Packaging

Hey friends :)

In this article I wanna describe the packaging process and how I came up with my solution. Let's dive in:

Before even reasearching which packages I might use and how to pack my spices I was sure about one thing: The solution must be eco-friendly and sustainable. This is my requirement. I support the idea of conscious business and I want to meet high standards in terms of a role model type of business.

Also there were two different sections I needed to keep in mind:
1) How I am going to pack my product and
2) How I am going to pack it for delivery.

This pre-descision helped me while looking at different type 0f solutions: Instead of just going into research and getting hit by a dozens of options, I knew what I was looking for and which factors must be met.

Let's first take a look at the product packaging and then we will have a look how they are packed and delivered.

1) PRODUCT PACKAGING

When you go to a supermarket and walk into the spices isle you see tons of different spices. There is a huge variety in terms of forms of the packages and also the prices. I needed to find a unique style to package my spices because the competition is crazy!
I created a list of my ideal packaging:
Unique, has to keep all the aroma of the spices, also sustainable, re-usable, elegant and different than the rest. Ah and of course affordable. Damn, that's a hell of a list!

After that I googled "how to package spices" and the first result which popped up was the perfect solution: GLASSES!

Turned out spices remain super fresh and tasty when contained in glasses.

Now I needed a good supplier. Again I googled a lot and checked endless pages, because the conditions were way to expensive. I needed more profitable options.

After a while (couple days turned into 2 weeks) I found a website which sold glasses for spices and jams for a reasonable price. I ordered 100 for the beginning for a good price (inclusive the lid).

Now I had the package for my spices and I could start checking in which type of cartons I could deliver them to my customers!

2) DELIVERY PACKAGING:

The factors were pretty simple: 1. Eco-friendly and 2. Affordable (sustainable).

Design comes in second place

I think these two factors are the most important ones for anyone sending packages. Of course design matters too, but in the beginning you should focus on your budget and hierachy of importancy. I mean design is luxury. If your product is on next level you shouldn't be worried about your design of the carton package. Especially in the beginning. In the beginning you should focus on getting started and making your first sales. Another point is that your potential customers must be aware of this and have to have understanding: You are a starting business and you focus on the important things (plus a business is always a journey and there is plenty time to improve and level up!). OK, Back to packaing!

In the first step I defined the size of the packages. I knew the size of my glasses and deciced for a small carton package, so the dispatch is cheap. I ordered 50 pieces and they turned out too small. There was no room left and the glasses felt bruised. I sent them back and it took me like 3 times before I found the right one I could use for my purpose.

In the second step I looked for a sustainable filling material. I wanted to avoid paper. You probably know this situation: You order a package from amazon and it comes in a package which is like 6 times bigger than the actual product and additionally it is filled with tons of paper = A lot of wastage. Too many times I tought wtf. Why is this logistic delivery system not optimized? Yeah, cause the big companies got money and they don't feel the financial consquences but what about the moral side of the story? Environment? Cutting Co2?

I checked and googled what filling material can be used and found THE SOLUTON: CORN! Corn-flips which are 100% biological. I swear that's some next level shit. And the best thing: They are cheap! I ordered the minimum size which was like couple kilos.

That was it! I now had my spices packed and the package for the delivery.

SUMMARY:

Again I can only stress the most important point in a project / business creation is research. It is testing and failing until you get it right. It took me 3 orders before I found the right packages (thickness of paper, size, reasonable price). It took weeks before I found the right glasses. Again I ordered 2 times before I was content with the size and shape of the glasses.

When you start with your project you won't have a blueprint

When you start a project from scratch you won't find a blueprint. You have to create it yourself. I know, sometimes this can be frustrating, but it is all part of the game. Once being aware of this point it feels like a challenge to master. And coming up with solutions for problems always feels good, especially when you found it by your own.

I hope this article could give you an insight of the packaging process and you enjoyed reading! See you soon again!

Enjoy life and bless up :)

Sahil