Starting a Packaging Business: A Complete Guide

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Starting a Packaging Business A Complete Guide
Look around your house for a second. You will
find tiny boxes and paper bags lying around
everywherechocolates in the fridge, a book
delivered by Amazon, specs case on the table,
and so on. So, what does this imply? That
packaging is everywhere. It has been around for
years now. Infact, the packaging business began
3,500 years in Egypt with glass and continued
with mulberry bark containers in China. Then
Napoleon promoted canned food. In the 1890s
NABISCO paved the way for brand packaging with
its first branded consumer package. Since then
the packaging market has only seen growth. Today,
the global packaging industry generates 500
billion yearly. Reports by Smithers Pira indicate
that the demand for the world packaging industry
will reach 1.05 trillion by 2024. All these
things indicate that the industry has a good
deal of business opportunities to offer. So, if
you are planning to try your hands in it then
this guide is for you. Lets start step by step
on how to start a packaging business and let us
answer all your questions. Step 1 Planning is
Important It is crucial to have a plan for the
success of your enterprise. Before starting make
sure to have answers to these questions Whats
my target market? The packaging business is
versatile. Therefore, you need to focus on a
specific market. Do you want to provide
packaging for food and beverages? Or you want to
focus on cosmetics and fashion? You can even go
for pharmaceuticals, industrial, or household
companies. The choice is up to you but see to it
that you do not decide by mere guesswork. Do some
research, go through the statistics of whats
trending and setting in your packaging business
plan. Other considerations include determining
who you want to target? Which customer base can
benefit from the service you offer? For instance,
if you decide to produce packaging for
cosmetics, your target audience can be young
women or teenage girls. This will help you make
further decisions on package design, color,
shapes, etc. Do I have enough resources? Similar
to any business, even packaging business
requires you to pay for several things like
packaging material, supply charges, etc. So,
while creating your packaging business plan
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remember to plan a budget. In the long run, it
will help you improve profits and increase the
return of investment. Here are some tips to
effectively manage your budget
Understand your packaging needs As per the
common human psychology, buying in large volumes
helps reach a target price. This approach doesnt
always work. Sometimes you end up spending more
than your budget. And unfortunately, if those
materials do not sell out, you will have to spend
extra cost to store the inventory. So, be aware
of the volume of packaging that your company
needs. This will help control the costs in the
long run. Save for Unexpected Mishaps Business
can be unpredictable. Sometimes, an unexpected
opportunity like a special event or co-branded
partnerships might pop-up. In such a case,
setting aside some portion of the budget might
help you deal with the last-minute
opportunity. Track Your Expenses Do not wait
for the end of the year to analyze the budget and
make corrections. Track your expenses monthly
and make proactive changes. Secondly, keep
in mind that your budget wont remain static.
There are chances it may change in the middle of
your business undergoing a change. Therefore,
based on business growth and profits, you will
need to adjust it. Regularly revisiting your
budget, redefining your packaging business plan
will give you complete financial control and more
opportunity to research and study latest market
trends. If you need help, let us guide you in
building your business from scratch.
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• How will I Manage the Core Components?
• From the material type to selecting the shipping
  process, understanding all areas of packaging
  business is the key to successfully carry out
  operations and expand your business reach.
• Some key areas of packaging that you need to
  focus on
• Material
• Paper A popular material because it is of a low
  cost, and holds its shape for long. Packaging
  using paper includes cartons, labels, leaflets,
  tubes, corrugated cases, rigid boxes and pulp
  packs.
• Glass Glass is inert, sterilizable,
  pressure-resistant, recyclable, and you can mould
  it in different shapes. Industries that use
  glass packaging are cosmetics and personal care,
  food and condiments, and even home decor and
  candles.
• Metal Tin-palate or aluminium are predominant
  metals for food and drink cans, aerosol cans,
  tubes, drums and slip.
• Wood It is popular for pallets and crates. You
  can use wooden boxes to pack cigars, gifts, tea,
  cheese, etc.
• These were the most basic materials. However,
  enterprises across the globe are adopting the
  concept of reduce, reuse, and recycle in
  packaging. Coca Cola, for instance, is working
  to create packaging that shall contain at least
  50 recycled material by the end of 2030. Even
  customers appreciate brands who are committed to
  enhancing the environment. Nearly three- fourths
  (74) of consumers are willing to pay more for
  sustainable packaging.
• If you are somebody who is passionate about
  environmental concerns, you might want to switch
  to sustainable packaging. How to do this?

