The days when product packaging was merely used to cover and safeguard the product are no longer valid. At the same time, you should know that the range of similar products is vast. You should capture the attention of the potential consumers before they come across your product. The only way to achieve it is through custom packaging boxes.
Life is getting faster, so we are paying less attention to things. Customers notice your product within 7 seconds, and packaging is the first thing that attracts them to consider your product. If the packaging is well deployed, your probable consumers may pick your product from the shelf without even realizing the existence of other brands. To assist you in making the most of custom packaging, we have compiled this helpful guide.
What is Custom Packaging?
Custom Packaging is a process of packaging consisting of custom sizes, custom printing, custom shapes/styles, and custom cardboard materials. It helps you pack your products appropriately and promote your brand more effectively.
Custom packaging is not only about putting your company’s logo and product picture on the box. It is much more than that. It showcases the creativity of a graphic designer, your supplier's experience, and your understanding of the market and industry. Proper custom packaging often depends on whether or not the packaging is attractive to customers and whether or not they know what is inside and who made it.
Why Does Your Product Require Custom Packaging?
You may have encountered many packages that are not printed or have very little printing on them. Most of these packages are plain, and if there is any writing, it is usually written on stickers. These companies might be testing a product for marketing. However, based on our analysis, there is intense anticipation that they will use custom printed packaging in the future. This is because custom packaging enhances the value of products—a notion that several business people acknowledge.
The reality is that good packaging plays an essential role in increasing your product’s value. Even if you have an excellent-quality product, it still needs good packaging to stand out. It is because packaging works in multiple ways. First of all, it ensures the safety of your product, especially during the process of transporting, handling, and even storage. Secondly, it enhances the ease of handling of the products and reduces the risk of getting damaged during usage. Overall, it offers a robust and esthetically appealing perception, which appeals to customers and represents a company’s image.
So, with custom printed packaging, customers can quickly identify your products amidst the numerous others available on the market. It allows promoting a brand and making a statement to the customers through the images and text on the package. Custom boxes mostly come in handy for industries like food and cosmetics, where they play an important role in attracting consumers' attention and delivering product information.
What Are the Advantages of Custom Packaging?
Now, I would like to discuss the top six advantages that branded packaging can bring to your thriving business.
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Custom Packaging is the first impression of your product.
Let’s assume it is the very first time you are purchasing a product in a new company. Suddenly, a piece of packaging catches your eye, and it is something that you have never seen before in the market. Apparently, it is just a custom packaging box with a logo, but something about it is different, which makes it stand out. It is not ordinary corrugated cardboard. It is more than that; it is a soft yet elegant and refined box. With a single glance, you can tell it is a top-quality product without even opening the box.
It is a type of first impression that every brand wants to make. Of course, they can make that first impression when considering all the elements in their packaging.
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Custom Boxes are a Perfect Marketing Tool
If you wish to portray your product as elite, chemical-free, exotic, or joyful, custom packaging can do all that and more.
Depending on the color schemes and fabrics used, as well as the placement of certain components and various printing techniques, everything is made into harmony. It is like a great toy that is contained in a box, and half the joy is in breaking open the box to get the toy.
Custom packaging boxes are an expression of your brand personality. They are as important to branding as the product itself.
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Custom Boxes are not just a product but an Experience
Did you ever watch an unboxing video on YouTube or Facebook? If you have, you know how important custom packaging is for the user experience.
When you put it this way, it’s not just a process of a person opening a package in front of their fans. It’s a social experience. This is especially true for e-commerce packaging, which traditionally means your package is the only thing your customer comes into direct contact with during the purchasing cycle.
This social component suggests that if the audience of these unboxing videos is interested in something extraordinary, they should buy the thing.
Who could have imagined that such feelings could exist, let alone that a simple package could transport them? Those involved in packaging design and printing know this and take you through the process until consumers are able to have such an experience repeatedly.
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Custom Packaging Make Your Product Unique
Some companies consider their custom packaging boxes a part of their identity, like their logo or name, and leaving them out is not an option.
