10 Standout Packaging Ideas for Small Businesses (2024)

Even when a customer knows what&#;s inside a box arriving from their online order, there&#;s still an element of excitement that makes for a memorable unboxing experience.

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That&#;s because small business owners can add unique and carefully designed packaging materials&#;such as layers of logo-branded tissue paper or maybe brand-aligned colored packing tape to the seams of a cardboard box&#;to build brand awareness.

The kind of cardboard, typeface, and inserts a business chooses can all provide important packing information, influence sales, and serve as a marketing tool.

The right packaging adds product value and encourages retailers to put your products on their shelves. If you&#;re torn on what kind of packaging you could use to introduce your small business to customers, here are some ideas.

10 small business packaging ideas

Unique or interesting small-business packaging ideas can have a big brand impact. Here are 10 creative ideas for your ecommerce packaging:

1. Personalized bags and boxes

Even if you know that your product would ship safely in a simple mailer, you can still create a personal touch with personalized bags and boxes. Whether you choose to display your branded logo, a slogan, or your company&#;s name on your shipping materials, it&#;ll make your packaging immediately stand out from the pack.

Check out Hero to learn about ways to design, customize, and roll out custom packaging for your small business.

2. Environmentally friendly inserts

While it can be loads of fun to get custom stickers, samples, coupons, or other vibrant packaging inserts, some customers may see those products as items that aren&#;t easily recyclable, depending on their composition.

Look into compostable or recyclable inserts made from natural materials that will simultaneously help protect the planet and inform your customers about your brand.

3. Minimal packaging

Ever scratch your head when you receive a box that&#;s within a box&#;and sometimes, yet another box? One packaging idea at your fingertips is to remove any extra layers of packaging and solely ship your product within one layer of cardboard box.

For example, Rothy&#;s is a shoe brand that only ships its products within its shoeboxes. Depending on the type of products you sell, this same packaging strategy may fit your small business, support sustainability, and improve your bottom line.

4. Special instructions

When your product requires specific steps, make the customer experience as stress-free as possible by providing any special instructions to educate your customers on the press.

Retailer Inkbox sells semi-permanent tattoos. Each package includes your chosen print and instructions on how to apply it to your skin. As part of Inkbox&#;s unique packaging, it has switched to more recyclable materials in its packaging.

5. Community-centered artwork

If you know that you want to make a splash with the visuals of your package design, take a look around. Are there ways to meaningfully tap into artistic talent that connects to your brand? You could incorporate crowdsourced art created and provided by people within your business&#;s network.

For example, if your product is all about bold, beautiful art, use social media to run an online contest with a cash prize for imagery that could inspire a season&#;s worth of packaging. It&#;s a creative way to develop deeper relationships with your customer base and even highlight their talents.

6. Physical newsletters

You may have already created an online newsletter for your business, but are there any other behind-the-scenes stories that may be worth sharing? If so, your packaging may be an opportunity to include exclusive content like a printed newsletter, postcards of recent photo campaigns, and other materials that are only available within packages for a limited time.

For example, Farewell Frances supports its brand image by including postcards of recent photo campaigns and placing them into packages for customers to enjoy at home&#;a unique add-on to the branded packaging experience.

7. Tape options

Packing tape may initially seem plain and drab, but there are no rules limiting what type of packing tape you can use&#;the choice is yours! Whether you want to wrap packages with a fluorescent neon stripe or a logo image, or use stickers instead, an extra pop of signature color or imagery can help solidify your brand&#;s identity. Plus, you can align your packing tape or stickers with other materials inside of the package, like inserts and tissue paper.

8. Custom notes

Adding a handwritten note is a personal touch to include when a customer buys a product from you. Personalizing packaging with inserts goes a long way toward building a positive brand experience.

Start by writing a small thank-you note and tucking it into your packages, like beauty products maker Journ does. You can add personalized information like your customer&#;s name or inspiration for the product and share appreciation for their support. In time, such thoughtful communication can become a touchstone of brand identity and attract repeat customers.

A downfall of this idea, however, is that once you ramp up to a certain level of production, it can become more challenging to execute.

9. Highlighting artisans and creators

Sometimes, who makes your goods and why is a central pillar of brand identity. Part of your ecommerce business may therefore center on artisans and global stewardship. Consider incorporating graphics, photographs, or notes that tell how creators make your products. This can help deepen the human connection to your brand because people feel their purchases are doing social or environmental good.

Take sustainable clothing brand Public Myth, which makes ethically made apparel on-site or just blocks from its Vancouver, Canada, headquarters.

