Packaging is a big part of every single brand, and it’s something that you send out to the different customers, or retailers that send it out to your future customers. You have to consider a few things though when you’re building your packaging. There are primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging options, and you must consider each of these. In this, we’ll summarize the different kinds of packaging to help you understand, and the best instances to use this.
Primary
This is basically packaging that preserves and protects various products, contains them, and also lets customers know of what’s within. This kind is great for direct contact and is also called retail or consumer forms of packaging.
This is made up of various components, and you have to look for example at the packaging that contains the product. If you’re selling a package of juice boxes, the juice and the little hole to puncture are the main packaging.
Secondary
This is basically used for branding and logistics, an dis used to protect the products or bring individual products together.
In the juices example for example, the box or the plastic container that holds all of these, or the cardboard that holds it in place are considered secondary packaging.
It also can include the following:
Boxes that contain the products
I display products
Shelf-ready packages
Retail-ready packages
Display units for a countertop
Packaging for gifts
The secondary packaging is made up usually of corrugated cardboard, or printed cardboard its, and is the best way to show off creative branding for the most part.
Tertiary
This is the least common of the packaging if you’re going to display it, but if you’re going to be sending it to various locations, this is one of the most common types.
They are used to handle and transport the units that you have.
You basically see this when you’re transporting the products, but this is not normally seen by the consumer unless they’re opening the package that contains the package.
Boxes, mailers, or anything that basically gets the package or products from one location to another is a fine example of this.
There is usually some form of branding on these, but not all customers will see this. If the packaging is going to a grocery store for example, then the person who is buying it won’t normally see it. But some companies may not use tertiary packaging branding, since it’s not always needed.
What to Consider
If you’re considering any kind of packaging from one of these three areas, there are a few things that you absolutely must consider with this.
First, you need to think about the most important parts of the packaging, whether it needs to be protected, if it has to have the branding shown off, if you wnat to recycle this, or have any branding values on this.
You should also look at the packaging value. You don’t want to get packaging that’s super expensive if it’s just going to be tertiary packaging for example. You need to also make sure that the packaging is as functional as I can be.
Then there are delivery and transit costs. There are some that do weigh a lot more than some of the others, or how they take up the space. This is something that costs you so much more than the expenses for the delivery, and it can be a pain to navigate, so make sure you keep this in mind.
Finally, make sure that the branding stays consistent, and also has a logo and colors that fit it.
