With the country steadily moving towards full-on cannabis legalization, the cannabis industry has grown (and continues to grow) exponentially over the past couple of years, paving the way for many new businesses and savvy entrepreneurs to help ignite that growth. From engineering, transportation, lighting, and tourism to real estate, marketing, branding, and even packaging, a ton of new companies have sprung up to help meet the everyday needs of this budding industry, and many of these companies have nothing to do with the actual plant itself, but rather help to serve the needs of the industry being created around it.
One of those companies is The Bureau, whose sleek, premium packaging and storage solutions for cannabis are helping to change the way the plant is perceived. We sat down with Josh Gordon, founder and CEO, to pick his brain and gain a little more insight into his company and the overall industry at large.
So what’s your background and how did you get involved with the cannabis industry? Why cannabis?
My wife’s family has a house in Colorado, and there I witnessed firsthand the evolution of the cannabis industry, which at the time was moving quickly towards the mainstream population. It was clear to me that there were huge business opportunities, as the companies serving the industry were falling behind the needs of customers. Given that I was enrolled in a graduate business school in New York City at the time, I couldn’t really deal with the actual physical plant for obvious legal reasons, but research showed me that one of the biggest disconnects was in packaging—namely the lack of sophisticated and stylish packaging that afforded dispensaries modern branding opportunities.
And that led to The Bureau, correct? Can you tell us a bit about The Bureau and what it is you guys do?
The Bureau specializes in the manufacturing of premium cannabis packaging solutions and various branding services for legal cannabis dispensaries. Offering an improved patient and customer experience is now a necessity to maintaining a solid dispensary customer base, and we believe it starts with improved packaging and branding. Eradicating the stereotypes for the marijuana “of old” and removing branding with tie-dyed colors, leaf graphics and “stoner” aesthetics will allow quicker adoption and support among professionals, business leaders, lawyers, doctors and legislators.
And what made you get into product storage and design specifically? Where did that idea come from?
You walk into a liquor store and go buy a bottle of your favorite scotch… what does it come in? A soda bottle? Or a well branded glass bottle, often encased in a premium box intended to represent the product that’s in it? So I thought, why should cannabis should be any different?
What’s the process like when you’re creating and designing a new product?
We first assess how the customer will use the product, the desired price point, and the estimated quantity per production run. With that knowledge in hand, we proceed with the design process, first via hand sketches on paper and then eventually 3D renderings. At that point, we’ll huddle up with the customer to review what we’ve mocked up—the distinguishing aspects of the product, size, material type, and of course the general brand direction. Once the customer confirms that the product is indeed in line with what they envisioned, we’ll move forward with 3D prints of the product. This allows us to see the physical shape and size of the product, giving us more insight into if it is too big, small, round, etc. Not everything you see on a computer translates precisely to the physical widget. At this point, we’re ready to take out tooling which will enable us to mass produce the product at hand. We’ll generally go through a couple rounds of samples, tweaking the tooling along the process until we get the perfect finished product.
Wow, that’s quite a process. And what’s your favorite part of it?
The product ideation and design is definitely my favorite part. There’s something really fulfilling about analyzing a project, pain-point, or new product type and then going through the R&D process to address the mission at hand.
And how about the overall job? What’s your favorite part of the everyday ins and outs?
Hands down, the people. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some truly amazing people involved in all aspects of the industry, from politicians and investors to growers, marketers, and even engineers. They all share this grand vision of making a difference and improving society. Very few are solely motivated by money, and this really shows in their work. I’m extremely proud to work with them, and am very excited for what the future holds.
You’re obviously into design and style. Who informs yours? Where do you go to for style inspiration?
I’d like to think I have an eye for good design—I tend to appreciate the finer things in life. Plus I’ve also lived in Miami and NYC for countless years and the culture of each city has exposed me to various styles and trends.
What do you have planned for The Bureau in the future? Any exciting events or products in the works? Any collaborations?
We do have some exciting plans in store, especially as we build out our B2B offering—but for that you’ll just have to wait and see.
To learn more about The Bureau and get a peak at some of their products, visit thebureau.nyc.
