How Does Packaging Testing and Quality Control Boost Sales?

Testing any packaging before shipping it to customers will improve the reputation of your business in the market. As a packaging manufacturer, you must adhere to strict guidelines and ensure the packaging goes through rigorous testing. Read this blog to learn about packaging testing and quality control in detail, and apply it to your business to garner sales. 

What is Quality Control in Packaging?

Quality control is an important aspect when it comes to a successful business. Regardless of the business niche, packaging testing and quality control assist brands in getting more sales and recognition in the market. In simple terms, packaging quality control is inspecting every aspect of the packaging before the product is packed and shipped. There are different ways you can control the quality of your packaging and how it can impact your business’s reputation. 

What are the 4 Types of Quality Control?

Before discussing the stages and how quality control impacts any business. It’s important to know different types of quality control. Credible packaging companies can have smooth operations and better sales if they ensure these four steps are followed throughout the manufacturing process. 

• Prevention

The first step in quality assurance is prevention. This stage tries to eliminate the problems before beginning a process. Applying it to packaging manufacturing, this stage is where you sample raw materials, manufacturing machinery, dyes, designs, and the timeline. 

• Detection

The second stage is detection, and this is where you detect issues during manufacturing. This should be done in different intervals to test whether the process is going smoothly throughout. Before beginning the mass production, you can test a few boxes first to detect any issues in the process.

• Correction

This is the stage where you rectify the problem to ensure a streamlined process in the future. Corrective quality assurance addresses the hurdles and hassles that were detected during the earliest stages of manufacturing. This is the stage that then becomes the basis of assessment. 

• Feedback 

The last stage is to assess the effectiveness of the whole process and offer feedback. It helps the packaging testing and quality assurance teams in ensuring that the stages are effective, robust and in compliance with the general standards. 

Different Stages of Quality Control 

Choosing a packaging manufacturer for custom product packaging indirectly plays a role in any brand’s sales. There are three important stages of packaging testing and quality control that every manufacturer should go through. Carefully monitoring these stages can help any packaging manufacturer to get more orders and eventually help brands with their sales. Let’s have a look at three different stages that can assure the quality of every packaging regardless of its shape, material, and size:

• Material inspection

If you are a brand owner looking for high-quality packaging, then you must be familiar with all the raw materials. The first step is to inspect every raw material that will contribute towards the manufacturing of the final product. Manufacturers should carefully analyze each aspect of the packaging before processing it. Look for defects and minor irregularities as they can become a major issue down the line. 

• Periodic Quality Checks

Once the raw materials are finalized and the packaging is manufactured, it’s time for periodic checks. The quality assurance team must have a deep understanding of every type of packaging to keep an eye on any defaults. There are many problems that can be reversed if checked at the right time. Before sending the order to your customers, ensure that they have the same quality that the customer required. Look for any minor defects, adhesion, and certain customizations.  

• Final Product Analysis

The third and final stage is to analyze the packaging before it is shipped to the respective customer. This stage is crucial as several tests are required to check if the packaging can keep the product safe. Most quality control teams choose random packaging boxes or bags to test. You can ensure customer satisfaction and even convert them into long-term clients. Seal integrity tests and protection against external factors such as pressure, bumps, and temperatures all come under the final quality check of the packaging. 

How Does Packaging Testing and Quality Control Help Manufacturers?

As a packaging manufacturer, building customers' trust is what drives sales apart from good marketing. There are different ways your business can enhance its operations with quality control. Three important reasons why packaging testing is good for your business are:

• Improve Supply Chain

With packaging testing and quality control, businesses can enhance the efficiency of the supply chain. Certain packaging boxes cannot bear external weight and thus cannot be stacked on top of each other during transit. However, if these lightweight boxes are switched with packaging that is sturdier and can be stacked easily, businesses can add more boxes to the same vehicle and transport them.   

• Assist in Cost Reduction

As a manufacturer, if you have to avoid rework, recalls, and even legal battles, quality assurance testing is essential. If your customer with a bulk order finds a defect in the entire packaging and refuses to pay for this batch, it will not only cost you heavily but also impact the environment. This is why QA testing is important.  

• Retain Customers

Durable packaging means shipping the product safely, which in turn builds customer loyalty. This is why every manufacturer must have their packaging go through rigorous packaging testing and quality assurance. With a separate department focused on testing, your business can convert customers into long-lasting clients. 

• Avoid Legal Battles

Keeping in mind the regulations of every country regarding packaging quality and implementing them in quality manufacturing will help you avoid facing legal battles. As a manufacturer, you must keep in mind the regulations and sanctions provided by the country, the Fair Packaging and Labelling Act, and ISO guidelines.

