Hire vetted packaging designers

It varies. Many designers create the graphics for labels, boxes and inserts and work from dielines your supplier provides. Others also develop custom structures, inserts and mailers. If you need a new box shape or a stock structure adapted, say so in your brief.

Yes. Packaging shipped to customers has to survive transit and make a good first impression when it is opened, while retail packaging has to stand out on a crowded shelf and carry the barcodes and details each retailer requires. A designer can plan one system that covers both.

Yes. Packaging designers often confirm specs and dielines with your manufacturer, review printer proofs and samples, and adjust files when a material or finish changes. Bringing them in before you order samples costs less than fixing problems after a print run.

Requirements depend on your category, the markets you sell in and the retailers you sell to, and can include ingredient lists, net contents, Supplement Facts panels, warnings and barcodes. Designers lay this out clearly and legibly, but your regulatory advisor or manufacturer should confirm the required content before anything goes to print.

Timing depends on the number of SKUs and how fast your team gives feedback. As a guide, a packaging refresh takes four to eight weeks including print proofs, and custom structures or sampling rounds with your manufacturer add time.

Put it in writing before work starts that the final artwork belongs to your brand. Ask for dielines, print-ready PDFs and editable source files, plus details of any fonts you need to license, so you can reprint or change printers without starting over.

Packaging for a launch or a refresh is usually a project, quoted with price, timeline and scope. If you add SKUs, seasonal editions or line extensions through the year, a monthly retainer keeps one designer across the whole range. Experts work directly with your team over email, Slack and Zoom.