Many people have come across or at least heard about the small blue boxes that represent Tiffany’s. Within a blink of an eye, everyone around recognizes that it is a box from Tiffany’s. It is quite obvious that they have invested a lot in their packaging so that no one will miss it.
But what has been said above is only one of numerous examples. For example, if you wish to convey the message, ‘Our brand is environmentally conscious,’ you can include recyclable or biodegradable packaging materials.
That can happen through a combination of color, print material, printing technique, and, last but not least, the actual design of the packaging boxes.
What Are the Types of Custom Packaging?
Custom boxes come in various types, but the most popular of them are the following:
Custom Kraft Boxes
Kraft boxes are made from Kraft stock. Kraft paper is best for making all types of Custom Kraft packaging boxes and kraft paper bags. Yes, when it comes to thickness and firmness, the unbleached pulp can be described as high quality. It is considered to be an amazing, valuable packaging stock for shipping goods to far-off places. Of course, it has its original brown color.
Custom Corrugated Boxes
Custom Corrugated boxes are made from corrugated stock. Corrugated stock is constructed from multiple layers of paperboard, and most of them support environmentally friendly practices. It is thought to be more potent than Kraft but much less potent than cardboard material.
Custom Rigid Boxes
Custom Rigid boxes or set-up Boxes are generally thicker than folding cartons and do not have the capability to fold or collapse. They are best suited when the products contained within the package are heavyweight or require additional protection during transportation.
Custom Cardboard Boxes
Cardboard is any type of board made from heavy paper pulp. It could be the material used in creating greeting cards or playing cards, among other things. It could also apply to the thin chipboard used in the production of custom cereal boxes. While the corrugated materials may contain some cardboard, it is important to understand that these terms are not synonymous.
Custom Paperboard Boxes
Flexible, yet durable, paperboard boxes are folding carton boxes that can be flat when not in use. For the same reasons they can also be easily adapted for cutting into preferred forms and structures. If you can spare some time for this then it can definitely give the packaging a professional and personalized look. Now let’s take a further look at the available options of the paperboard boxes:
SBS boxes (Solid bleached sulfate): SBS boxes where the outer covers, core wraps, and wrappers are all made of solid bleached sulfate paper. These paperboard boxes are clay-coated and give a brilliant white shade, and their surface graphics make them ideal for custom print packaging because the outer layer of bleached virgin hardwood fibers gives the boxes smoothness. The SBS boxes are commonly used for perishable items: frozen and wet foods, meats, dairy products, baked goods, medical products, and cosmetics.
CUK Boxes (coated unbleached kraft): CUK boxes mainly come under the packaging category that serves the purpose of protection to products. While not as powerful as black or pearl A. C. boxes, CUK boxes are more environmentally friendly, and customers like the clean unbleached look of recycled cardboard. The long large pine fibers used while constructing the box offers excellent strength to the CUK boxes therefore the boxes are used to pack heavier items like soft drinks, beers, laundry detergents, and hardware.
Coated recycled paperboard: Predictably, this paperboard is sourced from recycled fibers but still applies clay to enhance printability. This type of box is selected mostly by eCommerce merchants of paper products and non-perishable goods like pasta and cereals.
Custom Paper Bags
“Paper or Plastic,” Well, when it comes to paper, it is swift, efficient, inexpensive and can be tailored to your own preference. Paper bags have been widely used for packaging due to such reasons and it is therefore evident to find them at most supermarket outlets. Also, paper is considered to have a better image than plastic in the eyes of the environmentally conscious consumers, enabling many businesses to leverage on this factor.
Bottle & Caps
Transporting goods like Cosmetic products and lotions, or creams that are used in personal care? Maybe you are interested in pharmaceuticals. In any case, the “bottle & cap” packing is the best choice, it seems. They are convenient to both the manufacturer and the end users and are relatively cheap if obtained in large quantities. The right fulfillment center can also help you design and print the labels for your bottles too.
