What comes to your mind when you see the color red? Rose? Apple? For me, I think about Coke. And you know what Coke is also known for? It’s the packaging – the iconic curvaceous bottle. Years after they first produced Coke and its custom bottle, it’s still being used all over the world. This is how custom packaging affects a certain product. It creates an identity – identity that will last for years and make a particular product stand out.
What is Custom Packaging?
Custom packaging is essentially customized packaging for a product. As subscription business (i.e. Barkbox, Boxycharm, Birchbox ) becomes more proliferate, the demand for custom packaging has increased too. And rightfully so as your packaging represents your brand. It’s a visual storyboard that should evoke excitement and at the same time, benefit your business with calls to action for your customers.
In an article from Big Commerce, they talked about how “custom packaging extends beyond simply branding to creating custom box sizes and protective packaging for customer satisfaction. Only 11% of global customers are completely satisfied with packaging today, and 80% of customers say that wholesale bubble mailers and other generic packages rather than splurge on custom corrugated boxes.”
Crafting Your Custom Packaging
If you’re shipping a physical product to your customers, a custom packaging makes great packaging. It draws attention to your product and if done correctly, can improve customer experience and even drive sales. With that said, here are some tips in designing your custom packaging:
Know The Types
While many people typically think about a “box” when they hear “subscription boxes,” there are actually a lot of types of custom packaging. Some of them come in: Bubble mailers, mailer boxes, custom mailer envelopes, rigid envelopes, and the most popular type, the box. Though the packaging you’ll use really depends on you and the product you’re selling. You can also use more than one type of packaging, a bubble mailer perhaps for small items and boxes for bigger or a few items.
Assess Your Budget
To tell you the truth, custom packaging is not cheap. It costs money. So, before you make any decision; look at your budget. Can you really afford the manufacturing cost of your custom packaging? On the other hand, if you don’t have a sufficient budget for the mass production of your packaging, you can always start small. Or, you can also DIY your packaging, you just really have to exert some effort and let your creativity run wild.
DIY Your Custom Packaging
If you are really on a tight budget, you can actually DIY your packaging. All you need to do is buy unlabeled packaging and design it yourself. You can write on it, print out stickers or even stamp it. What matters is it has your touch; your “branding.”
Designing Your Box (or Mailers)
After you’ve chosen the sizes, you’ll use for your packaging; this is where the designing part comes in. The first thing you need to do is get the dimension of the box or any of the cases you picked. Now, this is crucial since you have to adjust your design according to the dimension of your custom packaging. As for the design process, you’ll be most likely to use design software like Adobe InDesign.
For the real gritty designing part, you’ll have to come up with your idea. Though, you have to keep in mind your “brand” – do you have a particular brand color? Use it. The same with the font. However, using various colors usually adds up to the cost so try to stick with one or two colors. Make the most of your design and use call-to-actions on your packaging. Include your social media handles or website on your packaging.
Printing & Finding a Manufacturer
And we’re done with the design process. The next step is printing it out. For this part, you have to look for a manufacturer. Do a lot of research, compare prices, and ask for discounts. Usually, printing companies will lower if the cost if the amount of to produce is high. You can also ask for a test print to see how it looks. Sometimes colors can be an issue, so you have to take note of that.
There you have it. You can now create your own custom packaging. If you already have one, leave a picture in the comment section!
