When designing a new product, one of the most critical final stages is not only how the product will be packaged but how that packaged product will be sent around the world.

This can require up to three layers of custom cardboard boxes, each of which varies dramatically in terms of size, shape, robustness of materials and design in order to meet three very different purposes.

These are:

• Primary Packaging

• Secondary Packaging

• Tertiary Packaging

Depending on the nature of your business and how it distributes goods around the world, some products do not use all three layers, whilst some may have further inner packages or storage methods to store individual components.

However, most products require three main packaging layers, and to understand why, it is important to define what they are and how they contribute to supply chain logistics, store shelf management and the customer experience.

What Is Primary Packaging And What Is It Used For?

As its name suggests, primary packaging is the main layer of product packaging a customer will see, pick up and interact with.

If a customer goes to a store and picks up an individual box, jar, wrapper, packet or tin, these are all examples of primary packaging and will almost invariably be the first sight of your product a customer sees.

This does not mean it is the last or only form of packaging, however. A cereal box is considered to be a form of primary packaging despite there typically being a plastic bag which keeps the product fresh itself.

The primary packaging is where custom box design and marketing matters most, as it is the version of the product which appears on the shelf and which customers will pick up to buy. 

It needs to give an impression of what is inside it, how to use it, legally required information such as ingredients lists, allergy disclosures and nutritional information, and provide a strong impression to convince their target audience to buy.

Because of this, the materials used are not only functional, robust and hard-wearing enough to survive on a shelf but also look good doing it, which in some cases necessitates the use of more luxurious materials, wraps and high-quality colour printing.

What Is Secondary Packaging And What Is It Used For?

By contrast, secondary packaging is used to group multiple products together, either for stock keeping purposes, as a product bundle, or both.

A common example of this is the multipack, where a larger box is used to store multiple products within it, typically at a bulk discount.

For example, if a cereal box was primary packaging, then a multipack or variety pack of cereal boxes is a form of secondary packaging.

Whilst they can and often are sold as a product themselves and require marketing which keeps this priority in mind, they are more commonly used by retailers to store and showcase products.

Many secondary packaging boxes are their own marketing stand on a shelf, something that is most commonly seen with small blind boxes and trading cards. This means that they have unique marketing needs compared to the primary boxes they contain.

A box of trading card packs can be sold by itself, often for hundreds of pounds, but retailers typically open them, arrange a stand and sell each individual pack separately.

What Is Tertiary Packaging And What Is It Used For?

Tertiary packaging is the packaging used to protect products and safely move them from their point of manufacture to warehouses, fulfilment centres and retailers. 

Practicality and standardisation are key here, as boxes are built to last, built to stack into standardised pallets, and are designed to keep a product safe and looking its best until it arrives at its final destination.

It also makes it easier to stack and is designed around the potentially harsh conditions seen when shipping in bulk, travelling overseas and in various humidity and air conditions. 

This additional layer is robust, hard-wearing and often designed to absorb some degree of damage, pressure and impact, diffusing it away from the products to avoid quality control issues.

However, this does not necessarily preclude the option of personalising or customising it as part of your marketing, particularly for boxes used to ship products to customers.

In general, tertiary packaging is standardised, made from hard-wearing materials, and any printed designs are usually in black and white and relatively minimalist in design.

It can be perfect for printing logos, messages, slogans and even promotions for other products, depending on your typical level of use.