The Bud Bar Displays Puffer Pod is one of the company’s most popular products, which include a wide range of Pods and display cases. All photos courtesy Bud Bar Displays.
Bud Bar Displays president and founder Will Smith had an epiphany the first time he visited a cannabis dispensary.
It was shortly after California had legalized medical marijuana, and Smith, who had experience in plastic manufacturing and retail display design, was seeking a non-pharmaceutical option for pain relief, hoping to ease the discomfort caused by paralysis in one leg from an accident he had suffered.
While standing in line at the newly opened dispensary, Smith watched as one customer after another pushed their noses inside a big glass jar, inhaling the aroma of the loose cannabis buds, then proceeded to select their favorite strains and flowers.
“And I thought, ‘Well, wait a second. I don’t want to be buying what someone else was just breathing on,’” Smith says. “Then my display experience kicked in and I thought there was an opportunity to design something to solve this.”
In addition to showing off flower, Bud Bar Displays has developed a variety of options for concentrates.
The result was the birth of Bud Bar Displays and the company’s first “Pod” systems, giving cannabis retailers a way to store and display products that allowed consumers to smell the buds in a more hygienic manner than the old method with the jars — something that was even more important in the early days of medical marijuana, with many patients being immunocompromised. The innovative new sniff jars quickly became a hit with consumers and retailers alike.
Smith initially designed jars for dispensaries in exchange for feedback.
“The timing was absolutely perfect,” Smith says. “The reception to our product was phenomenal. At the time, we settled on sort of a hybrid of what we make now, which is a more refined version of the original Pods.”
While the Pods were originally developed as a hygienic way for consumers to sample cannabis before they made a purchase, Bud Bar’s products have evolved over the years, adding a variety of new features, such as the aroma area “so they can fully experience the samples, without ever touching or infecting them in any way,” Smith says.
Bud Bar Displays has grown significantly in the nearly three decades since its launch alongside California’s medical cannabis industry. Capitalizing on the popularity of the Pods, the company began designing fixtures to show off the sniff jars, starting with a countertop cabinet specifically made to display the Bud Bar Pods.
When concentrates exploded in popularity, Bud Bar began working with silicone to produce Pods specifically designed to handle the stickiness of the concentrates, while delivering the same benefits to customers as the traditional flower Pods. The company now manufactures more than two dozen variations of Pods and display cases and offers customization for clients to imprint their logo and company colors onto Bud Bar products.
“We have been very blessed and grateful for each step of the way that things have been well received,” Smith says. “Not every single thing has been a hit out of the park, but it’s allowed us to really listen to what’s happening in the marketplace. The customers have given us such valuable input on what they want or what they would like to see.”
The acrylic Pods and display cases were originally fabricated by hand, but as sales volume increased, the company shifted to automated processes and using molds to create the finished product.
The business took a big step forward when Colorado and Washington became the first two states to allow recreational sales, and the Pod systems gained in popularity as pre-packaged cannabis became more prominent, compared to selling bulk cannabis in the ubiquitous glass jars during the early days of cannabis retail.
Sales took another step forward when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and most cannabis businesses across the country were deemed essential, with a heightened level of concern for hygiene.
With the opening of each new market in the United States and internationally, whether it’s for medical patients or recreational sales, Bud Bar sees a spike in sales of its various design products. The company has also responded to demand coming from the various smoke shops and CBD stores that are popping up across North America, and Smith sees a bright future for the cannabis retail industry.
“I’m looking forward to full legalization, because I think it will give people who are studying the health and wellness aspect of cannabis the ability to expand their medical trials,” he says. “Recreational cannabis is great, but like alcohol, it should be consumed responsibly. I look forward to seeing the results of further medical trials and what breakthroughs those trials will bring.”