Bottle boxes: 8 considerations (besides protection in transit)

Consumer habits are changing. Partly driven by the move to ecommerce and restrictions imposed to counter COVID-19, more and more people are buying alcohol online for delivery to their home.

In fact, the IWSR predicts that online sales of alcoholic beverages will increase by as much as 66% over the next 5 years.

This is backed up by statistics indicating that whilst ecommerce sales of drinks increased by 12% in 2019 (the last year before the pandemic struck), the figure jumped to 43% amid the lockdowns imposed in 2020.

It even goes on to say that ecommerce will account for around 6% of the total market (including pubs, bars, clubs, off licenses and supermarkets) within the next 3 years.

It may sound obvious, but it is not uncommon for drinks businesses to be using cardboard bottle shippers which are a poor fit for their actual bottles.

Whilst the majority of wine and beer boxes fall within fairly standard size / shape parameters, the same cannot be said of most spirits. In fact, many manufacturers use unusually shaped bottles to provide differentiation, and in some cases even act as an extension of their branding.

The problems arise when standard sized bottle boxes are used to ship these bottles.

Packs that are too small do not allow for adequate protection to be included, potentially leading to damage. Boxes which are too large require excess void fill (or other inserts / materials) in order to prevent movement within the outer box (which can also cause damage). Over-sized boxes also make shipping more expensive, and has a negative environmental impact (with increased CO2 emissions due to less efficient shipping.

Besides the consideration for custom sized bottle boxes however, it is also important to select the correct formats too.

This means that your inventory has stock of both single bottle shippers and multi bottle boxes with dividers for shipping larger orders (and for applications such as wholesaling).

Get this first step right, and it can prevent various problems further down the line.

Although the outer pack will absorb some of the stresses and strains experienced through the supply chain, it is crucial to recognise the role that suitable bottle pack inserts can play as well.

These can provide additional cushioning protection to absorb sock and impact. Virtually eliminating costly damage.

Saying that, they can also play an important role in the unboxing experience of your products. Premium corrugated inserts featuring branding, for example, will provide a much more premium feel than bubble wrap or other plastic options.

This point also ties in with ease of use / disposal for your customers too. Whilst a customer’s minimum expectation is that their orders will arrive intact, any inserts that are difficult to recycle can frustrate and annoy shoppers. It may even discourage them from shopping with you again.

Due to the sheer number of options, it is worth viewing this separate article covering the pros and cons of the differing insert options.

Whilst bottles and their contents can be both fragile and heavy (a relatively unusual combination), one of the great fallacies when selecting suitable packaging is that heavy duty grades of material are always required.

In fact, working with a suitable packaging designer (rather than purchasing off the shelf boxes) can allow for an optimum grade of material to be chosen. One that offers both good protection – which can be ascertained through both theoretical data and physical drop tests – and is cost effective.

Many businesses actually discover that they can switch to a lighter weight material for their bottle boxes, without noticing any impact to protection levels.

However, the differences are noticed elsewhere. Most notable is the cost savings, with less material being used overall, minimised shipping costs (as the material is less bulky) and storage (again due to less bulk).

However, the importance of working with an established, experienced packaging designer for this cannot be stressed enough!

Besides the grade of material used for your ecommerce bottle packaging, it is surprising just how much the actual colour of the boxes can influence consumer behaviour and perception.

For example, for organic and / or environmentally focused brands, a brown kraft material is perceived as reflecting your eco credentials. Conversely, white boxes are typically viewed as a more premium option, potentially making them more suited to higher value products.

Of course, it is also possible to have your bottle boxes printed with all over colours to match your brand.  However, consideration should be given here as to whether to print the outside – which provides free advertising but also highlights what the contents are to would be thieves – or the inside to aid security but provide an improved unboxing experience.

For something seemingly simple, your choice of material can have a significant impact on brand perception. Not to mention the potential for repeat business.

Of course, going hand in hand with the colour of your boxes is how you incorporate your branding.

As mentioned previously, excessively branding the exterior of your packs – especially for high value wines and spirits – can alert potential thieves to the contents. It can also make consumers wary if the bottle is being purchased as a surprise gift, that the exterior branding could give away.

Alternatively, inside print means that you miss out on any free “advertising” through the supply chain, but does create a compelling and memorable unboxing experience.

The use of colour is also important, ensuring that any pantone references are accurately matched, and that any other graphical elements tie in with the material colour and your overall brand ethos. A good example is white and green inks being used in conjunction with brown kraft material to create a striking appearance that evokes an environmentally friendly aesthetic.

Consistency (across your packaging and other touch points – such as emails ecommerce websites, in store displays etc.) and good colour choice can really help to drive brand recall, customer loyalty, and repeat sales.

Separate to including printed branding on your bottle packs, it is also important to consider instructions and warning on your boxes.

The obvious example here is to include a “Fragile” warning, so that couriers and delivery drivers will (hopefully) treat the items with greater care. Other symbols highlighting how the boxes should be handled are also a good idea in the vast majority of cases (you can see a range of transit packaging symbols here).

Also growing in importance is the use of recycling symbols and logos, providing instructions to consumers on how they should go about recycling your packs. In fact, recent surveys have shown many consumers are confused as to how they should recycle specific items, and would make more effort to do so if there were clearer instructions.

Including info on recycling also typically helps to improve the perception of your brand.

Leading on directly from the use of recycling logos on your bottle packaging, is the actual recyclability of your packs themselves.

Obviously using corrugated cardboard outer shippers means that your packaging can be easily recycled, as well as being potentially manufactured from recyclable material too.

However, the (potential) issues begin when using specific types of inserts.

Again, corrugated dividers, cradles and inserts are all easy to recycle, as are other options such as Flexi Hex. However, many of the plastics and foams used as bottle box inserts are not readily accepted in kerbside recycling schemes, and must be taken to supermarket collection points or local recycling centres. Both of which is a big barrier to consumers recycling them.

This can again seriously impact the perception of your brand, so caution should be exercised when considering which form of packaging is most suitable.

And finally, the sustainability of your packaging should be considered.

Whilst many people see recyclability and sustainability as essentially the same thing, there are a number of crucial differences

For example, the use of materials from well managed sources – FSC® certified packaging being the most obvious example – is becoming a key consideration for many consumers.

Using sustainable material also allows you to add associated logos and branding (such as the FSC® logos) to your packaging, again helping with brand perception and repeat business. All this of course helps to ensure the environmental impact of your business is minimised as much as possible, too.

Getting your bottle boxes right can be a surprisingly complicated process.

This is why it often makes sense to work alongside a packaging designer / manufacturer. Doing so can allow you to source a fully tailored solution that will not only provide protection, but will also delight (and help to retain) your customers.

So, if you require any assistance with your bottle boxes – or any other form of ecommerce packaging – why not speak with one of the team at GWP. We’ll be happy to help you develop the perfect bottle packaging for your specific requirements and application.

Wine bottle packaging guide – 12 options

Printed ecommerce boxes: Unique branding ideas

Ecommerce Statistics: 200+ Online shopping, delivery, and packaging facts / figures

Analysis: Stock vs. custom ecommerce packaging

Ecommerce shipping – the crucial role played by packaging

Corrugated board grades explained: types of cardboard

Ecommerce unboxing experience: best practice

Using FSC on packaging (FSC packaging logo guide)