Apple turned opening a cardboard box into a brand moment. Cannabis brands can do the same. The box. The lift of the lid. The perfectly placed parts. Apple perfected the art of the unboxing and embedded that into their customer experience. It’s a masterclass in brand experience. Apple doesn’t just sell products. It delivers emotion, clarity, and intention from the second you interact with the brand.
Cannabis brands can take a lesson here. Because this industry, still in its early growth stage, is filled with great products and underwhelming experiences. The flower is fire. The gummies hit. The carts are smooth. But how does it all feel when someone picks it up off the shelf? What do they remember after they open it, use it, share it, or stash it?
Too often, the answer is nothing. That’s a problem.
In cannabis, we’re not just selling weight and over-hyped THC percentages. We’re selling an experience. We’re building perception. And we’re creating rituals. If we want this industry to grow up, we have to design experiences that actually make people feel something.
Why Cannabis Experience Wins
Let’s zoom out.
Most cannabis brands are still locked in a race for product superiority. That’s fine. Quality matters. But the truth is, the differences between many products are subtle. A killer pre-roll is a killer pre-roll until the brand makes it more than that.
This is where experience becomes the differentiator. It’s what separates the brand that gets picked up once from the one that becomes part of someone’s lifestyle.
That experience starts long before the product gets consumed. It begins at the first touchpoint, the first glance at a display, a scroll on a website, a post on Instagram, a sticker on a laptop, or a referral from a friend. It extends into packaging, product design, customer service, loyalty programs, and the overall vibe your brand carries.
Lessons from Apple Without the Billion-Dollar Budget
I worked at Apple. I saw how obsessively they focus on every interaction a customer has with their products and brand. From packaging to in-store layout to how the site looks on mobile, it’s all connected. It all goes way beyond just design.
Now, I’m not saying your brand needs a spaceship campus and a team of 500 industrial designers. What I am saying is you can learn from the approach.
Design like it matters. Not because it’s trendy, but because it’s how trust is built. When a consumer opens your packaging and it’s clean, consistent, and well thought out, it sends a message. When your site is easy to navigate and not just a placeholder, it sends a message. When your messaging is clear and human and doesn’t feel like a legal document, it sends a message.
And that message is: we care about your experience.
Caring is underrated in cannabis branding. But it’s what separates the forgettable from the magnetic.
The Unboxing Moment in Cannabis
Unboxing a product is a ritual. Apple figured this out years ago. They turned the process of opening a phone into something ceremonial. That unboxing moment sets the tone for how a customer feels about the product, even before it powers on.
Cannabis has its own rituals. Opening a fresh eighth. Peeling the seal off an edible jar. Clicking a vape cartridge into place. These are moments where a brand can either show up strong or not at all. A pre-roll in a generic plastic tube doesn’t create an emotional connection. A well-designed box with a tactile feel, thoughtful graphics, and clear product info can. It doesn’t need to be expensive. It needs to be considered.
Ask yourself: what does your packaging say when someone opens it? Does it reinforce your values? Does it speak to your audience? Or does it feel like an afterthought?
The answer to that question says a lot about where your brand stands in the market.
Turning Your Brand Into an Experience
Here’s where most brands go wrong. They treat their product and their brand as the same thing.
But your product is what people consume. Your brand is everything else they feel about it.
To turn your brand into an experience, you have to build consistency across touchpoints. It’s how you go from being a one-time curiosity to a trusted, recognized name in someone’s rotation.
That includes:
- A visual identity that reflects your personality, not just trends
- Packaging that feels purposeful and enjoyable to interact with
- A website that isn’t just functional, but helpful and reflective of your brand tone
- Messaging that sounds like a real person, not a compliance robot
- Customer touchpoints that create value, not just noise
It’s about intention. Experience doesn’t happen by accident. You build it by caring about the people you’re trying to reach.
Why Cannabis Experiences Matter Now
The cannabis industry is moving fast. Markets are opening, consolidating, maturing. New brands are popping up every week. In a space this loud, great product isn’t enough. Brand experience is what sticks. It’s what builds memory. It’s what fuels word of mouth. It’s what earns repeat business and loyalty in a sea of sameness.
This is about building real relationships with your customers. And relationships are built on thoughtful, trustworthy, enjoyable experiences. The future of cannabis belongs to the brands that get the details right. The ones that don’t just show up on shelves, but show up in culture. The ones that give people more than a product. They give them something to remember.
So the next time you’re thinking about your packaging, your website, your messaging, your campaign, ask yourself: does this feel like a brand I trust?
Does it feel like a brand I want to be a part of? If not, now’s the time to change that.
About the Author
As the Founder & CEO of CannaPlanners, Will Read brings a no-nonsense approach to disrupting the cannabis industry. His background is as dynamic as his leadership style, spanning music, tech, and entrepreneurship. After sharpening his skills in business development at Apple, Will launched CannaPlanners in 2016 to normalize cannabis through bold design and next-level digital marketing.
With a decade of experience in tech and branding, he’s tackled the industry’s toughest challenges, such as breaking down stigmas, boosting brand visibility, and helping cannabis businesses make noise in a crowded market. Under his leadership, CannaPlanners has become the go-to partner for cannabis brands ready to level up, offering services like branding, custom websites, SEO, and loyalty marketing. A creative strategist at heart, Will is all about growth, both for his clients and his team, while changing the way the world sees cannabis.