Plastic
Another mutual preference is plastic boxes; they are more likely to be more rigid than paperboard ones and if sealed, will help maintain the quality of foodstuffs, minimizing the chances of contamination. It is also elastic and thin, and the appearance can always be enhanced by applying a film or a coat. Firms appreciate plastic boxes because of cost and the environment since they are cheap and reusable in contrast to others’ perceptions.
Shippers mostly prefer the following five types of plastic packaging:
PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) – PET, which is used in the making of drink bottles, is transparent; it is glossy and extremely rigid in nature.
LDPE (Low-Density Polyethylene) – This is commonly used today in ‘sandwich bags,’ but it is a relatively difficult packaging material.
High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) – Used for detergent packaging, this material is rigid, very strong and has a somewhat dull surface.
PS (Polystyrene) – Typically present in take-away food containers, PS is also suitable and quite insulating.
PP (Polypropylene) – This is a hard and light weighted plastic which has the uses of making bottle caps, drink cups and auto parts. It is also useful in guaranteeing that a shipped product does not get destroyed.
Custom Poly Bags
You might describe this as a pocket, or a plastic sack. Whatever the name, it is a form of a thin, translucent film and sheer fabric manufactured from a type of plastic. It is commonly used to package food products, flowers, chemicals, magazines, and whatnot.
Why use a poly bag? They are inexpensive, which translates to less cost on the bills such as shipping costs, and they are versatile. Therefore, if you have your product design in various sizes, a poly bag might well fit all of them.
Foil-Sealed Bags
You have come across these before—it is the type of cover used in coffee, cheese and cured meats to ensure that they do not get spoiled quickly and also to minimize bacterial presence. When using a foil-sealed bag, oxygen is pulled out to keep the fabric tightly wrapped and firmly sealed. While it may not be the least expensive type of packaging, it may be required depending on what you aim to transport.
Cotton
It is an essential material in global textile use, but it can also be part of packaging materials. Sometimes the brands that are environmentally friendly use cotton bags as the product's delivery methods. Since it is soft and looks classy, it is applied to costly products like jewelry, glass, and quality cloth materials. It is also recyclable thus enhancing its ecological factor. Cotton packaging is also very flexible to be customized and printed with suitable logos and other related company information and graphics. The only disadvantage is that the material cannot prevent exterior contamination effectively.
Jute
When earlier referred to as burlap, this material is very much preferred by conscious brands since it is completely biodegradable and also recyclable. This fibrous material is like cotton since it can be printed on and it can be colored. Although it is not considered as luxurious as cotton, it is cheaper and has a thicker skin meaning it can withstand a lot of wear and tear. It can be seen in packaging agricultural produce like sacks for coffee and other gourmet food items and also body products like hand made soaps.
What are the Versatile Categories of Custom Boxes in Style?
There are multiple categories of custom packaging boxes in terms of style. Let’s take a look at them:
Custom Window Boxes
Custom Window box packaging is a semi-permeable carton and display packaging type that incorporates features of a sbs carton, accompanied by a clear PET plastic that gives the customer a glimpse of the focal product.
Custom Tuck Boxes
The Custom tuck boxes is one of the strongest and most durable box types due to the presence of a double side wall. When it comes to shape, it resembles a mailer box though it is made of paperboard. The double-walled tuck top box has one opening at the top with two flaps that fold on the bottom having the friction locks.
Custom Display Packaging Boxes
Display boxes are the ideal choice if you have a retail or e-commerce business. They can be used for your primary product packaging. Plus, you can put them into a branded mailer or shipping box.
Custom Magnetic Lid Rigid Boxes
Often called a hinged box, a tray is fixed to the base and the lid has magnets to seal the box properly. Since they are made from thick paperboard, these magnetic lid boxes cannot be flattened and are perfect for packing fragile and luxury products.
Custom Gable Boxes
Custom gable boxes are a type of cardboard or linerboard box that has a flap closure on top which can also be used as a handle. They usually come in rectangular shape but gable boxes can be created on-demand in any desired shape and size.
Custom Pillow Boxes
As the name suggests, custom pillow boxes come in the shape of a pillow. It is more of a specialty packaging that is convenient for compact and lightweight products such as gift cards, candies, jewelries and many more.
