3 Surprising Things You Should Consider While Reducing Packaging Costs

If you own your own business, you are no doubt constantly looking for ways to save money and increase your bottom line. To this end, many business owners and managers seek to save money by reducing packaging costs. If you are looking for ways to become a more profitable company through the reduction of packaging costs, there are several things you must consider if you want your changes to be successful. Since the failure to plan for all possibilities of a proposed change in packaging might actually hurt your bottom line, it's important that you consider the following. 

Your Packaging Has To Protect Your Product

Not only does your packaging have to be attractive to consumers, it must offer enough protection to prevent damage while giving your product the longest shelf life possible. If you lose product to damage or expiration, you will end up losing profit. Therefore, it's vital to hire a packaging engineer (such as those provided through http://www.shalomdenver.com) to help you with your efforts. An engineer will help you decide what reductions you can safely make in the amount of packaging you use and what types of material changes you can make without sacrificing your product's safety or shelf life.

You Have To Please Your Customers

Many packaging considerations should made based on the needs and wants of your consumers. For example, many consumers prefer easy-to-open packages that make it easy for them to get into their product and get on with life. Alternatively, many consumers are irritated by cheap, flimsy packaging. For example, water bottles made with thin plastic are cheaper to make, but they crush easily in the hands of consumers. For this reason, you must always balance cost with the expectations and needs of your customers. Focus groups are a great way to see if you're measuring up to the task. 

Your Packaging Must Be Compatible with Your Product

Some types of products will spoil or interact negatively with the environment if they are packaged with the wrong types of materials. Some packaging materials may even cause damage to the product. For this reason, all materials used should be compatible with the type of product you are selling. 

Reducing your packaging costs is a noble endeavor. Plus, it helps the environment by keeping unnecessary waste out of landfills. However, you must do so without sacrificing the quality or safety of your product. You have to keep your customers happy if you want to keep them.