Services provided
As e-commerce continues to grow, more manufacturers and brands are shipping fragile products directly to customers through parcel courier networks. While this creates new sales opportunities, it also introduces fresh packaging challenges.
Unlike palletised deliveries, parcels are subject to repeated handling, movement and impacts throughout the distribution process. For businesses shipping glass bottles, jars and other delicate products, damage in transit can quickly become an expensive problem.
One recent project in our portfolio involved designing a bespoke corrugated packaging solution for a customer selling glass and plastic condiment bottles in a range of individual, gift and bundle formats. The objective was not simply to improve protection, but to create packaging that supported fulfilment efficiency, enhanced presentation and delivered a better unboxing experience.
Brief
The customer approached us looking for an engineered packaging solution for products dispatched through couriers, which opened them up to high levels of handling, movement and potential impact. Damage in transit was resulting in returns, with a high risk of commercial cost across replacement products, repeat postage and fulfilment, wasted packaging and product, refunds, and poor reviews leading to a negative brand reputation.
Their existing process involved individually wrapping each product in hex wrap before placing it into an outer box. This provided the flexibility needed to accommodate multiple product combinations and varying order sizes, making it a practical solution for day-to-day fulfilment.
While this approach addressed the challenge of packing different product configurations, it also had its limitations. Individual wrapping required additional packing time, created inconsistencies between gift packs and offered less control over how products were positioned within the outer packaging. It also resulted in an unboxing experience that prioritised transit protection over brand presentation.
The customer wanted to retain the flexibility of offering different product combinations while improving product protection and creating a more consistent, premium, brand-led presentation.
For the client, this project had a number of priorities:
Solution
Rather than replacing one protective material with another, we designed a bespoke corrugated fitting system around the products themselves.
Each insert was developed to accommodate the customer’s range of glass and plastic condiment bottles, allowing the overall packaging system to remain adaptable while providing a more controlled method of protecting products in transit.
A key principle behind the design was controlled separation. The insert positioned each product away from the external walls of the box while also separating individual items from each other. This created protective air space around the products and reduced movement inside the pack, making it better suited to withstanding the impacts commonly encountered during distribution.
We also adopted a three-dimensional approach to protection, with products protected from the side, below and above. The design incorporates an additional corrugated inner panel that folds over the insert before the outer box is closed. This creates a protective zone above the products to further cushion them from impact when handled and in transit.
While no packaging solution can guarantee a damage-free transit experience, this engineered approach improves protection by controlling movement through design-led corrugated support, rather than relying solely on hex wrap.
As well as improved protection, the design also supports efficient fulfilment.
For e-commerce businesses managing multiple SKUs, gift packs or changing product combinations, packaging must work as effectively for the packing team as it does for the end customer. An overly complex packaging system can introduce unnecessary stockholding, increase picking errors and slow down packing operations.
Our adaptable corrugated fitting achieved a balance between bespoke product protection and operational flexibility, making it suitable for businesses fulfilling orders in-house as well as those working with contract packers, fulfilment centres and third-party logistics providers. The insert sits within a FEFCO 0427-style corrugated presentation mailer, prioritising courier protection, fulfilment functionality and presentation.
Externally, the packaging provides a clean, robust appearance suitable for courier distribution but once opened, it delivers a considered presentation, revealing neatly organised products and reinforcing the premium nature of the brand.
The additional protective panel also creates a valuable branding opportunity.
Rather than simply acting as another structural component, it provides a large printable surface positioned directly in front of the customer when the box is opened. This space can be used for welcome messages, brand storytelling, serving suggestions, product information, seasonal campaigns, QR codes or alternative marketing content. A component originally designed to improve product protection also performs a secondary function by enhancing the customer’s initial interaction with the brand, creating a positive first impression.
The final solution successfully met the customer’s original brief, delivering a bespoke corrugated packaging system that is designed around the product to offer balanced protection, fulfilment efficiency and premium presentation.
When assessing packaging, it’s important to think wider than the cost of the box alone. Considered e-commerce packaging does more than contain a product; it protects throughout fulfilment and delivery, accommodates the packing process, and creates a memorable first impression with the customer. It also has the potential to reduce wider costs while delivering an enhanced customer experience.
If you’re shipping fragile products through couriers and experiencing breakages, or struggling with inefficient packing processes or inconsistent presentation, then our packaging designers are here to discuss how a bespoke corrugated packaging solution could enhance your e-commerce operations.
