The Advantages of Carton Packages
Cartons, made from corrugated paperboard, have been the go-to solution for several decades now. Their structural features make it an ideal packaging solution while offering a range of advantages. Consequently, product manufacturers and retailers and increasingly turning to paperboards as a means to ship, store and market their products. The best thing about carton manufacturing is that their advantages can be retained for the whole lifecycle of the product and more. Well, here’s what makes them perfect:
- Presentation
Cartons allow manufacturers and brand owners the ability to come up with a wide range of structural molds. Customized to the needs of the product and its consumers, modern day carton designs add a design element to the whole presentation. This includes two sided prints, high resolution graphics and carton shapes that enhance its usage as a packet. Some research even goes on to show that carton packaging appeals to consumers more than any other packaging design.
- Consumer friendliness
To the end user, cartons offer a variety of advantages. Firstly, they act as a clear and specific billboard that informs the consumer about the product. With food packaging for instance, it is the carton label that informs about the dietary benefits and nutritional choices. Paperboard packaging is also very easy to understand on the shelf. Folding designs allow for easy opening and re-closing packets that extend the lifetime of the product. Last, for the growing number of environmentally conscious manufacturers and consumers, paperboards are the greenest choices to make. They can be easily recycled, are non-toxic and can be put into re-use.
- Seller friendliness
Product manufacturers and retailers are also put at great advantage with paperboard packaging. Paper cartons make products easier to be stacked, stored and presented. Cartons are further space efficient and can also be broken down to be recycled. Lastly, carton manufacturers get a larger surface that serves as an opportunity to communicate with the consumer. This greatly impacts the purchase decision.
- Environment friendliness
Recyclable – Carton packaging offers the best recycling opportunities, compared to any other packaging material.
Renewable – With most packaging designs, the raw materials for manufacturing the package cannot be replaced after they have been extracted from nature. However, wood fiber can be sustainably decomposed and sent back to the earth. Also, top carton manufacturers follow detailed SFI and FSC certifications to ensure that the trees are replanted.
Sustainable – Sustainability is defined by a product’s ability to meet the present day needs with compromising the potential of the future. Paperboard, in these lines, is a perfectly sustainable solution, as put forward by the Paperboard Packaging Council.
Other advantages include:
✓ Light weight – making it convenient to handle
✓ Inexpensive – more affordable than other alternatives
✓ Can be molded into any kind of shape
✓ Easily available
Using carton boxes has always been cheaper for brands and manufacturers and it is also the longest running tool for packaging. It is however necessary that brands go for carton manufacturers that can deploy these advantages into the design and add more relevance to the package.
Ingrid Maldine is a business writer, editor and management consultant with extensive experience writing and consulting for both start-ups and long established companies. She has ten years management and leadership experience gained at BSkyB in London and Viva Travel Guides in Quito, Ecuador, giving her a depth of insight into innovation in international business. With an MBA from the University of Hull and many years of experience running her own business consultancy, Ingrid’s background allows her to connect with a diverse range of clients, including cutting edge technology and web-based start-ups but also multinationals in need of assistance. Ingrid has played a defining role in shaping organizational strategy for a wide range of different organizations, including for-profit, NGOs and charities. Ingrid has also served on the Board of Directors for the South American Explorers Club in Quito, Ecuador.
