Simon Ward, CEO & Founder of

Inspired Thinking Group

, discusses the benefits of outsourcing your packaging operations

Modern day consumers really do ‘consume’ in the truest sense of the word. We are a society obsessed with having the latest and greatest, from fashion to technology. Yet, we crave something that is unique to us, that somehow echoes our own ‘personal brand’. With such a high degree of product consumption and pseudo-personalisation, in an increasingly crowded marketplace, it has become critical for brands to make their products stand out from the crowd. 

Packaging therefore has, by definition, become an increasingly vital piece of branding real-estate for an organisation. A good product display can after all win a consumer over. But, today it’s not just important for the high street retailer and established brands to have great packaging. Online outlets too need to impress their customers with their choice of packaging in order to secure that valuable repeat business.

Defining what great packaging is, with so many companies abound — keen to make a splash with their latest products, can be difficult. It’s even more difficult to design and deliver great packaging if you don’t have the requisite print experience — something that is often amiss in the online driven world. 

From cartons to shrink sleeves, thinking outside the box

Today, one of the easiest ways today for companies to successfully manage their packaging workflow is to outsource tasks to a professional agency.

In choosing the right partner, instead of struggling on without the right experience, original ideas can be combined with technical excellence throughout the entire packaging lifecycle in order to deliver the best results. From initial onboarding and conceptualisation of designs, that perfectly encompass your brand, to quality final reprographics, to full project management, no stone need be left unturned in your packaging journey. A wide variety of suppliers exist who can provide one, or for the sake of convenience, all of the following services…

• 
  Design / artwork
  
  — Brand and structure designers will work with you to include the relevant communication hierarchy, branding and on pack communications in order to reflect the philosophy and necessary information behind your product or company. Many can work with existing brand collateral, or start from scratch and create design concepts on your behalf
• 
  3D Visualisation
  
  — Experts provide you with a full 3D visualisation of your finalised package design, so you can be sure you’re 100% satisfied with it before it goes through to the production stage
• 
  Reprographics
  
  — Next comes producing fit-for-purpose reprographics to ensure that regardless of your packaging type, size, shape and print method it will be reproduced to the exacting standards you require, ensuring no compromise on brand integrity or consistency
• 
  Project Management
  
  — Partnering with a single agency for all of the above means you should hopefully get a superior level of service — from concept to completion. Therefore, if you set a deadline for the entire project — it stands a better chance of being completed on time, and with less liaison and micro-management on your part

The right packaging partner should be researched thoroughly, to ensure you get the very best presentation possible. After all, as you have spent countless hours creating, honing and refining your finished product — is it not only fitting that it gets the packaging it deserves?