Consumer goods packaging

Five things to consider when choosing paperboard

Here are five things to keep in mind when picking the right paperboard for consumer goods:

1. How it looks

The design of consumer goods packaging plays a crucial role in attracting customers. You want to invest in visually appealing packaging that stands out on the shelves and creates a memorable unboxing experience.

For retail packaging design, you need a paperboard that will allow you to use various decorative means to create a distinct and expressive visual impact. The choice of a special surface finish is part of the visual impact; high gloss or a smooth, silky surface. Freedom for surface design is essential.

Important promotional characteristics of paperboard are whiteness, smoothness and surface finish, often required on both sides. Very high print quality, with good contrast between the surface and the print, is necessary to achieve an excellent presentation of sharp half-tone illustrations or bold, strong colours in large, solid areas. Sharp presentation of printed text is also necessary, sometimes on both sides. Even without the need for print, a white or cream-coloured reverse side can enhance the presentation of the product. The creative and functional shape of the package requires a strong and durable multi-ply paperboard.

2. What it should do

Different types of consumer goods require different types of packaging. However, functionality and shape are always important to protect against damage from compression or impact. Fitments within the packaging design may support fragile products and ensure durability during distribution, storage and display at the point of sale. Other products must rely on shape stability using a strong and tough paperboard.

Important protective characteristics of paperboard for consumer goods packaging are compression strength and folding endurance, which, together with good creasing and glueing properties, ensure a strong carton. Many cartons are disposed of immediately when first opened, and others are utilised for storage at home. In those circumstances, the packages must withstand frequent opening and closing without deteriorating in shape or function. The use of fresh fibres provides for durable creases on closure flaps. They may also be needed to maintain printed user instructions or safety precautions. Fresh fibres, together with selected coating ingredients, also ensure good light stability. Protective coatings and additives, together with the board, comply with national and international regulations, e. g. EN 91 Part 3 for toys.

3. How it's manufactured

The best paperboard packaging for consumer goods requires the right raw material and a precise production process.

For example, retail packaging solutions require a flat, stable, dust-free paperboard.  It must have good absorption and drying properties since moisture in the surrounding air can lead to upward or downward curl and twist in the sheet, affecting the shape of the paperboard.

If you compromise on raw materials and manufacturing, you expose yourself to risk. Inferior paperboard can cause printing stoppages or limit what you can create with it. You almost always get stability problems, meaning your premium products look floppy on the shelves.

Sub-standard paperboard can cause other problems as well. For example, when you’re developing consumer goods packaging designs, you don’t want your creativity to be restricted by the quality of the paperboard. It’s crucial to consider raw materials and manufacturing when making decisions.

The packaging operation can be carried out manually, mechanically aided, or fully automatically, depending on the product and the required output. Packaging machines require low creasing resistance and, for side seam glued cartons, low carton opening force.

4. How sustainable is it

Sustainable consumer goods packaging is becoming ever more important. Consumers are increasingly considering the eco-friendliness of a product, including its packaging. And regulatory changes are creating new demands.

To meet these demands, many retail brands are setting ambitious targets. This is a significant development, but it must cover a whole range of decisions. The raw material must come from sustainably managed forests. The energy used during manufacturing must be renewable. The finished product must be easy to recycle or decompose quickly if it ends up in nature. One example of a different type of target is the replacement of fossil-based packaging materials with biobased alternatives.  

5. How it fits into your strategic supply chain

When you decide on paperboard for consumer goods packaging, you must ensure it will work within your total supply chain. And that covers every step, from manufacturing and transportation to warehousing and points of sale.

Today, premium brands invest considerable effort in building data and analytics capabilities, ensuring they have the right resources and program management in place to maintain a comprehensive supply chain, both at regional and global levels. That way, they can ensure that e-commerce packaging or retail packaging is available where needed, from printing and packaging to reaching end consumers.