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Before you make any decision consider these
points Price Price varies from packaging
material and location of shipping. However, ask
the vendor how do they offer materials at a
lower price whilst maintaining the quality. Make
sure you are not paying any hidden
costs. Selecting Materials It is important to
choose a vendor who (a) has a wide range of
materials and (b) have them in stock. Repeat
Orders When you sign the contract, discuss the
potential of repeat orders. This way, you will
get your orders at regular intervals without
waiting. Delivery Time A little delay in the
process might cost you a customer. So, choose a
vendor who has a reliable delivery track
record. Quality You get the materials on time
but quality is not up to the mark then its of no
use. Be very particular about the quality of the
materials that the vendor offers. Never
compromise on that. With this we finish sorting
out the key components you need for the packaging
business. Now lets say you have decided to sell
packaging to a food and beverages brand. There
are more than 700 food packaging suppliers in
the USA according to Thomas Supplier Discovery.
How will you make sure your business is
different? Good quality and affordable price
thats of course correct. But whats crucial is
offering personalized packaging. The Rise of
Customized Packaging Customers are looking for a
personal connection that brands and products have
to offer. And for this, companies are focusing
on personalization. Do you remember the famous
ShareTheCoke campaign? It is the best example of
personalized packaging. Coca-Cola replaced its
logo on all bottles with 150 of the most popular
first names, and nicknames. This allowed the
customers to create and personalize virtual cans
and order it or send to others. Coca-Cola sales
grew more than 19 in the first year of the
campaign. All of us have preferences and we wish
to do things our way. We even expect brands to
deliver custom options based on individual
preferences. If you want your packaging business
to stand out, you must create a fully custom
experience and offer something thats specific to
your customers. Here are two major benefits of
offering customized packaging Customer Loyalty
Brand A offers a traditional paper packaging with
a logo and a tagline. Brand B lets the user
choose either black/white or multicolor design.
Not just that the user can add graphics. Guess
whos going to have a huge traffic. Brand B,
obviously. What A offers is generic. Boring,
maybe. But B makes the user feel special. Once
you create a better customer experience and
establish an emotional connection, customers are
likely to
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• make a purchase again. And thats why 90 of
  these packaging professionals believe that the
  trend of customization will continue to rise over
  the next few years.
• Thats the power of customized packaging. Its a
  great way to create customer loyalty and outsell
  your competitors. Secondly, people are willing to
  pay about 20 percent more for a personalized
  product. This means you could charge more for
  what you offer.
• Increase Profits Your customer is likely to go
  for the premium plan if you are offering
  something thats valuable and unique. A study by
  Deloitte suggests that 1 in every 5 consumers
  would not mind paying 20 extra for an exclusive
  product. This means that your packaging business
  can easily earn more profits. Furthermore, a
  satisfied user will share about your brand on
  social media and recommend it to others. In this
  way, you can expect an increase in sales figure.
• Brush Your Ideas is our flagship project which
  helps eStore owners serve customers better. Our
  product design tool enables e-store owners to
  offer their customers personalized products. If
  you are looking for a similar solution, you can
  start by exploring our live demo to see how it
  works.
• Web-to-print Software A Cost-effective Solution
• To scale your business and leverage the power of
  product customization, you need a web to print
  software. This software allows users to design
  custom packaging commercially through websites
  and then they can place orders. Implementing it
  is bound to ensure a border reach of your
  business.
• Here are some essential points to keep in mind
  before buying the software
• Custom web-to-print solution with 3rd party tools
  to increase functionality.
• Cost effective solution that offers a library
  containing ideas, designs, templates, images,
  color schemes, quotes, and graphics.
• Lets you create and maintain product catalog.
• Printing Method

