Product packaging companies

5 Benefits of Outsourcing to Product Packaging Companies

Outsourcing is a big trend for businesses – it has a huge list of benefits and few negatives when you partner with good partners.  Product packaging companies are a perfect example of this kind of partner – they can take on the packaging needs of your company. But what are the benefits of using product packaging companies that make it such a good option?

  1. Reduce your operational costs

When you have to manufacture a product, you need a certain amount of space.  When you need to manufacture and package the product, you need as much as double space.  However, when you outsource this is to a product packaging company, you can cut down on the space needed for that process.  This can either save costs on the size of the unit you require or mean you can produce more than one item in the space.

The other cost-saving comes from the cost of labour to package the products.  Again, you can either save the cost of the wages for packaging staff or you can use those staff to work on another line or product to broaden your company’s range.

  1. Focus on your core business

Alongside the cost benefits, there is the benefit to the workload in your business.  Staff can concentrate on the central processes you require and not have to also learn about packaging.  Add to that is the fact you can often partner with a packaging company that offers other services such as creating free-standing display units or banner stands, meaning you can easily have your products packaged and displayed, ready for the seller to immediately handle.

  1. Increase staff productivity

Whether you call it job switching, multi-tasking or anything else, moving from one task to an entirely different one all of the time saps productivity.  People have to readjust to go from operating manufacturing machinery to packaging and back again, leading to lower productivity levels. By outsourcing the packaging, your staff can concentrate on the one task and therefore you will usually see an increase in staff productivity.

  1. Fewer compliance concerns

Each additional piece of equipment, process or procedure comes with its own compliance issues.  Therefore by reducing how many of these you have in your business, you can reduce the number of things you need to be compliant with.  Additionally, packaging specialists will have a handle on their relevant compliance issues, so you can be certain they comply with relevant British Standards or other regulatory definitions.

  1. Preserve your capital

Buying packaging equipment costs money and this dents the capital that you have in your business or means you need to take a loan or other finance.  However, if you outsource this, the monthly cost of the service becomes a business expense and you don’t have to worry about using your capital to buy equipment – you simply pay the contract packing company to handle it for you.

Get the right partner

It is important to get the right partner when you outsource anything.  You want a company who can handle the processes that you require, has a great customer service system and have plenty of experience in the area.  Look for companies who can offer a range of packaging options that suit your needs and also those additional extras such as free-standing display units.

You may also want to look for companies who are the cutting edge of what they do, which often involves using less plastic and having an eco-friendlier approach.  Also, consider the customer experience with easy to open packaging that is still theft proof. This offers a great experience for your seller and customer which reflects positively on your company.

Party Pack pallet for Costco

Party Pack Pallet

Working with Burton’s Biscuits; Quantrelle have put together a ‘Party Pack’ consisting of 2 Jammie Dodgers, 2 Original Wagon Wheels and 2 Jammie Wagon Wheels.
Find them now in all UK Costco stores.

Why Your Product Packaging Is as Important as the Product Itself

BY Joshua Conran @JoshuaConran

Your product packaging is meant to communicate a purpose: what your brand stands for and what it means for your customer.

Product Packaging

Every year, 95 percent of new products fail. The reason is simple: Most customers don’t have the time or energy to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of the products in their shopping carts, so they use a shortcut to make their decision. That shortcut is your product’s packaging.

Think of Tiffany & Co. For most people, the iconic robin’s-egg blue box is more recognizable than the jewelry itself.

Packaging is powerful because it tells consumers why your product and brand are different. Apple is known for its clean, minimalist packaging. If you’ve ever watched an unboxing video for a new iPhone, you know people love Apple’s packaging.

Plenty of savvy startups are mastering the unboxing experience as well. Pad & Quill, a company that sells artisan iPhone and iPad cases, wraps its products in brown paper with friendly messages printed on the inside and a Roman seal for a distinctly hand-wrapped feel.

Great packaging is especially significant for growing startups because it can have a direct impact on sales and a company’s overall appeal. Take Trunk Club, for example. This company hand-selects clothing for men and sends its stylist-curated outfits in cardboard “trunks” that fit the convenience and style of its service. After five years in business, Trunk Club garnered Nordstrom’s attention, and the high-end department store bought the startup for $350 million.