Custom Dispenser Boxes
Custom dispenser boxes are made from cardboard. They are used to store and distribute a specific product on the market or business. These often have a self-opening, easily tear strip, that makes it easy to use the material in them.
Custom Hexagonal Boxes
A hexagonal box is a form of packaging that has a distinct look of a hexagonal prism. They can be made of paperboard, cardboard or plastic and the type can be adapted to suit virtually any product line.
Custom Tray and Sleeve Boxes
Custom tray and sleeve boxes are packaging designs with two features; a rigid base or an inner tray where products are to be placed and a cardboard jacket into which the tray is inserted. This packaging type is also referred to as a tray and sleeve box.
Custom Two piece Boxes
Custom Two piece box is a rigid box that contains two individual pieces: a base and a lid. The lid is placed on top of the base creating a box like structure whose shape can be maintained.
How to Make Custom Packaging For Your Brand?
One of the wise moves that can be made in any business is to spend money on custom boxes as it cuts down supply costs, creates a favorable first impression to the clients, as well as helps with advertising the company. Designing your own packaging allows you to control all aspects of the package without much difficulty, and the effects can be pretty spectacular for your wallet. Curious about the process? Here, the custom packaging process is described in detail to help you understand how it can be made.
Determine the Size
The first thing in making a custom box is determining the size of the box based on the product. Deciding on the product’s specifications carefully is advisable to avoid simple mistakes. You must prepare for the grave consequences if you make even a single mistake. You will either end up with too small custom boxes or larger packaging with greater damage risk. Snug-fitting allows your product to fit perfectly in the box, which is important to keep it in mint condition. Moreover, the size also matters since it affects the quantity of material and the incurring cost to create, ship, and store. The box is measured in three different ways: length, depth, and width.
Select Your Packaging Style
Selecting a packaging style that fits your needs is crucial. Since there are many options available, choosing the right one can be a little tricky. It is suggested that you work with experienced packaging manufacturers since they understand the industry inside out and can direct you to the right solution.
Select an Appropriate Material for Your Box
This is a critical step in the process of crafting a box. Selecting a better material can ultimately create an ideal packaging for your product. Make sure to choose anything from cardboard, Kraft paper, paperboard, and corrugated. These types of materials are the best choice since they provide versatility and sustainability to the manufacturers. Different types of materials are used for different kinds of boxes. For instance, cardboard is ideal for cosmetic boxes, and kraft paper is the best choice for food boxes. However, fragile products need extra care, and for that, corrugated custom boxes are perfect.
Pick the Right Color Combination
The right color combination can enhance our packaging experience. It will make your custom packaging eye-catching and memorable. You must have a consistent color combination with your branding. Ensure your company’s logo, online presence, and promotional material align with your branding style. Choose either one or a limited color style since it gives a more professional look. Just keep in mind that your colors should pop out on your packaging.
How To Choose the Right Custom Packaging Boxes Supplier?
To create a perfect box for your brand, it is better to get help from a professional packaging supplier. They will guide you properly on your custom box journey, from selecting the suitable material to choosing the perfect design. They will show you different templates; you can choose the one that suits your needs. Moreover, if you create your box on your own, you may require a die-cutting machine, which is costly and difficult to use. The right supplier will cover all these technical things for you. Also, you don’t know which company provides the best material, since the custom packaging suppliers understand this market thoroughly, they know which company is best for buying material that is both durable and sustainable. We advise you to ask for assistance from The Box Lane. They are one of the best in the market. After carefully listening to your requirements, they will provide a cost-effective yet elegant solution.
How Much Do Custom Boxes Cost?
It may be less than you have imagined. Several factors affect the cost, including size, material, quantity, shape, and how much design work you need. It is best to browse through the market properly before selecting a viable supplier. The Box Lane presents top-notch quality and design at a very affordable price. Throughout the entire process of making your box, they will work closely with you at each step and ensure that constructive communication remains between you and them. Reach out to us today for a free quote!