Packaging Suppliers for Small Business
Your business is growing - and you’re ready to move beyond online packaging options. Where to turn? Finding custom packaging options, which fit a small business budget and volume needs - isn’t easy.
Photo credit: Moquin Press
As a small food business located in the Bay Area, we’re always looking for good packaging suppliers. It’s not an easy task to move beyond commercially available online options, and find more professional, custom offerings. Since most custom paper packaging and label suppliers are B2B, they aren’t always easily findable online - at least not local options. It’s no wonder that so many small businesses turn to the same online sources for packaging (here’s looking at Uline).
From the time we first started selling caramels a few years back, our packaging has gone through several iterations. Even now, we make tweaks and changes, and think about our packaging carefully. We strive for a few key factors, such as: simplicity, value, sustainability, and aesthetics. In terms of simplicity, we wanted our staff to be able to pack caramels efficiently and without difficulty, but retain a cute vibe. Since we sell a good amount of our caramels at retail (meaning at stores, such as specialty grocers, gift boutiques, and more), we needed our caramels to be visible through the packaging (the yumminess needs to be seen!). Sustainability has always been important to us as well. We know that there is no “away” in throw away, and the idea of single-use plastic has always bothered us. Sustainability for us also means taking into account the origin of the packaging and if items are local. We’ve tried to combine these elements with a slightly rustic, clean aesthetic - while working within a modest budget.
Are you getting started as a small food business? Below are some good packaging sources to check out. One tip before you start - several of the companies below won’t charge sales tax if provided a reseller permit. At least in the state of California, packaging bought to house resold items do not incur sales tax. Every little bit helps!
MOQUIN PRESS
Moquin has been serving the Bay Area for over 30 years. We work with them to get our labels and sleeves - and definitely recommend. Super friendly and efficient, and have a range of papers and stock to choose from, helping our limited budget.
STICKER MULE
Sticker Mule’s packing tape is simple to order, customizable, high-quality and consistent. We use it to tape our shipping boxes. We’re looking forward to trying out their magnets, custom food labels, and more!
PAPERMART
Woman-owned and located in Southern California, this is a great alternative to Uline (which we try to avoid given our differing political opinions), ships quickly, and has a wide assortment of basic packaging supplies, as well as ship boxes. We’ve found that prices inclusive shipping are similar to Uline.
CLEAR BAGS
With a West Coast office located in El Dorado Hills, CA, we’ve found that Clear Bags is a good fit for our plant-based, compostable bags. These bags are crunchier than plastic bags, wrinkle more quickly, but we find it’s worth it to avoid using single-use plastic bags, as we go through several thousand per year.
HAIR BOW CENTER
Good for ribbons, such as satin and grosgrain, in various widths, lengths, and colors. No free shipping, but orders over $50 ship for $4.
ETSY
We don’t do much larger volume shopping on Etsy, but from time-to-time Etsy hits the spot (such as the small wooden stands we use to hold table-top marketing material). Think table top shelving and decor for in-person events.
PACKAGING TRADE SHOWS
Something valuable we should have done upfront - attend a packaging trade show. Since finding B2B companies for packaging isn’t easy - a trade show is a good place to find suppliers who can create the packaging you need, from custom packaging to case packs, to more. We recommend PackExpo and WestPack.
BRIMAR PACKAGING
A maker of custom paper boxes (we found one!), which offers good prices at larger volume breaks.
What have been your packaging struggles as a small business? Have you found packaging suppliers, custom or not, which go above and beyond? Let us know!