10. Tissue paper

When a customer opens a package, one of the first things they might see is tissue paper. It&#;s a key way to incorporate signature brand colors into your packaging concept. Consider customized or bold tissue paper colors to create a positive color experience that represents your brand. Off-the-beaten-path craft paper is another option to wrap your products and help ensure they&#;re safe during shipment. Digiwrap is a digital printing resource to help with that.

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3 types of packaging

For your ecommerce business, the main purpose of packaging is to protect products during shipping. Three types of packaging options when mailing your products are:

1. Corrugated cardboard boxes

Thicker than regular cardboard boxes, corrugated boxes have wave-shaped paper layers for extra protection. There are various types of corrugated boxes, which are sturdy, reusable, and safe for transporting a range of products, including glass, valuables, and heavy items, or anything that&#;s fragile or needs extra durability or stabilization during transit. These boxes are typically lightweight, so they won&#;t add unnecessary shipping costs.

For an eco-friendly version, look for corrugated boxes made completely&#;or with a portion of&#;recycled cardboard. Ecoenclose is a vendor offering completely sustainable cardboard options.

2. Padded mailers

Padded mailers are best for smaller products that can be protected by the mailer&#;s internal layer of plastic bubble wrap or recyclable paper. Think books or handmade jewelry within a brand&#;s custom packaging or small box within the mailer.

Because padded mailers are relatively compact, they don&#;t have to be left on a customer&#;s doorstep, where they might be stolen. Instead, they can be slipped into a mailbox for safety and security. Ecopackables offers compostable padded mailers to help cut down on plastic use, too.

3. Bags and mailers

Poly bags and mailers may seem the same as padded mailers, but they&#;re different. There is no protective bubble wrap or protective liner. Bags and mailers are often larger, super lightweight, and water resistant to protect contents from the elements.

Since these options lack padding, this packaging is best for soft items, such as clothing. Sustainable packaging company Grounded offers renewable mailers made with compostable bioplastic.

Introduction to Packaging Your Products

Your packaging is your billboard&#;it works hard for you and is the first physical touchpoint for your customer. So taking time to consider how to package your items, whether you ship apparel, beauty, furnishings, food and beverage, telemedicine or cannabis, can influence future sales.

Learn more

What&#;s the first step in choosing product packaging?

There are different custom packaging options depending on the type of product you sell. Before narrowing down your packaging choices, the first step is to think about your business and identify your brand values and the messaging you&#;d like to convey. Among the values that may help inform your custom packaging decisions are:

Sustainability

If your business uses sustainable packaging and shipping solutions, you may consider the environmental impact of your packaging as a key brand value. Using recycled, organic, or handmade materials are ways to do this and reflect those eco-friendly values.

Other environmentally conscious options small business owners may consider to make their packaging stand out include using compostable materials, shipping smaller-sized packages to reduce waste, and buying carbon-neutral credits to offset the carbon footprint of shipping.

Social responsibility

Your business&#;s social impact efforts can influence the products you offer or how they are made and packaged. Perhaps your mission is to support independent artists, uplift artisans, or devote a portion of your sales to a social cause. If so, examples of a brand's social responsibility can lend themselves to packaging that tells a wider story via graphics, inserts, colors, and other design elements.

Cost efficiency

Perhaps your main goal as a business owner is simply to keep your costs as low as possible to pass those savings along to existing and new customers. That might mean that your business focuses on providing a better value for your products than a competitor does. If so, your goal may be to use as few frills as possible to keep your packaging streamlined, simple, and inexpensive.

Small business packaging ideas FAQ

What do customers look for in packaging?

Many customers look for brand packaging that feels like an experience. For example, if your brand advocates for sustainability in its natural beauty products, you might use bare-bones, earthy packaging, or draw on color psychology to incorporate browns and greens representing nature.

What is the cheapest product packaging?

One of the cheapest types of product packaging is plastic poly bags, which tend to be less expensive than padded mailers or corrugated cardboard boxes. However, their cost per bag can be higher if you customize them.

How can small businesses ensure their packaging is secure during shipping?

Small businesses can hire a packaging designer to help determine which types of packaging elements will keep a product the most secure while en route. Another option is to pick product packaging&#;whether a box, bag, or mailer&#;that is best suited for your product. Delicate items should not be mailed in packaging without padding or other protection to prevent breakage or damage during shipping.

The output of designing and manufacturing a material that will keep a product secure and identifiable throughout transport is packaging. 

