MSO (Multi-State Operator) Case Study

Perpetual · CEO

From a 40K Low Back to
140K Pre-Rolls a Month

How a Massachusetts vertically integrated MSO (multi-state operator) replaced fragile automation with one FlexPak Pro, rebuilt a collapsing pre-roll category and made the system part of its multi-state expansion plan.

"This machine made me look good to my investment team."Dan Paradis · CEO, Perpetual (MSO)

140KPre-rolls produced and sold monthly

69,519Produced during one recorded week

10 MINFormat and SKU changeover

30–40¢Lower total production cost per pre-roll

CEO Case Study · Multi-State Operator (MSO)

A pre-roll category collapsing under complex equipment. One FlexPak Pro changed the direction.

Perpetual had already worked with some of the most recognizable pre-roll systems in the industry. The company had spent the money, attended the training and dealt with the downtime.

The result was not greater scale. Monthly pre-roll sales fell from a previous peak of 120,000–140,000 units to roughly 35,000–40,000.

After installing one FlexPak Pro, Perpetual rebuilt the category to approximately 140,000 pre-rolls produced and sold per month—with room to keep growing.

Before vs. FlexPak

The production-floor difference.

Massachusetts operator · before versus FlexPak Pro

After the Blackbird transition35–40K

Pre-rolls sold per month · down from a 120–140K peak · mediocre quality unless material met extremely precise milling requirements · loose product and flower falling from finished pre-rolls · steep operating and maintenance learning curve · temporarily returned to basic knockboxes · estimated sales decline of ~$250K per month

With one FlexPak Pro≈140K

Pre-rolls produced and sold per month · 69,519 produced during one recorded week · two primary operators supported by material-prep and packout teams · 0.5 g, 1 g and multiple infused SKUs · ~10-minute tray changeovers · total cost reduced ~30–40¢ per unit · production labor reduced by nearly half

69,519Recorded production in one week

10 MINFormat and SKU changeover

30–40¢Lower cost per pre-roll

4 SKUs0.5 g, 1 g & infused formats

We're producing about 140,000 a month. I'm selling 140,000 a month. And I need to make more.

Dan Paradis

The story in three moves

Simple enough to scan. Specific enough to believe.

The equipment kept getting more complex. The results didn't.

At a previous company, Dan worked with an ActionPac system that cost more than $400,000—good for ~25,000–30,000 pre-rolls per week when running, but repairs required specialized mechanical support, technician travel, replacement parts and extended downtime. The RocketBox solved a blunt-production need but introduced intense vibration, specialized hearing protection and custom-made replacement parts. At Perpetual, the RollPros Blackbird appeared to be the best available option. Dan and two team members traveled to Washington for training expecting ~4,000–5,000 pre-rolls per day. Once installed, the learning curve and material sensitivity became the bottleneck—without extremely precise mill settings, finished quality suffered and pre-rolls were loose enough for flower to fall from the ends.

Perpetual didn't want another sales pitch. It wanted proof.

Perpetual discovered FlexPak through a referral from Brian Adams of Hudson Valley Extracts and Nimbus, followed by research from the company's internal data team. Dan's response to FlexPak's production claims was direct: 'Bet. Prove it.' A manufacturer video was not enough—he wanted to see a real production room, live metric tags, raw material, hourly employees and actual workflow. FlexPak connected him with an operator in Michigan for a live production-room walkthrough. Dan watched the staff fill trays and crown cones while the operator reviewed real production data. That verification gave Perpetual enough confidence to invest approximately $20,000 in a FlexPak Pro package.

Production stopped being the problem.

The initial ramp began at approximately 5,000–6,000 one-gram, uninfused cones per day. Within roughly four to six weeks, the team had climbed to approximately 30,000–40,000 per week. The constraint shifted away from the machine: Perpetual needed more prepared material and more demand to keep the system supplied. The company then rebuilt its sales strategy around the new cost structure and dependable output. Monthly sales progressed from roughly 40,000 to 60,000, then 80,000, then 100,000—and eventually returned to approximately 130,000–140,000 with no sign of flattening at the time of the interview.

Our sales were 120, 130, 140 thousand cones a month. When we just had the Blackbird pre-rolls, it crashed into about 35 to 40 thousand.

Dan Paradis

The recorded production week

69,519 pre-rolls. One week. Two primary operators.

During the week of August 10–16, Perpetual recorded 69,519 pre-rolls produced by two primary FlexPak operators.

Dan was also clear about the complete workflow: those operators were supported by one person grinding and preparing material, plus an eight-person team responsible for tubing, labeling and case packout. That distinction matters. The two-person number describes primary machine production—not the entire upstream and downstream operation.

Even with that full context, the result shows what the system changed: the production crew could generate consistent pre-rolls fast enough for the packaging team to tube them directly, without first repairing crooked, dented or loosely packed cones. Dan estimated that the existing FlexPak system still had capacity for approximately another 30,000 pre-rolls per week before Perpetual would need another machine or production shift.

One machine. Multiple formats. Ten-minute changes.

The machine did more than restore volume. It expanded the product line.

0.5 g pre-rolls

Half-gram standard format run on the FlexPak Pro.

1 g pre-rolls

Full-gram standard format run on the FlexPak Pro.

1 g infused pre-rolls

Distillate- and terpene-infused one-gram pre-rolls.

0.5 g infused two-packs

Half-gram infused pre-rolls sold as two-packs.

With previous equipment, changing products required machine adjustments and recalibration. With FlexPak, the team changes the tray. The operation can move from a one-gram infused pre-roll to a half-gram format in approximately 10 minutes.

