There are many ways we help our customers reduce cost on their subscription or direct to consumer (D2C) packaging. Sometimes it is on the cost of the box itself, but quite often a less noticeable change has a much bigger impact on the bottom line.
For example, a reduction of shipping cost can be huge. As I often ask people inquiring, do you want to save twenty cents on the cost per box or reduce your shipping cost by two dollars per box? Sometimes, we can do both. Other times we can do something entirely transparent to the consumer, that can save our customers thousands of dollars in storage and handling costs per month.
Case Study: Swell Bottle
You probably know them as a premier if not the premier manufacturer of metal water bottles. Visit the Swell bottle website to see the incredibly beautiful designs and variety of products they offer. The problem with any fast-growing company and product line is that in most cases, products are added as well as the packaging they require. Everyone adds, rarely does anyone eliminate or reduce packaging options. Before you know it, you have many more packaging SKU’s than you ever intended or need.
That was the problem at Swell Bottle when we met them. Marketing was not satisfied with their presentation and customer experience. Operations was not pleased with the number of packaging SKU’s they had to stock and the amount of time that was spent per bottle in terms of wrapping, cushioning, and packaging.
Cost saving design and innovation
We began with a full review of all their bottle sizes and shapes as well as current state packaging. We discovered some commonality of dimensions that we could take advantage of to vastly reduce the number of boxes they had to keep on hand. To improve the customer experience, we created custom inserts for every shape, so the consumer sees the product, not void fill when the box is first opened. The insert is designed to support and immobilize the bottle to protect it so that wrapping can be eliminated, reducing material and labor costs. We have also replaced some not so green materials with paper-based designs that can easily be recycled.
You can see the new Swell products and packaging in the photos included in the post. The thing to remember, we do this work every single day. You may have a vision of what you want your product and packaging to look like, and we have the experience to make that vision, practical, attractive, eco-friendly, and still affordable. Visit our gallery to see a small sampling of the work we have done for others.
Contact us via email at Salazar Packaging or call us at 630-551-1700. Our experienced, trained, branded packaging advisors will be glad to review your specific application and needs, while probably helping you reduce your overall packaging and shipping costs.
Related posts:
https://www.salazarpackaging.com/e-commerce-custom-box-printing-and-production-faq/
https://www.salazarpackaging.com/the-good-bad-and-ugly-of-e-commerce-packaging/
https://www.salazarpackaging.com/drives-e-commerce-subscription-box-redesign-rebranding/
