How Blunts Can Help Diversify Your Product Line and Boost Sales

Among the myriad ways to consume cannabis, the mighty blunt looms large.

Traditionally made by emptying the tobacco from a cigar and re-filling the leaf with cannabis flower, the blunt has a dedicated consumer base, particularly among fans of hip hop, where the blunt has been a favorite of top rappers from both coasts for decades.

A mainstay in cannabis culture with a devoted following, adding pre roll blunts to your product line is an excellent way for pre-roll manufacturers to reach a new audience. However, since the mixing of tobacco and cannabis is illegal in all state markets, modern blunt wraps and pre-roll blunts sold in dispensaries today are made with hemp leaf wraps, tea or other botanical materials.

But no matter the size and scale of your operation, adding pre-rolled blunts to your pre-roll product line can be a great way to tap into a niche market of die-hard cannabis consumer increase profits and gain more resilience in the market.

What are Some of the Most Popular Pre-Roll Blunt Products?

The way in which blunts are made by home users is quite different from that seen with commercial producers in today’s regulated markets.

When rolled at home, blunts are made using a cheap, usually machine-rolled cigar that is wrapped in a single inner tobacco leaf. Once split and the tobacco emptied, the single leaf outer wrapper is used like a large rolling paper and filled with ground flower before being sealed like a large joint. But since no state markets allow producers to mix cannabis and tobacco, manufacturers needed to develop legal ways to sell blunt products at dispensaries.

In the modern cannabis industry, pre-roll suppliers like Custom Cones USA have gone to great lengths to develop blunt products suited for commercial sales that are compliant with state law. Generally, this means rolling blunts with hemp blunt wraps, as opposed to tobacco leaves.

Popular blunt products in today’s cannabis industry include:

• Hemp wrap blunts - both cone and tube shaped
• Cannagars
• Flavored wraps – made with either hemp wrap or other botanical material
• Infused blunts

Thanks to modern manufacturing facilities and creative pre-roll suppliers, there are seemingly endless opportunities for innovation with blunt products. Besides choosing between unique shapes and flavors, producers can also use custom branding and different sized pre rolled blunt cones to create exciting new products. At Custom Cones USA, our pre-roll experts can also help you add different filters and tips - including spiral, ceramic or the top-selling glass blunt tips or ceramic tips – to further diversify your product offerings.

What Specific Traits of Blunts Make Them Stand Out?

When it comes to the consumption experience, there is nothing quite like smoking a blunt. Known for their slow burn and unique flavor profile, blunts can be savored among friends or provide a centerpiece for a longer solo session (or two), particularly larger sizes that can hold up to 2 grams of flower.

With the addition of flavored blunt wraps, manufacturers and consumers alike can experiment with unique flavor combinations created by combining different hemp wraps with various cannabis strains. Moreover, like normal pre-rolls, the convenience and portability of blunt cones make them a popular choice for on-the-go consumers, especially those with a higher tolerance.

And since they generally contain quite a bit of flower, a blunt can foster a sense of community when shared among friends.

Is There a Market Demand for Pre-Rolled Blunts?

Blunts occupy a unique niche in the cannabis marketplace. While the demand for blunts is relatively small when compared to traditional pre-roll cones, they still command a notable market share in the United States.

Cannabis blunts have long been an iconic symbol of hip-hop culture. Embraced by highly influential rappers, including legends from both coasts, like the Notorious B.I.G. and Snoop Dogg – who famously smokes 80 per day and employs a personal blunt-roller – as well as younger artists like Travis Scott, blunts are featured prominently in lyrics, music videos and public appearances. By tapping into the country’s love of hip-hop, pre-roll manufacturers can also tap into an extremely dedicated consumer base.

According to the cannabis industry research company Headset, "Between August 2020 and August 2021 … the market share of Pre-Rolls was an average of 9.5% [of the US market]." Of this number, "The Cannagars/Blunts segment is … 4.2% of the Pre-Roll market." So while blunts aren’t hugely popular, they can offer a nice addition to a pre-established pre-roll product line that can appeal to a different buyer.

Blunts, particularly in larger sizes up to 2 grams, are also often considered a celebratory purchase, often designed to be shared among friends at a party or during special events. Demand for pre-roll blunts often goes up around the holidays or other times when people gather together. We have one client that saves blunt drops for events like the Super Bowl, when people will be gathering in groups to celebrate for day, in order to better capitalize on what many consider the special nature of a blunt.

What are the Advantages of Adding Pre-Rolled Blunts to Your Product Line?

The primary reason to add pre-roll blunts to any brand’s pre-roll lineup comes down to the bottom line. Because there are fewer pre-roll blunts on the market and because they considered a premium item, the profit margins on them are often higher than on the traditional pre-roll cone.

But while profitability should always be the major focus for cannabis producers, it is not the only reason to add pre-roll blunt products to your offerings. It's also important to keep market resilience and overall longevity in mind.

