Vaping has been around for longer than you think, and their use case has morphed drastically from decreasing nicotine consumption to indulging in cannabis products. As the hysteria caused by lack of facts and misinformation from the recent EVALI crisis subsides – vape cartridges are slated for increased demand as the cannabis industry continues to rev its powerful engine.
There’s no better time than now to incorporate industry-leading automated vape cartridge filling technology to reap the benefits of tomorrow. Read along to understand how to scale up your vape cartridge production process to effectively reduce overhead and increase revenue, while improving consumer safety and quality control.
The History of Vape Cartridges
Before vape cartridges existed as we know them today – they were first a concept that was drawn up by Joseph Robinson in the 1930s. Although it’s unknown whether he created a prototype – he is credited as the first person to come up with the idea.
From that point onward, many iterations of vaping devices came and went. However, it wasn’t until the early 2000s that vaping became a commercial success – thanks to the invention of the vape cartridge. However, all of these products were geared towards nicotine consumption in the form of e-cigarettes. [1]
As we fast-forward through time, vaping became a rapidly rising trend as of 2011 with over 7-million users. It’s since ballooned to over 41-million users as of 2018. [2]
It’s likely that the dramatic rise in use is the culmination of new and more reliable vape products and the convenience of the vape cartridge as a consumption device. Vape devices are unmatched in consumer preference when it comes to form-factor and ease of use.
The Modern-Day Vape Cartridge
Currently, vape cartridges can be filled with any type of oil – whether it’s THC, CBD, or nicotine-based. These oils should be produced according to regulations that demand safe production practices and ingredients. However, as evidenced by the recent EVALI crisis, shortcuts taken during the product formulation stage can have dire results.
Aside from the vape oil itself – vaping hardware and filling techniques are the most widely scrutinized aspects of vape cartridges. The reason behind this is due to the prevalence of the black market that continues to distribute faulty and ill-equipped vaping cartridges, or utilize filling processes that expose the oil to toxic materials. Poor handling techniques during the filling process can lead to product contamination, illness, and in severe cases injury and death.
The vaping scandal of 2019 was the result of the black market selling tainted THC vape cartridges, which is widely believed to be the compound vitamin E acetate. Vitamin E was used to ‘cut’ the THC distillate, reducing the potency and reducing production costs.[3]
Since the EVALI crisis, the FDA and federal regulators have tightened their grip on the vaping industry, which means everything if your business incorporates or produces vape products.
A Growing Demand Despite Hesitations
According to Grand View Research, a leading market analysis group, the vape industry is slated to reach over $67 billion by 2027. The vape industry, which is tied with both the tobacco and cannabis industry, is currently worth $12 billion as of 2019. [5]
While the EVALI health crisis caused a public perception hit to the perceived safety of the vape cartridge, it is a good idea to remember why consumers chose them in the first place. While those using personal vaporizer devices for nicotine consumption list health and safety as their primary motivating factor in purchasing decisions, those consumers consuming cannabis and hemp derived products overwhelmingly select them for convenience and form-factor, not perceived health effects.
As consumer confidence rebounds, and proper QA techniques are adopted, the potential is sky-high for your vape-based businesses.
What Does This Mean for Your Business?
With increased regulations and rapidly rising demand – your vape business is staring directly at the crossroads. How will you incorporate heightened quality control checks while managing the pressure of increasing demand?
The answer lies in consolidation and scalability. However, the idea of revamping your entire production process may sound daunting and, quite frankly, difficult to incorporate.
However, consolidation and scalability are accomplished with the help of automation. Automation can take many forms, but typically when we think of automation we think of production and manufacturing devices such as the Vape Jet automatic distillate cartridge filling machine.
The process of filling and checking the quality of vape cartridges is incredibly time-consuming when done manually. However, automated systems, such as the Vape-Jet, incorporate a pharmaceutical-grade fluid handling system and advanced machine vision alignment capabilities.
With the use of an automated vape cartridge filler, multiple tasks are accomplished effectively and up to regulatory standards. By using a vape cartridge filler for co2, rosin, or distillate, your business can quickly consolidate resources and scale accordingly to the demands of the market.
No longer will your business suffer from the love-hate relationship of increased demand. Instead, an automated vape cartridge filler will streamline the production process while simultaneously ensuring quality control.
Reduce Your Overhead Through Automation
If you have yet to incorporate automation into your vape business – you’re likely paying more than you have to. Without automation, your payroll is dedicated to individuals who are hard-capped as to the number of vape cartridges they can fill per day.
Automation opens the horizon to thousands of vape cartridges filled per day in comparison. This means that you’ll never miss out on a large order because you aren’t producing at scale. Instead, your clients will never lose confidence in your company’s ability to generate any amount of vape cartridges – at any time.
The result of producing products at scale is that you’ll never miss a profitable opportunity. Furthermore, your overhead will plummet as you incorporate automation into your oil cartridge filling process.
Let’s take a look at how your business can reduce overhead while increasing revenue with Vape Jet.
- Reduce labor cost
- Increase production of vape cartridges
- Decrease the cost of each vape cartridge
- Reduce overall operational cost
- Decrease the number of wasted cartridges
- Find defective cartridges before the filling process
As you can see, the Vape Jet system single-handedly reduces the need for a large workforce while simultaneously increasing output. Overall, the Vape Jet system consolidates your entire vape cartridge filling workforce under a single automated machine. In other words – pure efficiency.
Further Reading
- [1] http://www.casaa.org/historical-timeline-of-electronic-cigarettes/
- [2] https://www.bbc.com/news/business-44295336
- [3] https://www.fda.gov/news-events/public-health-focus/lung-injuries-associated-use-vaping-products
- [4] https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-e-cigarette-vaping-market
- [5] https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/e-cigarette-vaping-market