The package you use to present your product to current and potential customers has the power to help your business grow. When choosing a box company and packaging partner, make sure they can help your company enhance your product’s shelf appeal.
To help the consumer recognize your product on the shelf, you need a consistent design theme. This includes graphics, colors, and packaging material. If you choose to work with a vendor that doesn’t understand or care about the importance of consistency for your brand, you could end up with different colors or even different materials from run to run.
For example, a printer may only have half as much material as they need for a specific order, so they may substitute a different material to complete the job. The company then loses customers because part of its packaging order is sub-par. Other times, a printer may simply be cutting corners to save on cost and improve their margins.
A reliable printer wouldn’t make a substitution like that without clearing it with the company first. They understand the importance of brand consistency and respect their customer’s right to make the final decision about every detail of the product packaging, including color and design.
When companies work with several vendors to cut costs, they often end up spending a lot of time managing communication between the company and their vendors as well as communication between the vendors. This can create expensive problems —or never achieve the desired results— when trying to get a cohesive finished packaging solution that impresses the customers and also meets their needs for durability and design.
When you work with a single box company that has centralized quality control, the process is streamlined. Results are consistent, and the packaging turns out as expected.
Companies who want to remain consistent with their brand but also want to keep the attention of their customers understand that an occasional design change may be necessary. They may hesitate to refresh their packaging because of additional costs associated with engaging the design team to help them keep the look of their packaging fresh. Plate changes, reproof charges, and version changes can add up to thousands of dollars in extra costs.
Especially for subscription box companies, partnering with a print company that offers design services, plate changes, and even mid-run version changes at no charge allow them to prevent their image from stagnating with their customers. As a subscription box company, when you change the visual experience slightly from one season or one month to the next, you have a better chance of capturing the attention of your current and future customers.
Most printers work with only one or two types of packaging. They may do it well, but it’s challenging to be versatile and cost-effective in this industry. So, if your company wants to switch their packaging material from folding cartons to corrugated, the printing company may outsource that part of the job.
The customer may or may not be aware that part of their print job is now handled by a company hired by their printing company. The company may even mark up the price and make a profit off the process.
Ideally, a business would be able to partner with a printer that can make the switch from paperboard box to PET to litholam without having to find new vendors.
Staying on budget is a top priority for subscription box companies as well as companies that produce goods for retail shelves. Your printing partner should help you recognize areas where subtle improvements could help enhance the customer experience while keeping costs in line.
For example, higher-end treatments like foils, stamping, and embossing add interest to the packaging and go a long way toward impressing the customer. But when you work with a U.S.-based printer, the associated costs can quickly get out of control.
Companies just starting out should concentrate on finding a printing and packaging partner that is capable of meeting their present and future needs while keeping costs down. If you’re considering a printing company but you know you’ll need more than they can provide, don’t let their constraints become your constraints, find a partner that meets your needs.