About

Retail-ready or shelf-ready packaging is the secondary packaging solution for retail products. Brands use this outer packaging solution to eliminate a few extra steps involved in the transition of products to retail shelves after they arrive at stores. The purpose of this packaging is to allow retailers to display products without fully unpacking them. Using high-quality prints and branded designs can help brands optimize this packaging even further.

If you want to use shelf-ready packaging for your products to ease their transition through the supply chain, you will have to adhere to the following.

• Graphics and prints making your brand and product identifiable
• Should allow for clean opening with the help of clear opening instructions and easy to locate opening points
• Can be transferred to the store shelf in one step without the need for secure handling
• Visible product descriptions
• The product easily removable from the box

Printing shelf-ready packaging

The best thing about retail-ready packaging is that it allows for more effective brand promotion with the help of prints and designs. That also brings up the challenge to use the best quality printing technique to stand out from other boxes on the shelf. With correct printing methods, you can ensure an enhanced visual impact.

Material and cardboard quality

While designing a shelf-ready packaging solution, make sure that the final packaging solution is up for the task of protecting your products from damage during transit and storage. Remember, a defect with the packaging can prove costly as it can result in damage to more than one product.

You will have to follow special protocols if the supply chain involves some automated steps. You will also have to take temperature requirements into the account.

Different materials are used in the composition of retail-ready packaging. These materials include carton boards and corrugated sheets. You will have to choose the material depending on the weight, size, and type of the product. The printing method you use also has a significant say in this regard.

Types of shelf-ready packaging

Depending on your product, you can choose from several structural forms of retail-ready packaging. The most commonly used types are trays with cardboard lids, shrink-wrapped trays, and perforated tear-off lid boxes.

Size of retail-ready packaging

Because there are no standards set for the sizing of these boxes, you may find re-stocking and on-shelf space utilization quite challenging. You can discuss height, width, and depth options with your intended retailers. Some retailers may recommend using a structural design format while creating shelf-ready boxes. Be sure to follow those instructions or recommendations.

Using this information, you can design your shelf-ready packaging to fit products and ease the transition process. You will also able to meet any specific sizing requirements. The packaging design will do the rest to attract your customers.

If you want to use shelf-ready or retail-ready packaging to display your multiple products on store shelves, be sure to get in touch with your packaging vendor and designer to discuss every option related to structuring and designing those boxes.