Packaging for a Small Business

BUSINESS · GLOBAL

Packaging for a Small Business

Protecting the product, sizing, sustainability claims and shipping rules

Packaging is where small businesses lose money twice — on materials bought badly and on items damaged in transit. Both are avoidable with a few decisions made early.

Size it properly

Couriers charge on volumetric weight as well as actual weight, so an oversized box costs more to send and needs more void fill. Measuring products and buying two or three box sizes that fit them is a real saving.

Every extra centimetre of box is a centimetre of protection you then have to pay to fill.

Protecting the product

Assume the parcel will be dropped from waist height and have something stacked on it, because it will. Items should not touch the outer wall of the box, and heavy items need double-wall board.

Test by packing one and dropping it. That five-minute experiment prevents most damage claims.

Void fill

Paper and honeycomb wrap are recyclable and increasingly expected. Air pillows are light and cheap and are plastic. Loose fill is cheap and irritates customers.

Whatever you choose, use enough. Under-filled boxes let contents move, which is what causes damage.

Sustainability claims

Recyclable, recycled content, compostable and biodegradable all mean different things, and customers increasingly check. State what the packaging is and how to dispose of it rather than using a general claim.

Paper tape on cardboard makes a box recyclable as one item; plastic tape means separating it.

Labels and rules

Print labels rather than handwriting them, and put a duplicate address inside the box. Check restrictions for anything liquid, aerosol, battery-powered or perishable, since couriers each publish their own list.

Unboxing and returns

Make the box easy to open without a knife and easy to reuse for a return, since a customer who cannot repack an item will complain rather than return it neatly.

Include a packing slip and clear return instructions inside, which reduces the number of enquiries considerably.

Storage

Keep cardboard dry and off a concrete floor, since damp board loses a large part of its strength and collapses in transit.

Branding on a budget

A printed sticker on a plain box costs a fraction of printed packaging and can be changed without reordering stock. A handwritten note does more for how a small business is remembered than printed board does.

Keep the branding consistent with everything else you produce.

Insurance and claims

Courier compensation is capped and frequently excludes poorly packed items. Photograph parcels before dispatch, since a claim depends on showing the item left you intact.

Buying

Bulk pricing drops sharply at pallet quantities. Balance that against storage space and cash tied up in stock.

WHERE TO BUY

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