First and foremost, expanding your pre-roll offerings with blunts can be a great way to boost sales. The popularity of blunts in hip-hop culture and social gatherings creates buzz and word-of-mouth promotion that can attract new customers. Even more, because blunt products have a die-hard fan base, brand loyalty can keep customers coming back for more once they discover you have quality products.

Incorporating blunts into your product line also helps diversify your product offerings. By adding blunts alongside other options such as mini – or dogwalker – pre-rolls, traditional1-gram pre-rolls in paper cones or infused pre-rolls, your brand appeals to a wider range of customers. Moreover, having more products on shelves increases brand recognition at dispensaries and strengthens the overall appeal of your company.

Infused pre-roll blunts are yet another way to expand your product line. Infused pre-rolls, which combine a concentrate with the flower to produce a higher THC percentage and different flavor profile, are currently the fastest-growing segment of the pre-roll market and pre-roll blunts have their own devoted and growing following. Known as a “Hash Hole,” these products are growing in popularity and make a splash on social media. Thankfully, new machinery, such as the Jiko Automated Infused Pre-Roll Machine that injects a tube of concentrate into the center of a pre-roll, can be used to help create these high-demand products at scale. Additionally, the Hash Hole attachment.

Incorporating blunts into your product line enhances your market resilience by reducing dependency on a single product type. During the inevitable market fluctuations and sales trends of the cannabis industry, diverse offerings can safeguard you against potential downturns. A varied product line helps mitigate the impact of competitive pressures, enabling your brand to stay steady in a volatile and ever-evolving market.

How Can Blunt Product Offerings Attract New Customers?

Besides appealing to an entrenched customer base who grew up smoking blunts, it's also important to note that product novelty tends to drive interest among consumers. According to Headset, most pre-roll products have a shelf life of about 7 months, indicating that shoppers are always looking for the next trend. For consumers seeking fresh experiences, innovative blunt variations infused with enticing flavors, potency levels and special blunt packaging can draw attention to your brand.

With a wide variety of blunt wraps and sizes available, through suppliers like Custom Cones USA, manufacturers can create multiple variations of blunt products. Where one manufacturer might focus on hemp wraps as a healthy alternative to traditional tobacco blunts, others might try combining flavored blunt wraps with different cannabis strains to create one-of-a-kind products.

Pre-roll products are the fastest-growing segment of the cannabis industry and the No. 1 add-on item at cannabis retailers across the continent. Adding pre-roll blunts allows your company another way to attract those buyers and get your brand into new hands that may not have tried your products before.

How Can We Integrate Blunt Production into Our Operations?

The easiest way to produce blunts is, of course, to hand roll them using a cigar rolling machine. Custom Cones USA keeps those machines, as well as full bobbins of hemp wrap rolling paper, as and other add-ons like glass or ceramic filter tips and cigar bands, in stock for companies ready to branch out into the pre-roll blunt category. Though labor-intensive, these blunts are considered an even more premium product with companies highlighting the "hand-rolled" nature as part of their marketing.

But hand-rolling blunts is not usually the answer for companies looking to produce pre-rolled blunts at scale.

However, because pre-rolled blunt cones fit easily in most standard pre-roll filling machines, such as the King Kone, adding a pre-roll blunt product to an existing pre-roll line is not necessarily difficult for producer. But to ensure success, our Pre-Roll Experts at Custom Cones USA recommend asking the following questions before starting to produce blunts:

A great starting point is deciding whether you want to produce blunt cones or blunt tubes. There are many factors that can influence your decision-making here, including competitor products, market pressure, and your own production facilities. Keeping an eye on your bottom line is extremely important when deciding between cones and tubes.

If you decide to produce blunt tubes, your equipment might require special add-ons to work properly. You also need to consider different packaging options your blunt products. For example, if wider blunt tubes don’t fit into your packaging, it may require designing and purchasing entirely new materials, something the pre-roll experts at Custom Cones USA can walk you through.

Blunt wraps come in a wide variety of sizes. At Custom Cones USA, we offer blunt cones that hold a ½-gram, ¾-gram or1-gram of flower. Additionally, we offer blunt tubes that pack in anywhere from 1-2 grams of flower.

The larger the blunt product you produce, the more overhead you need to invest in the way of flower and raw materials. Again, considering your production facilities can go a long way in your decision-making process. To keep expenses down, we advise implementing blunt products that already fit with your manufacturing machinery.

If blunts products aren’t compatible with your pre-roll production equipment, you need to find the right machinery or accessory before you can begin production. Since this extra equipment may impact the overall cost of production, it’s important to be sure that blunts will be a profitable addition to your product line.

Expand Your Pre-Roll Blunt Line with Custom Cones USA

Custom Cones USA is more than a pre-roll supplier. Our pre-roll experts are also trusted advisers for our clients in the cannabis industry. If you have questions about the business opportunities or logistical adjustments that come with blunt production, Custom Cones USA will be there with you every step of the way.

Contact Us today to get started!