower

Pros

Deli-style flower is an excellent option for those customers who consider themselves more selective when choosing their cannabis flower.

It works best for those who want a bulk discount, making it ideal for many consumers, especially veteran ones.

For consumers who are more environmentally conscious, opting for a deli-style process can help cut down on some of the wastefulness of plastics.

Dispensaries can gain confidence when the customer can watch it get weighed out in front of them, thereby cutting down on returns and complaints about the flower.

Cons

The more weed is handled, the more susceptible it is to mold and mildew, which can impact its shelf life over time.

Most dispensaries clean and reuse the same storage containers, which can alter the quality of the product.

Human error is brought into the equation, meaning the weight could be off, or the quality of the product could be tampered with if employee cleanliness standards aren’t where they should be.

The constant opening of containers and air exposure can make the flower dry out faster, impacting quality.

It simply takes longer to weigh cannabis flower by hand, which slows down a dispensary’s overall transaction process, contributing to lower sales and revenue.

The Bottom Line

Overall, neither style is mutually exclusive, and a dispensary can have the best of both worlds by using each method as they see fit. Pre-packed cannabis is a more streamlined product that has been pre-packaged and pre-weighed for more freshness and quality. However, it’s a more transactional product that adds more guessing for the consumer. Deli-style cannabis, on the other hand, provides a more personal approach and interaction with the budtender, making it ideal for those who consider themselves more selective when choosing their cannabis flower.