There can be hundreds of points of interaction with your product's packaging before it gets from the point of manufacture to the final consumer.

Furthermore, the path from manufacturer to final consumption may extend around the globe and take several months, or it may be a few meters and span no more than a minute.

This makes eco-friendly packaging even more important

Your packaging needs to be designed to fulfil all these functions in that process, no matter how long it is.

Using packaging supplies that fit all these functions is crucial for saving money on packaging and getting products where they need to be prompt.

Packhelp is a packaging supplier that can help you source quality product packaging that saves you money.

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Functions of packaging:

There are several roles that packaging needs to fulfil to successfully do its job. These functions are presented in no particular order.

Protection

Packaging's first and foremost function is protection.

The most important function of packaging is to keep the product safe and secure from the outside environment, but also the other way around, packaging needs to keep the product away from the external environment, too.

See how Aleks Ko used multiple products to fulfil multiple functions of packaging. 

In doing so, your product is protected from damage in the form of being dropped, but also the weather, like rain, sun, dirt and dust.

This is where products like polymailer bags are used alongside traditional cardboard packaging.

Protective packaging also has to stand up to both static and dynamic forces during the shipping and delivery process.

It has to keep the product safe while other items are being stacked on it to save space - both in shipping and in storage.

Packaging is often paired with the product within the manufacturing process, especially in the form of liquids and foods.

It's from this point that the packaging must start fulfilling its role.

Storage

The next function of packaging is to keep the packaging contents safe during storage. This storage time may be a matter of years or minutes - possibly even seconds.

Click here to design and order custom shipping boxes, ideal for storage

In this function, the packaging needs to ensure that the product is safe from dust, debris and other environmental hazards for the amount of time that it will be stored.

Transport

Packaging has a massive effect on the efficiency and speed of transportation.

Being able to physically handle a product and get it from point A to point B is the most often associated function of packaging.

In this role, packaging needs to be easy and efficient to lifted, held, moved and stored easily.

Secondary layers of packaging may be needed to make it easier to handle smaller units of grouped products - for example, a large shipping box that contains multiple six-packs of beer.

Transport packaging needs to be designed in a way that it can be easily handled and moved by both man and machine, on a larger and a smaller scale.

For transport reasons, your packaging supplies may need to be of a certain size to meet set delivery guidelines, such as royal mail package dimensions.

Sales

Sales as a function of packaging enable the product to be promoted. It's at this point where visual identification of the product beings, as the buyer needs to recognise what the product is.

See how Coco & Eve work sales into their packaging design.

This is also where visual packaging design starts to play a role in the functions of packaging.

Sales and promotions work hand in hand as the first point of physical contact with your customer and your packaging bundle.

Promotional

Promoting the product on its packaging is an integral function of packaging.

It's at this point where the final customer will first see the product for sale, therefore the packaging needs to have a positive influence on the buyer's decision.

Especially in industries like cosmetics or wellbeing supplements, the overall packaging aesthetic might encourage you to buy one product over the other.

See how Yope uses sales as a function of their packaging design.

From this point, transport of the product is still important, but only on a single-unit level.

Service

This function of packaging involves placing various information and specific details about the product on the packaging.

This includes ingredients and nutritional information if talking about food, as well as dangerous and hazardous materials.

Note: One promotional aspect of packaging may be that storing the product in its packaging is simple for the end-user.

This means that another level of storage needs to be considered when designing packaging.

Assurance

This function of packaging is to ensure the consumer that the product of the intended quality.

The structural integrity of the packaging means that the product inside, for the most part, is undamaged and ready to use as it was intended.

Providing this assurance with packaging is a decision that's made when picking the right type of packaging for your product.

Use packaging tape and packaging paper to assure your customer that your product is in the same condition it left the manufacturer in. 

Disposal

The final function of packaging is to inform the user how to dispose of it.

If the packaging is sustainable, this may mean disposing of it in compost or recycling it, rather than traditional waste.

Packhelp works with One Tree Planted to help regenerate forests for each packaging order placed. Click here and learn more. 

The disposal function may also mean telling the user that the packaging can be reused for another intended purpose.

Summary: functions of packaging in all steps of the supply chain

Packaging is an all-encompassing element of every brand. The function of packaging often begins before the product itself is made, and continues well after the product is consumed.

Packhelp's range of packaging supplies can help you create a complete packaging solution that fulfils all roles you've just read, as well as many many more.

Click here to explore our range or get a quote on your personalised packaging supplies!

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