Packaging can continue to influence a company’s sales as it grows larger, too. MillerCoors’ sales slumped last year, but the Miller Lite retro can bumped sales by nearly 5 percent. MillerCoors didn’t change its beer; it just changed the can it came in.

Poor packaging can have an even more dramatic effect. Australia recently instituted a plain packaging law for cigarettes. The government’s removal of packaging branding rights aimed to discourage young people from smoking. Not only can Marlboro not use its logo, but it also can’t use its typeface. The packages, covered with health warnings and graphic images that deter smoking, resulted in the biggest smoking decline Australia has seen in 20 years.

How to Design Packaging That Makes an Impact

All startups want to achieve the instantly recognizable status of Apple and Tiffany & Co., and that type of brand power starts with a product’s packaging. How can you make your packaging stand out from the competition?

  1. Know your demographic. Stark white and robin’s-egg blue won’t work for every brand. Consider Lowe’s Home Improvement and Home Depot. Their rugged brands speak for themselves with distinctive, masculine colors. Don’t be afraid to go bold.
  2. Make cheap packaging look chic and personalized. Good packaging doesn’t have to be expensive. Stephanieverafter, an online hair accessory boutique, packages its bows on simple cards in muted colors with stylish typography. It’s an inexpensive solution that gives each item a high-end feel.
  3. Make the package part of the experience. Part of the reason it’s so fun to unbox a new Apple product is that its packaging reflects the sleek, user-friendly experience of the product inside. One startup that’s mastered this is Back to the Roots, which produces kits to get kids and parents interested in growing their own food. Its mushroom kit’s kid-friendly packaging is designed to jump off the shelf and convey the fun, hands-on experience the brand provides.
  4. Consider eco-friendly options. Packaging that’s recyclable or reusable is always a reason for a consumer to choose your brand over your competitor’s. In fact, 52 percent of people around the world make purchase decisions partially due to packaging that shows a brand making a positive social and environmental impact.Puma has made great strides with its eco-friendly packaging that doubles as a reusable walking billboard for its brand. There are plenty of creative ways to go easy on the earth and differentiate your brand in the process.

Remember, your product’s packaging is meant to communicate a purpose: what your brand stands for and what it means for your customer. Don’t miss this opportunity to create a lasting impression on the shelf and in the minds of your customers.

New Recyclability Tool Available Online

By British Plastics & Rubber,

Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE), Europe’s plastic recycling industry body, has launched a new tool that it says can help packaging manufacturers improve the recyclability of their products.

During the group’s conference, entitled ‘Let’s work together on plastics packaging design’ at the InterPack Trade Fair in Düsseldorf, Germany, PRE explained that the ultimate aim of the tool is to improve the design of plastics packaging in respect to its recyclability.

In a video message from the European Commissioner for the Environment, Janez Potočnik stated that: “Recycling starts in the product design phase. The key to more sustainable plastics is better design of plastics and plastics products.”

“RecyClass is based on the existing recycling guidelines, the functioning of today’s recycling markets and the experience of the plastics recyclers,” said Paolo Glerean (PRE Board Member). “The users of the tool can instinctively understand how to improve the recyclability of their packaging,” Glerean added.

Dr. Michael Scriba (PRE Board Member) said: “This tool is an opportunity for the industry to work together, learn mutually and improve the position of plastic packaging on the EU markets.”

The RecyClass tool enables assessment of any kind of plastic packaging, claims PRE. Users are said to be able to obtain information on how environmentally-friendly their packaging is, and provides improvement ideas for packaging design. It is now available online (www.recyclass.eu) in English and German languages for a free trial period of six months.
The conference was attended by plastics converters, recyclers, packaging designers and brand owners.

To see the full article from British Plastics & Rubber, click here.

Vegware Revamp Green Britain Compostable Cups

By Packaging Europe,

Vegware, the UK’s first and only completely compostable food packaging company, have launched their revamped Green Britain cups. The compostable 8oz and 12oz double-wall cups are lined with low-carbon cornstarch not plastic, and feature a green Union Jack heart.

Communications Director Lucy Frankel explains, “Our original Green Britain cup was hugely popular in summer 2012, with UK caterers keen to show their green credentials to international visitors. We like to keep things fresh and last year we discontinued the design. But our clients had other ideas and kept demanding it. We gave in and revamped the design, with the green flag now in a heart shape. With Vegware the UK’s 30th fastest growing company, we see it as a celebration that the UK really does love all things green. And it’s a very pretty summer cup!

