Facing Tariffs Head-On: How U.S. Manufacturing and Automation Are Reshaping Pre-Roll Economics

In cannabis, the changes and required pivots that we witness as leaders in the pre-roll automation space are constant, and sometimes stunning - the recent shifts in the US stance on tariffs are hitting harder than most. For brands dependent on overseas-sourced components like pre-roll cones, the impact on cost of goods is immediate, and material.

That’s where we’ve seen an opportunity.

Investing in U.S.-based, and automated production, then pairing that with innovative pricing models, may allow equipment manufacturers to help cultivators and processors not only defend their margins, but scale faster and smarter with lower costs and less risk.

Tariffs Threaten the Pre-Roll Boom
Pre-rolls are one of the fastest-growing cannabis categories, with over $5 billion in U.S. revenue last year and double-digit growth. Unfortunately there’s a new issue to deal with - the fact that the cones that make these products possible are largely imported, handmade, and quite unluckily produced in regions most at risk of being affected by potential tariffs.

Historically, you might see a $0.13 production cost per pre-roll, with cones costing $0.08. But a tariff doubling that cone price? That throws the whole margin model into chaos.

We saw this coming—and we acted.

The “Swiss Cones”Initiative — A Domestic Alternative That Scales
Rather than wait for the market to react, we launched our “Swiss Cones” initiative: bringing the automation needed for cone manufacturing to right here in the U.S.

“We're excited to begin manufacturing cones for the U.S. market in Iowa. This strategic location allows us to efficiently serve both coasts with high-quality cones.”— Flamur Isufi, Co-founder, Swiss ConesThe Swiss Cones machines will produce cones in Iowa, using paper sourced from New York. It’s fast, consistent, tariff-free—and most importantly, scalable... The first runs of ceramic-tipped cones will be live in May, followed by white, natural, custom crutches, banding (like cigars), and laser-engraved cones for artistic branding and anti-counterfeiting.

By optimizing for automation and location, we’re not just avoiding tariffs—we focused on driving pre-roll cone costs below even the pre-tariff import pricing.

Eliminating CapEx: The PaaS Model in Action
We didn’t stop with cones. Our GrindPRO cannabis grinders and mills are already manufactured in Maryland, with the same “made here” strategy.

We are doing this as well in Maryland and Missouri, with machines like the Accelerant PRO2 pre-roll machine, a system that would retail for $850,000 if it were to be sold outright. This expense might be manageable for a single machine, but what if you need five? Or seventeen, like one of our live partners? That level of capital investment is out of reach for most.

One solution to avoid CapEx like this is the “PaaS” model: Production-as-a-Service.

Instead of selling machines, the PaaS model allows them to be installed with no upfront costs while our experts live onsite and train your team, making them experts then aligning our goals for production as we only charge per unit produced. We stay involved and incentivized to maximize uptime and output. Machines are even swapped out annually, ensuring consistent performance, fresh parts, and rapid tech adoption with updates and new innovations deployed without upsells or maintenance contracts.It’s not just a machine—it’s a partnership.

We believe the future of US cannabis manufacturing isn’t overseas—it’s local, lean, and aligned with partner success. The moves we’ve made are just the beginning of a smarter, tariff-resilient supply chain.

To our partners: we’re here, we’re ready, and we’re building for what’s next.

Feel free to reach out to Jim with questions or ideas, or sign up for free cone samples using the link below:
https://www.accelerantmanufacturing.com/swiss-cones

For more details, questions & ideas:
Jim Pavoldi
info@accelerantmanufacturing.com
‪1 (302) 786-7655‬ (ROLL)