With this, I change a tray. That's it.

Dan Paradis

The cost and labor effect

Lower costs gave Perpetual room to lower price—without giving up margin.

Dan estimated that FlexPak reduced Perpetual's total cost to produce a pre-roll by approximately 30–40 cents. Roughly 10 cents came from hard production costs. The larger savings came from labor and time.

According to Dan's estimate during the interview, the new workflow reduced pre-roll production labor by nearly half. Consistent finished quality also removed a major downstream cost: packout employees no longer had to repair the product before tubing it.

Perpetual used the savings to reduce its pre-roll price from $2.50 to $2.00 while maintaining its existing margin. The lower price increased volume, and sales climbed back toward the previous peak. By the time of the interview—nearly one year into ownership—Dan estimated that the FlexPak investment had paid for itself three to four times.

Support without the downtime cycle

At high volume, even two days down shows up in the sales numbers.

Perpetual's previous experience taught Dan that equipment support cannot depend on flying in a mechanical engineer, waiting for diagnosis and then waiting again for parts. He described FlexPak's customer service as 'better than excellent' and specifically highlighted the team's responsiveness outside normal business hours.

The machine itself had not created meaningful downtime. When an employee accidentally dropped and broke a rake, FlexPak sent the replacement by next-day air.

Two days of downtime hurts. I notice that in my end-of-month sales numbers.

Dan Paradis

From one facility to a multi-state standard

FlexPak is now part of Perpetual's plug-and-play facility plan.

Perpetual is not treating FlexPak as a one-location experiment. Dan confirmed that the system has become part of the company's standardized equipment plan. A unit is already part of the New Jersey setup, another is planned for New York, and FlexPak is now included in the model for future locations.

For a high-volume operator's perspective on scaling from one machine to a five-machine fleet, see how Rebel Roots Farms built a 2-million-pre-roll monthly operation using the same modular approach.

Anywhere else that I set up, this is part of my new plug-and-play. This is now that for me in anything we try to set up moving forward.

Dan Paradis

5 questions with the operator

The answers buyers actually want before changing equipment.

01What happened to the pre-roll category before FlexPak?+

We had been selling 120,000, 130,000, 140,000 cones a month. When we moved to the Blackbird pre-rolls, sales slid down to about 35,000–40,000 a month. The quality was mediocre unless everything was milled at a very specific setting, and we needed to make a change immediately.

02What convinced you to take a chance on another machine?+

I told Zach, 'Bet. Prove it.' I wanted to see a real production room, metric tags, raw data and hourly employees actually using it. FlexPak connected me with an operator in Michigan, and the numbers matched what I watched the team doing live.

03What production result stands out most?+

During the week of August 10–16, my team made 69,519 pre-rolls with two primary operators. We have separate material-prep and packout support, but those two people were running the core FlexPak production.

04What changed financially?+

My total cost to produce came down about 30–40 cents per pre-roll. The biggest savings came from labor. I could sell a pre-roll for $2.50 before; now I can comfortably sell it for $2, keep the margin I was happy with and drive more volume.

05What would you tell another operator evaluating FlexPak?+

Do your own homework and talk to people who are actually using it. I'll show people my production room, metric tags and raw data. This machine made me look good to my investment team because it was an intelligent purchase at a reasonable price, and it drastically changed the course of this SKU category.

"I don't blow smoke, and I won't recommend something that doesn't work. If you have someone in Massachusetts who wants to see it, I'll let them come to my facility. That's how confident I am in what this thing does."

Dan Paradis · CEO, Perpetual (MSO)

Interview responses and quotations have been lightly edited for clarity, repetition and length without changing their meaning. Production results reflect Perpetual's reported operation, staffing, material and workflow at the time of the interview. The FlexPak Pro price reflects Perpetual's approximate historical purchase price, not current published pricing.

From a 40K Low Back to
140K Pre-Rolls a Month

A pre-roll category collapsing under complex equipment. One FlexPak Pro changed the direction.

The production-floor difference.

Simple enough to scan. Specific enough to believe.

69,519 pre-rolls. One week. Two primary operators.

The machine did more than restore volume. It expanded the product line.

Lower costs gave Perpetual room to lower price—without giving up margin.

At high volume, even two days down shows up in the sales numbers.

FlexPak is now part of Perpetual's plug-and-play facility plan.

The answers buyers actually want before changing equipment.

More Case Studies

FlexPak Pro — Built for this kind of output.

From a 40K Low Back to 140K Pre-Rolls a Month

A pre-roll category collapsing under complex equipment. One FlexPak Pro changed the direction.

The production-floor difference.

Simple enough to scan. Specific enough to believe.

69,519 pre-rolls. One week. Two primary operators.

The machine did more than restore volume. It expanded the product line.

Lower costs gave Perpetual room to lower price—without giving up margin.

At high volume, even two days down shows up in the sales numbers.

FlexPak is now part of Perpetual's plug-and-play facility plan.

The answers buyers actually want before changing equipment.

More Case Studies

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Rebel Roots Farms — From a 5,000-Unit Daily Struggle to 2 Million Pre-Rolls a Month

Modern Distribution — From 8,000 a Day With 8–10 People to 40,000 With Four Operators

My Friend Processing — From 2,000 Finished Pre-Rolls a Day to 22,000 Retail-Ready—With the Same Four-Person Crew

FlexPak Pro — Built for this kind of output.

From a 40K Low Back to
140K Pre-Rolls a Month