These cups are made in the British Isles from two layers of sustainably sourced EU board. The cornstarch lining has a carbon footprint 51% lower than a conventional plastic lining, quantified by Vegware’s Eco Audits for any order quantity. Like all Vegware, these cups are completely compostable and designed to be recycled with food waste, and their free service foodwastenetwork.org helps any UK business set up food waste recycling. This cup won Best New Product in the first ever Climate Week Awards.

A subtle line of text by the join reads: ‘Completely compostable cup made in the British Isles by @vegware. Lined with cornstarch, not plastic, because green tastes better. Caution – green is HOT!’ These special edition cups come in packs of 25 or cases of 500.

From the three cutlery items offered five years ago, Vegware’s range has grown to over 200 completely compostable products, including many award-winning innovations resulting from the firm’s active R&D programme. All Vegware’s catering disposables are made from renewable or recycled eco materials and are completely compostable – so unlike most foodservice packaging, Vegware can be simply recycled after use.

To see the full article from Packaging Europe, click here.

Click to see Quantrelles Eco-Pack range of products.

Dell Invests in Carbon-Negative Packaging Solutions

By Heather Clancy,

Dell continues to raise the bar for the high-tech industry when it comes to innovative packaging choices and groundbreaking recycling initiatives.

This week, its sustainability team is disclosing details about two specific industry “firsts”, both of which are the result of close, collaborative sustainable business partnerships born in its supply chain.

First, Dell has become the second high-profile company to announce a deal with AirCarbon, an innovative plastic material from Newlight Technologies created by pulling carbon out of the air. Newlight, which last year got a $4m grant from the Department of Energy, recently announced a relationship with Sprint, under which it is making “carbon-negative” iPhone accessories.

Dell’s initial plan is to use AirCarbon for sleeves to protect new Latitude series notebooks. It connected with Newlight after a conversation with another supply chain partner, said Oliver Campbell, director of worldwide procurement at Dell.

In addition to the Newlight deal, the technology giant is turning to long-time manufacturing partner, Wistron GreenTech, to pull off another big breakthrough: becoming the first company in the IT industry to earn a closed-loop recycling validation from UL Environment.

Dell’s forthcoming OptiPlex 3030 All-in-One desktop computer (due out by June) will be the first to contain a minimum of 10 percent post-consumer recycled plastic, collected through Dell’s ongoing electronic-waste recovery processes, the company said. The recycled e-waste material is specifically used to make parts such as the stand and the backing for the computer, according to an infographic from Dell.

“We have a long-standing commitment to conduct our business responsibly,” said Dell CEO Michael Dell, in remarks prepared for the Fortune Br
ainstorm Green conference where the initiatives were disclosed. “AirCa
rbon packaging and closed-loop recycled plastics are terrific innovations and big steps forward as we work with our customers and partners toward our 2020 goals.”

To see the full article from BusinessGreen, click here.

Tracking Consumer Attitudes Towards Packaging

By Jim Johnson,

Steve Kazanjian says, is not surprising: packaging helps determine what consumers purchase.

But the vice president of global creative for MeadWestvaco Corp., also has this to add: packaging, now more than ever, helps determine a consumer’s relationship with a product far beyond that decision to make an initial purchase.

“It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that the role that packaging has played in that brand/consumer relationship has changed irrevocably over the last 20 years, 10 years and even 5 years,” he said during a recent presentation at the Packaging Conference in Orlando.

“At one point, when we thought about packaging, we really just thought about the various functional aspects of the package. So storage and convenience, breakage, temperature, loss, security, things like that. Getting it from the manufacturer through the supply chain and into the retail chain,” Kazanjian said.

While those considerations are just as important as ever, modern consumers view packaging through a larger prism.

“There’s also this new role in packaging. And this new role in packaging that we’ve seen over last five or 10 years has been the emotional role of packaging, the consumer side. The role that packaging plays past retail through use and into the end-of-life,” he said.

MeadWestvaco is out with its second annual Packaging Matters study of consumer attitudes toward packaging.

It’s an important topic for the Richmond, Va.-based company, which gets 83 percent of its $5.3 billion of annual sales from packaging, including those made from plastics.

“Packaging influences purchasing behavior. This really isn’t any new spoiler alert for any of us. We know this. However, there’s some other interesting things that are going on with this as well. Packaging during use also influences repurchase behavior in ways that we couldn’t even dream of,” Kazanjian said in Orlando.

