Building Your Brand with Packaging

Let’s start with a little anecdote.

The year is 1878 and Charles Tiffany is deciding how to package his jewelry. At this point, the store is relatively unknown. Yet in less than a century, the little blue box with a white ribbon -- his custom packaging choice at the time -- would become a worldwide phenomenon.

Today, that custom box, and the specific hue that was chosen are immediately recognizable as luxurious, high end, and help tell the story of Tiffany and Co.

Things move a little bit faster nowadays of course, and what might have once taken a century to develop in terms of brand presence can take mere months with today’s technology. What has remained the same though, is the impact that your packaging can have on your brand.

The little blue box of 1878 has evolved to be quite different today, as the world of packaging options has absolutely exploded. Printed mailout sleeves, custom boxes with compartments for every doodad, and fully customizable wrapping abound.

And yet still, so many brands fail to take advantage of the simplest thing you can do to build presence, engage your following, and maintain contact throughout the purchasing process: use custom packaging.

How do you package a product?

Unique and simple packaging tells your story. With the options that are out there today, it is fully possible to go too far in the direction of wacky and wild, sacrificing positive engagement for questions like “how do I open this?” and “what am I supposed to do with all of this plastic wrap?”

But something simple and well designed speaks to your customer long after they have made their purchase, and provides another touchpoint where you are able to show your commitment to their experience.

There’s a reason that Amazon has their logo plastered all over every box, and it’s because long ago, they recognized the value added from that additional piece of branding. And what’s worrisome is that when an item is sold on Amazon, rarely is the consumer aware of who it is behind their purchase!

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How do you design packaging?

So how do you create a brand that maintains its integrity from start to finish without having to dive into the nitty-gritty of packaging distribution, shipping, and the ever important ‘logistics’?

Enter Easyship and the modern-day 3PL. Amazon will take your goods and package them for you, help you sell them, and take a nice cut of the profit.

But with the options at your fingertips today for eCommerce, there’s no need to sacrifice your branding for sales. Easyship is one example of a service that has revolutionized how sellers are able to distribute their goods. We’ve written about how 3PLs can help solve growth pains when you move from mailing goods out yourself to fulfilling orders faster than you can package them.

These companies are able to package your goods, fulfill orders, and track the entire process, meaning your days of hand-stuffing mailer sleeves is over!

But most importantly, quality 3PLs are partnering with companies like noissue to help make life easier for their clients.

We understand how important building a brand is in the incredibly competitive world of eCommerce. Being able to create custom packaging or boxes, and fulfilling orders using a 3PL are no longer separate parts of the parcel.

With 3PLs like Easyship offering tailored solutions for you and your store, packaging and shipping can be hassle-free!

Where these logistics companies used to only be about one thing (shipping), today they have evolved to include services such as custom packaging solutions, storage, eCommerce tracking, and even crowdfunding campaigns.

While they are still logistics companies at heart, meaning they will always focus on their core business of fulfilling your customers’ orders, these add-ons can make a world of difference for your store. With limitless possibilities, such as custom boxes, inserts, wrapping, custom tape, and more, 3PLs have evolved to be much more than just shipping companies.

Conclusion

Today, Tiffany & Co. is valued at $12.83B. And we’re certainly not trying to convince you that this is all due to their packaging; but it is hard to imagine them being so successful with their jewelry packaged in an ordinary brown box with a shipping label slapped on it.

Custom packaging isn’t for everyone--it can be expensive, difficult to order and lead times can take ages. But with 3PLs offering integrated custom packaging solutions with trusted partners, maybe it’s time to start considering what your brand could look like if you sent out your goods in a little blue box with a white ribbon.

noissue.co is an online platform for designing and ordering high quality and eco-friendly custom wrapping tissue and stickers. With low minimum order quantities and free shipping worldwide, we hope to make custom branded packaging easily accessible. Start designing your packaging today!

About the author: Ben is the marketing director at noissue.co and spends his time researching and writing about trends in the eCommerce, retail and packaging industries. When he's not raving about noissue's sustainability initiatives, he enjoys a good hike.