The lights were dimmed inside the venue, and curtains were drawn over the windows to prevent the late July sun from blazing in. A DJ was blasting dance music as a rotating light shone from the ceiling. Guests waited in line for drinks or mingled at tables. In the center of the room was a large box hidden by a fabric cover – RollPros’ latest addition to the preroll market.
I attended the launch party for the Blackbird XXL, the first of its kind machine that can actually roll blunts.
RollsPros: A History of Innovation
Back in 2020, RollPros started offering the premier joint rolling machine to the cannabis industry. Founder Kyle Loucks is an engineer who has been fascinated with rolling joints since he was a teenager. Before starting his own company, Kyle worked for a variety of respected firms, including Nucor Steel, Sigma Design Company, and Oculus VR.
The Blackbird Changes Machine Rolling
The Blackbird, the company’s first machine, removes a lot of the inefficiency and guesswork from traditional cone joints. It can create consistent, trustworthy joints by rolling them horizontally rather than stacking them.
The Blackbird is the first machine to actually roll joints at scale. While other rolling machines can create rolled joints, none of them can come close to the size and speed of The Blackbird’s output. The final result is a beautifully cylindrical joint rather than a cone with a twisted paper top.
The Blackbird has a touchscreen panel where joints can be customized by weight, size, and even roll tension. The crutches in the joint are easily adapted by size and material, and can easily include logos or brand colors. But the secret sauce is in the paper, which comes from a spool, or bobbin, rather than a premade cone. A belt within the machine actually rolls a joint horizontally through a patented technology. Rolling joints prevent a lot of the imprecision that comes with traditional, stacked cones. These jones stay lit, they burn evenly, and there’s no canoeing.
Of course, innovation comes at a price: the Blackbird rings up at $250,000. Despite the cost, the RollPros has clearly found a niche to fill; over 200 of these machines are operating across the United States and Canada.
Introducing the Blackbird XXL
On July 24th, RollPros’ employees, friends, customers, and family members gathered in an event space in Vancouver, Washington, to witness the unveiling of RollPros’ newest machine. Similar to its predecessor, the Blackbird XXL rolls blunts instead of stuffing cones. It can create smooth, smokeable blunts with heavier weights, wider wraps, and even more customization. Each blunt comes with a glass tip as well as a branded paper wrap.
While there are a variety of machines on the market that can produce joints (either rolled or stacked), this is the only machine that was designed to roll blunts. The XXL can roll a blunt that weighs up to 2g and is 10-12 mm in diameter.
About 200 people attended the party, which included an outside patio for smoking. Many of the guests had traveled great distances in order to celebrate with RollPros. There were attendees from New Jersey, Arizona, California, and even Maine.
Loucks gave a speech describing the new Blackbird XXL, and then they fired up the machine and handed out free blunts. Guests happily lined up to receive their party favor and then walked outside to spark up. The flower was not technically marijuana, but rather Delta-9, generously supplied by Evergreen Hemp, out of Marion, North Carolina.
The vibe on the patio was happy and gregarious. People seemed to be making new friends, and all the blunts that night smoked easily and burned symmetrically – exactly like they’re supposed to. Derrall Peach, Fat Nugs Photographer, was one of the attendees who enjoyed a Blackbird XXL blunt.
“These smoked great! The flower was flavorful from the spark to the tip, and it burned evenly all the way down. It tasted great – mine was very piney.”
People Love Prerolls
The cannabis market will likely embrace this new addition; prerolls are incredibly popular amongst purchasers. According to data from Hoodie Analytics, Americans spent over $352 million on prerolls in June of this year. Single-gram prerolls (which include both joints and blunts) make up 35% of all preroll purchases. One and a half gram prerolls, as well as two-gram prerolls, make up 19% of preroll purchases.
Stacked cones have a few common problems that are well known to serious stoners. They can be difficult to light, or refuse to stay lit because of how tightly they’re packed. Nearly every cannabis enthusiast has suffered through a joint that canoes, or burns unevenly along one side. Rolling joints horizontally prevents these common issues.
Diversity and Innovation in Manufacturing
The team behind this first-of-its-kind machine is clearly pushing boundaries in cannabis tech. All of the employees I spoke to were kind, friendly, and happy to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but notice that only 10% of their staff are women.
This homogeneity reflects an all-too-familiar dynamic in both tech and cannabis, wherein women often struggle for inclusion. As the industry evolves, so too should its understanding that diverse perspectives aren’t just good optics: they’re essential components of sustained innovation and increased profits. When questioned, Loucks described a leadership model grounded in autonomy and trust that allows team members to define their own impact.
The Future of Machine-Rolled Joints
RollPros has more to offer the cannabis industry. They want to solve other problems for their customers and marijuana consumers alike. Given the popularity of prerolls, and the innovation necessary to create a large-capacity joint rolling machine, we’ll definitely be hearing more from RollPros. When questioned, Loucks wouldn’t rule out offering new machines or even taking the company public. With all of the success they’ve achieved, there’s no doubt they would find plenty of willing shareholders.
About the Author
Bethany Niebauer is the Business and Mediation Columnist for Fat Nugs Magazine and the founder of Axial Resolutions, a mediation firm specializing in dispute resolution for the cannabis industry. With a decade of experience in the cannabis space, she writes about the evolving business and regulatory landscape.