Packaging satisfaction, he said, helps drive product satisfaction that helps drive brand preference that helps drive repeat purchasing behavior.

To see the full article from PlasticsNews, click here.

Plastics are a Sustainable Packaging Choice

Sustainable Packaging – By Gayle S. Putrich,

Six major categories of plastic packaging significantly reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions compared to packaging made with alternative materials, according to a new study.

Compiled by Franklin Associates for the American Chemistry Council and the Canadian Plastics Industry Association, and using 2010 as a baseline year, the data shows replacing plastic packaging with alternative materials would result in a 4.5 times more packaging weight, an 80 percent increase in energy use and 130 percent more global warming potential.

“The benefits hold up across a range of different kinds of applications and materials,” said Keith Christman, managing director of plastics markets for ACC. “Because plastics use so much less material in the first place it results in dramatic greenhouse gas reduction, and that’s just the start. It really adds up across the different types of packaging, to the equivalent of taking more than 15 million cars off the road.”

The study pits the six major packaging resins — low density polyethylene, high density PE, polypropylene, PVC, polystyrene, expanded PS, PET — against paper, glass, steel, aluminum, textiles, rubber, and cork. It considers the implications of the materials used in caps and closures, beverage containers, other rigid containers, shopping bags, shrink wrap, and other flexible packaging in a detailed life cycle assessment. Individual studies on particular products have been done before, Christman said, on products ranging from plastic pouches vs. cans for tuna and EPS vs. paper cups. But the new study, titled Impact of Plastics Packaging on Life Cycle Energy Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the United States and Canada, is comparatively sweeping. It contains more than 50 tables and 16 charts and illustrations and examines each of the major life cycle stages for packaging: raw material production, packaging fabrication, distribution transport, post-consumer disposal and recycling.

To see the full article from PlasticsNews, click here.

Leonie Knox-Peeble Speaks About Plastic Packaging

By Alessandra Lacaita,

Plastic has grown significantly as a packaging material over the last decade. Is it still increasing its market share? Where do you identify further opportunities for greater use of plastic packaging?

With a turnover of €40 billion (2009), plastic packaging is market leader and represents nearly 40% of the total packaging market turnover. Between now and 2016, market share is forecasted to continue to grow in both the flexible and rigid packaging sectors, with the food sector being the biggest end-use sector with around 17 million tonnes forecasted for 2016 globally.

Part of the rising consumption is offset by light-weighting in rigid articles and reducing film thickness, basically doing more with less and becoming more resource efficient. In addition, the average plastic packaging weight has been reduced by 28% over the last ten years without compromising either strength or durability.

Opportunities for greater use of plastic packaging are clear in the food sector, and more specifically, for packing fruit and vegetables. Indeed, according to the European Commission, 90 mio tonnes of food are wasted each year in the EU, and if we look at Germany, for example, the largest potential for avoiding household food waste lies with vegetables (which constitute 26% of avoidable food waste) and fruit (18%).

Some may question whether more packaging is the way forward when it comes to making Europe more resource efficient; but the figures are clear: the resources required to produce food outweigh by far those needed to manufacture the packaging – and saving food should not only be among our priorities from an environmental point of view, but from an ethical one as well.
Where we do see that more effort is required is at the end-of-life: no packaging, be it plastic or other, should end up in landfills.

To see the full article from PackagingEurope, click here.

New Plastic Packaging That Removes Emissions

By BusinessGreen,

A U.K. company claims to have produced a new type of plastic packaging that not only is 100 percent recyclable, but also actively removes CO2 emissions from the atmosphere.

The new Polyair material developed by Polythene U.K. is made from sugar cane and uses photosynthesis to capture CO2 emissions and release oxygen. The company claims that for every ton of the product manufactured, 2.5 tons of CO2 will be removed.

James Woollard, managing director at Polythene U.K., said Polyair could be used in a range of products, including bags, covers, tubes, films, wraps and stretch film, and would reduce the amount of polythene waste these products generate.

“Using a bio-based material, such as Polyair, at a percentage of 60 percent in film reduces the CO2 emissions to zero even when you take into consideration the energy used for manufacturing and shipping,” he added in a statement. “Put simply, Polyair is truly the greenest material we know of.”

To see the full article from GreenBiz, click here.