Packaging should act as brand guardianship and actively express the right values behind the brand. Good packaging is also important for growing startups because it will have an immediate impact on sales and a company’s overall image. So what are the processes they should be considered most when people are sourcing luxury packages globally?
1. Timeline
We suggest you adjust your timeline based on the realities of supply chain costs. Rate costs went from 4 grand to 20 grand for importing. We’re all aware of those issues. So brands are now air freighting things in which is far more than before. And you’ve got to consider these costs. Sometimes you might have to use a less expensive material in order to accommodate for that, or you just bite the bullet. When we looking for luxury packages now, to balance things out, we should wait for prices to come down.
2. Make sure manufacturers are experienced in luxury package and understands your needs
In the meantime, for the second biggest concern, you have to make sure that this brand or the manufacturer, whoever you’re talking to has experience in luxury packaging, you need to validate them. They do an important role in the package. Somebody can’t just say we do luxury packaging, and you look for samples and you’re just ok with them, that might not be what I envision as luxury packaging. A lot of times will a brand may have a completely different expectation of what luxury is. So I think it’s important to make sure that you’re on the same page. You’d better double-check with them before things go wrong.
3. Know your manufacturers or distributors’ logistics
The third biggest concern is when you’re working directly with the manufacturer, you should consider how you cooperate with manufacturers, and if it goes well, it will benefit both of you. If you’re a startup, you might want to go with a distributor because they’re going to handle everything–logistics, supply chain, manufacturing. They’re going to get everything to wherever it needs to go, and they’re going to take that responsibility off of you so you can focus on your business. If you’re a more established brand, you already have a lot of that stuff in place. You have teams that handle logistics and supply chain, and buyers manage the financing behind all the packaging. You might want to look at going to a factory and purchasing directly. There’s a lot of different factories offering that.
If you’ve got manufacturing to deliver globally, there’s something you need to look at, and to make sure that those companies that you’re working with can handle global distribution. There’s a lot of great packaging manufacturers around the world and among them are the smaller side that can do beautiful packaging. And as you know, it’s not easy. There’s a lot of things that go into and probably can make or break your business. It’s really a lot less about packaging, and it’s more about logistics. In qualifying these vendors and making sure that the brands that you aspire to be or the brands that are on the same level as you are being produced at that particular manufacturer, you don’t want to be the first luxury brand that this manufacturer handles. It’s great for them, but it’s going to suck for you when they don’t know how to fold a box properly or wrap a box probably or your magnets are showing or all these different things that can happen that you realize when it arrives.
Yes, because of COVID-19, the timeline is the biggest question to ask upfront. The second and the third follow-up is going to be just qualifying your partners (manufacturers or distributors) and making sure that you and your clients are on the same page about what is their luxury package.
