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With an entrepreneurial spirit alive and thriving across the globe, it seems as though everyone has developed the “next big product” that will make them millions. Left and right, entrepreneurs and inventors are pumping out goods and requesting large runs from their packaging suppliers to get the items out and in the hands of customers fast. However, a good co-packer will tell you that it’s often the smaller projects that are nurtured and fine-tined that turn into large successes, and it all begins with trusting packaging experts to help determine the best fit for your product and solution that will make your brand stand out from the competition.
On the most recent episode of Ditch The Box, host David Marinac discusses the contract packaging business with Jim Dekosta, sales manager at Assemblies Unlimited.
Dekosta’s background in hotel restaurant management, as well as the paper and packaging business, has given him expert insight to working with clients from a wide range of industries and helping them complete their projects efficiently from start to finish. His company operates as a national network of contact suppliers who are able to help clients package and assemble their unique items. Assemblies Unlimited is a full turnkey provider for both large major retailers and mom-and-pop shops, working with companies to package both food and non-food items.
From both Marinac’s and Dekosta’s extensive experience in the packaging world, they offer key advice to listeners interested in producing and selling the next big product. Doing your homework before reaching out to a supplier, for example, will lead to a better chance of a co-packer working with you to make your brand a priority and ensuring the process runs as smoothly as possible. Another important takeaway from this episode is that today’s brands – both emerging and established – need to be open minded about the way they are protecting and presenting their goods. Avoid being a “me too” company by relying on your packaging partner to help guide you toward new solutions and gain market share.
Big companies, Dekosta says, should also take a look around specialty shops to see what smaller brands and entrepreneurs are doing. These are the people and companies that have a marketing mindset to be different and creative, and they succeed by standing out from traditional products with flexible and inventive new forms of packaging. Contract packaging evolves with the customer, Dekosta explains, and today’s brands are producing some of the most revolutionary items sure to change their industries in profound ways. To effectively deliver a standout, cohesive product, embracing the “next generation” of packaging is vital.
From trendy consumer goods like probiotic gummies, to protein powders and energy drinks, traditional ways of marketing and packaging new types of goods are falling by the wayside. Companies should be willing to entertain fresh, forward-thinking ways of selling their products, and they just may find new opportunities for success by making simple adjustments to their packaging and partnering with a supplier that can meet their needs from concept to finished product.
