Meet Alex, the Head of Packaging at Herbies

Meeting Herbies employees to show you the real people behind the big brand has been both entertaining and educational, and we’re not ready to stop just yet!

We’ve already had great chats with our Customer Satisfaction Manager Gabriel, the Head of Sales Emilia, our Frontend Developer Vlad, and last time we talked to Berta, Senior Graphic Designer – check these articles out if you still haven’t! This time, we’re getting away from the office and stopping by the Herbies warehouse to meet Alex, the Head of Packaging at Herbies.

Starting a Cannabis Job at Herbies

The Herbies warehouse is like a machine that never stops working. We could say it’s fueled by tons of your orders to produce plenty of neat packages on a daily basis. We pride ourselves on being able to ship your orders the same day it’s placed in most cases, and a huge part of why this is possible is of course thanks to the work of Alex and his team.

Managing the work of a busy warehouse requires a wide range of developed skills, so we needed a person who had done it all. Alex was recommended to Herbies by one of our active employees who saw him as a capable candidate, and they weren’t wrong! Alex had a rich working history in a variety of spheres and was once even an owner of his own disco! With lots of successful managerial experience under his belt, Alex was trusted with Herbies’ warehouse.

What’s Going On in the Warehouse

Before we get to learning about Alex’s responsibilities as the Head of Packaging at Herbies, is there anybody else in the warehouse? Of course! There are two filled managerial positions, including the one of Alex, and there’s also a team of skilled packers working hard so the contents of each package match the list of ordered items. You can see them in some of the pictures in this article.

As you know, when you receive a package from Herbies, it’s not just seeds. Packers have to be extra attentive not to miss any freebies or gifts that come along.

Coming back to Alex, what are his current responsibilities? Let’s find out.

I make sure that all orders are properly packaged and shipped on time. Another one of my responsibilities is preparing everything necessary for the packers to start packing. I also keep myself updated on the current situation with postal services and take care of any incidents that may happen during shipping. There’s much more to my job, but overall, I need to make sure that everything goes smoothly between the approval of the order and its shipment.

Secrets to Productivity

You can imagine that the workload in the Herbies warehouse is nothing short of enormous. And seeing a myriad of stacks of seed packages every day must be exhausting in its own way. So, we couldn’t help but wonder, what helps Alex stay productive and keep the workflow diverse and enjoyable? Here are some tips we picked out from our conversation with our Head of Packaging.

Stick to planning. By keeping lists of everything that needs to be achieved daily, it’s easy to keep track of what’s done and what’s coming. This will take a good deal of stress off your mind. The main thing here is “to know the order and the mechanics of the processes involved in your job,” adds Alex.

Find fun in everything. Find a personal way to address tasks that will make them enjoyable and fresh. Here’s how Alex does it: “I'm always looking for the fun part of every process. Since I'm a perfectionist, it helps to keep everything under control. This way, I can't afford to dislike anything, and there's just nothing that I don't like about my job.”

Create traditions. You need to let them develop naturally, and they bring so much life to the working process. “When one of us has a birthday, they invite the rest of the team to a BBQ party. The same often happens when there’s a newbie in the team – this helps to kick things off. From time to time, we make bets on who will finish their job first, and the one who loses pays for all the food,” says Alex about some of the traditions of the Herbies warehouse.

Alex’s Views on Cannabis

Work at Herbies comes with its advantages, one of which is a natural development of progressive views on cannabis and its culture. Alex told us that due to his innate perfectionism, he wants to take some more time to expand his knowledge of all the nuances of home cultivation before giving it a shot himself. Meanwhile, he’s sharing his views on the plant and its future:

Right now, cannabis is rapidly moving toward global legalization. I think there's very little time left until it’s perceived to be as acceptable as tobacco. I’m sure you’ll be able to buy it in a regular store. We must, of course, look at cannabis not only from a recreational point of view, but also from a medical one, because a growing number of studies shows its effectiveness against many diseases.

Insight from the Warehouse

Speaking of the newest developments in the cannabis industry, we can’t skip the emergence of Herbies’ very own seed bank that came about earlier this year. In fact, we're all very pleased with how well customers have embraced our new strains. Alex sees the growing number of branded Herbies seed packs leaving our warehouse, so he chimes in to share: “We’re getting more and more orders for seeds from our bank every day! So much, actually, that since we launched it, we couldn’t help but launch a whole new range of seeds due to the huge demand.”

It's not just seeds from Herbies that are growing in the number of orders, though. Every month, we notice an increase in orders for all seedbanks sold via our shop. In terms of countries, the United States tops the list, although we’re seeing big growth from European countries as well.

Growers are always curious to know what other canna-enthusiasts choose to grow. And who’d know more about this than Alex, who’s the first to see the trends on seeds and the changes in them? We couldn’t leave you without this piece of firsthand knowledge, so we asked Alex to share the list of the most popular strains at Herbies. What strain names is he seeing most often being shipped out from our warehouse? Here’s Alex’s best-sellers list!

In my opinion, the most popular strains are the following (in no particular order):

• Grandmommy Purple, Runtz Punch, and Godzilla Original Glue GG#4 from Herbies Seeds.
• Mimosa X Orange Punch, Shiskaberry, Purple Punch, and Runtz Muffin from Barney’s Farm.
• Gorilla Cookies, Purple Lemonade, and Strawberry Pie from FastBuds.
• Bruce Banner #3, Do-Si-Dos OG, and GG#4 Original Glue from Original Sensible Seeds.

Nice Meeting You, Alex!

This was Alex with his helpful tips and great insights straight from the Herbies’ warehouse! Hopefully, these will be helpful to people looking for weed jobs in the growing industry or to home growers curious about the work of our store. Who else from the team should we talk to next? Let us know in the comments below!

Herbies Head Shop expressly refuses to support the use, production, or supply of illegal substances. For more details read our Legal Disclaimer.