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• Rotogravure Manufacturers use this method
  typically for pouches and boxes-especially for
  food packaging. It provides long-lasting print
  results but the tooling costs are quite high.
• Silkscreen It is a good option for custom
  packaging. Manufacturers generally use silkscreen
  printing on glass and metal bottles. The
  production speed with silkscreen is much lower
  and the process requires manual effort sometimes
  resulting in poor-quality results.
• Which one is right for you?
• Choosing the right method depends on your
  requirement and budget. Anyway, if you have to
  print high volumes at a lower cost, consider
  flexography. For high volumes at a moderate cost
  on packaging with a flat surface choose
  lithography. Digital or silkscreen is a good
  choice for lower printing volumes. And if there
  are high volumes with detailed designs then
  consider rotogravure.
• Step 2 Get Online
• Select Your Company Name
• Ask your friends and family, use your
  imagination, and scribble every name you could
  think. Once you get the top 3 or 5, go to domain
  generators like GoDaddy, check the availability
  and see what works. Remember, the best company
  name is short, clear, and something that
  reflects what you do.
• Register your Packaging Business
• For a legitimate business, you will require a
  vendors license. Contact your local attorney.
  They will help you with all the paperwork.
  Further, approach your states Secretary of State
  and Department of taxation or revenue.
• Here you register the required documents. Next,
  as you will be making taxable sales you need a
  Sellers Permit or Vendors License. The rules
  differ from city to city or state to state. This
  license is important because few vendors with
  whom you will work in the future might ask for
  it.

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• updates, payment processing, and others. This
  will require you to pay a monthly or yearly
  recurring fee based on the features you choose.
• Shopify
• BigCommerce
• Squarespace
• Volusion
• Big Cartel
• Open source, on the other hand, provides you with
  a source code that you can install and set up
  the site. You get complete control of your site
  and higher scalability and customizability on
  the website. Working with this platform requires
  some technical knowledge or you can hire a team.
  Popular open source platforms are WordPress
  WooCommerce plugin, Magento, and PrestaShop.
• An easy way to choose an eCommerce platform is by
  considering the features it offers.
• SEO Friendly What do you aim for? If a user
  searches packaging company for cookie jar then
  he should find your brand in the top results.
  Right? For ranking high in search results, you
  need to have a SEO friendly platform. Go for a
  platform that offers basic SEO friendly features
  by default.
• Mobile Friendly In most cases users will search
  for a product or make a purchase from their
  phones. Having a mobile-friendly store will make
  you easily reach the cellphone users.
• Security With cyber threats increasing every
  day, you want to protect your store from
  hackers. Check if the platform is secure by
  confirming if it supports HTTPs or SSL support.
  Even make sure that the payment options are
  secure to safeguard customer data.
• Product Management System Choose a platform that
  lets you upload a product and manage the product
  listing for smooth functioning. For this, you
  will need features like dynamic catalog filters,
  ability to create product variations, map
  different shipping options, advanced product
  listing, etc.

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• Post-launch
• Optimize your store for SEO
• Connect with influencers
• Start a blog
• Make YouTube Videos
• Ready to Start a Packaging Business?
• We hope this guide will help you explore
  opportunities that the packaging market has to
  offer.
• Looking for a Web-to-print solution? Then Brush
  your Ideas can be your one stop solution. We are
  in the industry for the past few years and have
  helped many eStore owners set up their printing
  business. Our web product designer tool has
  helped many businesses to stand out of the crowd
  and have the right set of customers following
  them. With almost 10 years of experience of
  working with businesses like you, we can guide
  you throughout your journey.

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