What To Look For in a Custom Packaging Company

Putting your products in customers’ hands is a long, multi-stage process that requires various tools and services. Not every company can achieve the results they want on its own. That’s why many businesses outsource the packaging stage of the process to a custom packaging company.

You will get efficient and thoughtful service from Wanhui Packaging Technology.

Custom packaging companies are experts in packaging design and manufacturing. With years of experience, advanced equipment and techniques, and dedicated service, a good packaging company delivers solutions that enhance your product and improve your customers’ experience.

Choosing a packaging partner is an important decision that has a major effect on your products. Make an informed decision with this list of what to look for in a custom packaging company.

Do They Fit Your Budget?

Before you even begin researching potential partners, you need to create a comprehensive budget for your product packaging. In addition to the cost of working with a packaging partner, be sure to factor in expenses such as shipping and storing packaging materials. Your budget should also include the cost of in-house labor to assemble packaging and ship out products.

Many packaging companies have minimum order requirements. If you can’t comfortably meet those requirements, you might end up draining your budget for packaging you don’t even need. Only you can decide which packaging options are best for your company’s size, order volume, and budget. By creating your budget ahead of time, you can choose a custom packaging company that offers a cost-effective solution for your business.

Experience and Error Rates

Company experience is always a crucial factor when choosing an outsourced product or service. For packaging companies, it’s important to ask questions about how long they’ve been in the industry, what kind of packaging projects they have experience with, and what kind of packaging they specialize in. These kinds of questions will help you choose a packaging partner who has experience with the specific requirements you need to meet.

In addition to company experience, it’s important to look at past results and reviews from other customers. Case studies are a great way to learn more about past projects the company has completed. You can also browse review sites, talk to others in the industry, or ask the company for mock-ups and other samples of their work.

Clear Communication

Communication is vital in any business partnership. After all, you don’t want to work with somebody who struggles to answer questions, work with feedback, and understand your specific needs and concerns.

Look for indicators of good communication with every potential partner you contact. Fast response times, transparency in communications across their website, and a commitment to flexibility and customer satisfaction are all positive signs that you will be able to communicate effectively throughout your partnership.

Design and Customization

Even though you’re trusting someone else with your packaging, you still want to be in control of how it turns out. Your designs and ideas are important. That’s why you need to work with a packaging company that offers a high level of customization. Advanced design capabilities, flexible processes, and a wide range of options allow you to get the packaging you need with the best resources your packaging partner has available.

The more versatile a company’s design capabilities are, the more control you’ll have over the end product. This allows you to best represent your brand with vibrant colors, clear text, creative imagery, and more. The greater the opportunity for customization, the more attractive, unique, and effective your product packaging will be.

Material Quality

Design customization is only part of the equation, though. Functionality must also be a priority. When it comes to packaging, the function revolves around protecting your product. As such, it’s important to review material quality to ensure that your packaging is safe, sturdy, and durable.

Keep in mind that the highest quality materials won’t always be right for your product. For example, hand-crafted wooden boxes are a sturdy and impressive way to package high-end, fragile products, but they’re impractical in a lot of other situations.

A good packaging company will walk you through the best options for your product, including design ideas, volume requirements, and budget. This will help you choose high-quality materials that work best for your unique packaging needs.

Sustainability Measures

If sustainability is a priority for your business, it should also be a priority for your custom packaging partner. Environmentally friendly materials and practices are an important part of minimizing your carbon footprint, appealing to eco-conscious customers, and affirming sustainability as a company value.

Look for a custom packaging company that shares your commitment to the environment. Packaging companies that prioritize energy-efficient processes, responsible material sourcing, reusing and recycling materials, and other eco-friendly practices can help you maintain your passion for sustainability throughout your packaging process.

Pre-Production Samples

Your custom packaging company is here to bring your packaging vision to life. Samples are a great way to check in with that vision and make sure everything looks and feels the way you want it to. Make sure the company you choose can provide samples throughout the design process so that you can maintain control over your design and feel confident about the end results.

Advanced 3D modeling software, plain samples, digital designs, and other mock-ups allow you to review your packaging design throughout various stages of the process. Perhaps most important, though, is a production sample that lets you see the end result before you start the manufacturing process. Always ask your custom packaging partner about sample capabilities before you begin a project.

Efficient Logistics

The value of a good packaging partner doesn’t end when you finalize your design. Logistics like shipping and storage are also important things to look for in a custom packaging company. Can your packaging partner make logistics easier with speedy shipping times? Will your packaging solutions feature thoughtful designs that use material efficiently to create a smaller storage footprint? Keep these factors in mind as you choose a packaging company so that you can get the most value out of your partnership every step of the way.

Choosing the right package and packaging machine has a huge impact on the success of startups. A well-planned packaging strategy will help you deliver a quality product while driving efficiency, controlling costs, and maintaining production flexibility for future growth.

