Breaking Down Custom Packaging Supplies

From cosmetics to electronics, how your goods are packaged says a lot about your brand. 

No one likes opening something brand new to find out it was either broken, wrinkled, or otherwise damaged. To prevent this, custom packaging supplies have been integrated into nearly every industry. But why? 

Breaking Down Custom Packaging Supplies

To understand the impacts of custom packaging supplies, we first need to review the three main levels of product packaging, Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary: 

Primary packaging, often referred to as “retail packaging”, is the base level of packaging for a product (think window boxes or blister packs). Primary packaging traditionally includes all branding, images, text, and logos that a company includes on its products.

Secondary packaging, including PDQs and display boxes, are used to protect goods already in their primary packaging during shipping while providing branding during transit. Secondary packaging also can be used as in-store product displays. 

Tertiary packaging is most often used when shipping from business to business, or warehouse to warehouse. While tertiary packaging is typically not seen by the end-user, it plays a vital role in protecting products while in transit. 

Custom packaging solutions can be integrated at each level. Though custom packaging may come at a higher price point than stock packaging, working with a state-of-the-art packaging solutions provider will help brands maximize the benefits of their packaging and experience higher ROI than they’d receive with plain, stock packaging.

Understanding the Benefits and Uses of Custom Packaging Supplies

When it comes time to design the packaging for your next product, working with a custom packaging solutions provider is crucial to ensuring your brand is maximizing the associated benefits, including: 

• Increased brand recognition
• Increased brand value
• Recyclability/Green Thinking
• Controllable and Customizable Customer experience
  
  

Increased Brand Recognition

It’s no secret that branded packaging does the marketing and advertising for you. Branded packages align customers with your company's design and aesthetic without needing to be in-person. Trademarking certain color schemes, fonts, and designs can also improve your ability to get recognized off the shelf. 

For example, if I asked you to pick up a can of our favorite soda with a red can, chances are you know which brand I’m talking about without ever having to say their brand name. Similarly, in highly competitive markets such as cosmetics, food and drink, and technology, branding can mean the difference between being recognized and thought of as a reputable brand vs being considered as a “cheaper” or “lesser” alternative. 

But product packaging goes beyond just the primary level of packaging. For example, nearly all of the orders fulfilled within Amazon warehouses are shipped in secondary-, or tertiary-level packaging with Amazon-branded packages. 

While this packaging itself is not an indicator of the specific product being ordered, it does help promote the popularity and ease of use of Amazon's services. Many find delight when they arrive home and see their Amazon order was delivered.

In the case of Amazon, custom packaging solutions help increase their company/brand recognition without promoting specific products. In the case of luxury goods, custom packaging solutions help to elevate your brand's value by giving it a premium or luxury feel. 

Increased Brand Value

It’s no secret that premium brands such as Apple, Dior, and Gucci all have luxurious and protective custom product packaging. Very rarely do we hear of luxury or premium goods being broken when they arrive at the end-user, due in large part to the custom design of their packaging. 

Beyond the fact that no one wants to spend several hundreds to thousands of dollars on premium electronics, luxury goods, or high-end cosmetics to have them arrive broken, premium brands also use their packaging to identify and differentiate themselves from others in their sector.  A well-engineered package always gives the impression that the goods inside are also well-thought-out and precisely engineered.

For instance, some higher-end computer companies have begun shipping integrated laptop stands created from the existing packaging. Not only are consumers happy their electronics arrived safely, but they can also see the added value in its packaging. 

By integrating custom shipping solutions, brands are also able to control their customer experience by creating a systemic approach to the way packages are displayed and opened. 

Thinking Green

Many brands value sustainability and the calls for fully recyclable packaging materials have been answered by major brands such as Samsung, Calvin Klein, and Puma. But sourcing truly sustainable packaging can be challenging. As the buzz around sustainability and being “eco friendly” is at an all-time high, there are an unfortunate amount of packaging items being marketed as sustainable or including the recycle logo that isn't so. It can be tough to discern which packaging options are curbside recyclable, re-usable, or have other specific factors that customers look for.

Working with advanced packaging solutions providers is the best way to ensure your brand is utilizing the right kind of sustainable packaging while still meeting the safety expectations of your consumers. 

Controllable and Customizable Customer Experience

Across all industries, consumers expect to receive the same packaging experience as one another and finding out others received a better packaging experience can taint a consumer's brand image forever. Integrating custom packaging products alleviate these concerns and allow brands to create seamless, equitable unboxing experiences across their entire product lineup.    

But custom protective packaging isn’t just for major brands. Smaller-scale businesses like distilleries, vineyards, and electronics manufacturers all require shipping supplies.

Products such as window boxes for wine producers, custom-fit packaging for auto-parts or electronics, or even something as simple as branded carton-sealing tape are just a few of the many ways that custom packaging solutions can be integrated into smaller companies to raise brand recognition and value. 

Making The Most Out Of Your Custom Packaging Solutions

The benefits of integrating custom packaging solutions are clear. But your packaging solutions are only as good as their provider. 

When selecting your next source for custom packaging, ensure they are able to produce custom:

• Retention/Suspension packaging
• Case Packs and Protective inserts
• Window-boxes, folding cartons, and other boxes
• Display Ready Cases (DRCs), Pretty Darn Quick (PDQs) packages, and other Packaging Displays   
• And all other Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary levels of packaging 

CS Packaging offers a variety of custom products including corrugated boxes, custom partitions and inserts, mailers, and much more. We strive to work smarter and faster for our customers and are ready to do whatever it takes to deliver what you need when you need it.

Contact us today for more information on how CS Packaging can customize packaging for your entire product lineup, or learn more about protective packaging by clicking the link below: