A key part of branding and improving sales for any business, big or small, is deciding on how you are going to package your products. A well packaged product tells customers that you care about the service you give them and that what you sell is of high quality; however, you must also take into consideration cost and time-effectiveness to find the perfect fit for your business.
For us, an important part of our business ethos is our environmental impact, and so when we started thinking about our packaging, we wanted to use products that were as eco-friendly as possible. We sourced compostable cardboard boxes; biodegradable stickers to seal them with; and we also explored various options for stuffing the boxes with, so our stamps would be cushioned well during transit. Initially, we used recycled paper for this, trying out using void fill and recycled yellow paper torn into shreds, but later, we switched to wood wool. We found that the wood wool looked the best out of all the options we had tried.
Indeed, while trying to keep the environment in mind, we also wanted to ensure that our packaging looked good. We experimented with the look of our packaging for a while, and in the early days of the company packed our stamps into boxes we would tie with string, for a rustic, gift-wrapped finish. We would also include stamp care instructions that we would hold together with woodcut rings that we manufactured in-store. Both of these options looked great and really spoke to the character of the company, but as sales increased and things got busier for us, we started to have to consider the time consumed by these added features. Alongside this, cost-effectiveness was of course an important factor to consider.
Being a stamp company, it was easy for us to manufacture a stamp of our own logo to brand our boxes with, which saved us money and time. As stamps can be used repeatedly for a number of years, this would save us money in the long run as well as in the short term. In terms of saving time, stamping is a quick and easy process that allows us to brand our packaging quickly and efficiently. And knowing that we engage with eco-friendly practices as a business, we knew our stamp would fit our environmental goals, too. Simplicity ended up being the key and now we package all of our orders in compostable boxes, filled and sealed with biodegradable products and branded with our logo.
So, what are our top tips for packaging for your small business? Think about what the key values of your business are – how can you make sure they are reflected in your packaging and branding choices?