Here are 5 key considerations:

1. Package Quality and Visual Appeal

Your packaging should be attractive and functional. Certain materials and package types make more sense than others depending on your product shape, size, weight, number of units and sales channels. For example, thousands of products are packaged in different types of bags such as stand-up pouches, gusseted bags, flat pouches, modified atmosphere bags, pillow bags among others. Likewise, shrink film is used to wrap, bundle, and secure thousands of products in different configurations.

Want more information on Custom Flexible Packaging? Feel free to contact us.

Additional reading:
Wholesale Woven Bags Manufacturer and Supplier, Factory | Lefu
Are Paper Food Containers & Boxes Microwave Safe? - Bioleader

It’s important to consider how your products are displayed, and how customers use your products. Additional considerations may include shelf life, reuse, seal integrity, ease of transport, retail display, and product security. Product packaging is often seen as a measure of the overall quality of your product. It can make the difference in sales growth or a product that stalls in the marketplace.

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2. Production Requirements

Production requirements impact the machines you consider and the amount of labour you need. Establishing realistic labour and production expectations are crucial to your profitability. Depending on your package and the volume of products you want to produce, labour may cost you more than machinery. Discuss your production requirements with your equipment supplier in as much detail as possible. Make sure to discuss all your SKUs and provide the output you expect. A good supplier will work closely with you to help determine whether a manual, semi-automatic or fully automated machine best suits your needs.

For start-up companies with smaller production demands, tabletop equipment may provide the best solution. On the other hand, tabletop machinery may become obsolete too quickly if fast growth is expected. Many stand-alone semi-automatic solutions are easily integrated with different conveying systems or add-ons to improve production as needs evolve. Some semi-automatic solutions can also be upgraded to fully automatic systems.

Your packaging workspace and environment is also an important consideration. Food, pharmaceutical, chemical, among other products need to meet certain hygienic standards and may need to operate in clean room or harsh environments. If so, your new equipment must be washdown capable and designed for easy cleaning and reliable service in potentially harsh environments.

Choosing a machine that works for you now and in the future is important. Be sure to ask your supplier whether your new machine is plug-and-play in different production environments? Is it easy to upgrade? Are there add-ons that may be beneficial as needs change?  For example, modular add-ons for printing and labelling can expand your capabilities and help you make the most from your initial investment.

A good packaging machinery supplier will ask questions and work with you to understand your unique needs and help you choose the best solution.

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3. Ease of Operation and Maintenance

How easy your new machine is to setup, operate and maintain are also important considerations that impact costs, efficiency, training and downtime. Machines that are easy to maintain and service will save you money in the long run and provide greater production value for your investment.

Look closely at machine design, control systems, and access to change parts. Is setup toolless? Are change parts easy to access and replace? Are there recipes for different types of packages? Can you easily adjust package process parameters? Can you set up different user preferences, languages or units of measurement? Does the machine provide metrics and details about packaging quality, machine condition or maintenance?

Think about the workflow and ergonomics of your machine set-up. The more ergonomic a machine is, the easier it is to use which can improve production efficiency. Make sure you have enough space to operate your equipment efficiently and safely.

Also consider the amount of training, education level, and employee hours needed to operate your new machine. A reliable and trusted equipment provider will stand behind their solutions and ensure you get the training and technical support you need for efficient operation of your new machine

Don’t forget spare parts when you purchase your machine. All machines have some change parts that need occasional replacement. Talk with your supplier about maintenance needs and parts that will help you prevent costly downtime.

4. Machine Supplier

Choosing the right packaging machinery manufacturer is the first step in building a long-term partnership. Your packaging machinery manufacturer should understand your business and your plans for growth. They will help you choose between two machines with the same function and similar performance and make recommendations that best fit your needs.

Do your homework. Check on your equipment provider’s track record in your industry, turnaround time, and aftermarket support. You want a partner that will stand with you after the purchase to help ensure you get the most from your investment.

Check out this blog by PMMI for more tips: Tips For Working With Flexible Packaging Machinery Builders

5. Balance Current Budget and Long-Term Investment

Managing growth is an important issue for every startup. As with any large purchase, you should balance the initial cost of your packaging machine, with the cost of operation and maintenance. Some machines may have a bigger price tag upfront, but offer better efficiency, less maintenance and improved reliability. Focus on your return on investment. Your profitability depends on it.

 
Plexpack has helped more than 6,000 companies worldwide package their products and get them to market in a timely fashion for more than 65 years. We are one of the largest manufacturers of flexible packaging equipment with customers in more than 60 countries. Many of our longtime customers were once startups like yours.

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Interested in reading more? Check out the following articles from PMMI's Prosource for more tips on building and operating your packaging solution. 

Best Practices for Specifying Flexible Packaging Equipment

Seven Tips for Form/Fill/Seal Selection, Setup and Cleaning

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