Packaging Testing Methods for Primary Packaging

Primary packaging is the one that will come directly in contact with the product. Ensuring the quality of that packaging is crucial in keeping the chemical and physical aspects of the product intact. There are a few important methods to test the primary packaging for customer satisfaction, such as:

Compatibility Testing

The first and most important step is to check the compatibility of the product and packaging. Not every product needs to be tested against the packaging, yet there are some items that must be tested. While most people think storing jewelry in plastic bags is a safe idea, at times, when stored for a long time, the moisture trapped inside can turn the color of the jewelry black. 

Barrier Testing

Barrier testing is important to see if the packaging can keep the product safe from external factors such as dust, air, water, bacteria, etc. When packing products that can react to these factors, it is important to test them out before sending the packaging to customers. For example, wet facemasks cannot be packed in Kraft boxes but in Mylar bags, as the former cannot retain moisture. 

Impact Testing

How well a packaging keeps the product safe during shipping and shelving is very crucial to boost sales. Brands can market the benefits of their packaging and garner sales only when it is tested against these impacts. This method is important for brands that have businesses in different states and continents, to ensure that even with longer distances, the packaging can keep the product safe. 

Packaging Testing Methods for Secondary Packaging 

While not every product requires secondary packaging, some of them do. Most secondary packaging boxes are designed to attract and retain more customers. However, this packaging is not there just for its face value. It has to serve as a barrier between the primary packaging and the external factors. Let’s have a look at some of the methods for testing secondary packaging: 

• Tamper-Evident Testing

Ensuring the packaging has tamper-evident seals is important to build customer trust. This way, customers can know if the product has been tampered with or changed during the supply chain. Brands use this tamper-evident seal to build customer trust and loyalty. 

• Compression Testing

Compressing the packaging and applying pressure to it is also another way to test its strength. Before shipping the packaging to customers, test how many boxes can be stacked on top of each other. How far can you compress the box before it begins to break, and can the primary packaging be damaged in the process? Rigid packaging boxes get more points in this step as compared to cardstock or kraft boxes.

• Shelf Life Testing

Packaging is tested for shelf life to see how long it can survive on a shelf. This is important when brands are packing products such as coffee. For example, display boxes must be durable as they are more likely to be handled and touched several times a day. Using Kraft for these boxes may not be a good idea. 

How Do Different Industries Ensure Quality Control?

Each industry has a different way of managing quality checks and ensuring the product reaches the customers safely. While the primary function of every packaging material is to keep the product safe, it is the nature of the product that determines which packaging is more efficient. For instance, liquid items cannot be packed in cardboard boxes or even rigid boxes; they need plastic, tin or Mylar. Here are some industries and how they ensure quality control to boost their sales:

• Food

When manufacturing food packaging, brands pay special attention to the type of packaging and its manufacturing process. No brand ever wants to have low-quality packaging that can react with the food, as it can result in a legal battle. Similarly, choosing packaging that can keep the food secure from bacteria and spoilage is what will help the food brand to succeed. Coffee lasts longer in a sealed Mylar bag with a degassing valve than in a regular Kraft bag. 

• Makeup

The makeup industry is growing exponentially, and staying ahead of the competition can be hard for brands at times. However, with the quality checks, they can be one step closer to sales and improved services. Certain makeup products are packed in glass bottles. Thus, they cannot be packed in polyethylene bags or Kraft boxes, as these two cannot protect the glass from external factors to an optimum level. 

• Pharma 

Pharmaceutical packaging testing and quality control improve the shelf life of medicines and other products. Syringes are sterilized so that they are not contaminated before their use. Manufacturers have to use a packaging that acts as a strong barrier between these factors and the sterile syringe. Similarly, liquid medicines are most of the time packed in amber glass bottles due to its ability to keep the contents safe from UV rays and exposure to sunlight. 

• Electronics

Packaging is always decided keeping in mind the nature of the products and the shipping distance it will cover. Electronics can be damaged when exposed to heat and water. For that reason, a suitable electronics packaging is required for such products. Most brands pack their products in a plastic bag so it acts as a strong barrier, and then place the product in a cardboard or rigid box with durable inserts to absorb shocks. 

Packaging Testing and Quality Control & Brand Reputation

Ensuring packaging quality helps both the manufacturer and the brand that is in need of the packaging. Firstly, as a manufacturer, when you send high-quality and exceptional packaging to the brand, they are more likely to choose you the next time. And when a brand packs and sends products in that same high-end package, customers are more likely to get the word around and return for more purchases, given that they also offer high-end products. 

Choose High Quality Boxes for Enhanced Sales! 

While the first step of finding a manufacturer that has guidelines and follows packaging testing religiously can be daunting, it will be smooth sailing afterward. Brands can avoid issues like not being able to fulfil their orders in time if they find a manufacturer that not only promises quality but delivers as well. 

OXO Packaging is a proud manufacturer dealing with businesses in different niches for a long time because we believe in quality assurance. You can get your high-end packaging, which will keep your product safe and your customer loyal, by placing bulk orders. Contact us today for detailed information regarding packaging testing and your customized boxes.