Manufacturers and distributors face many challenges. Seasonal shifts in consumer demand and promotional pushes require a flexible workforce and production floor.

Managing unpredictable ebbs and flows is only a small part of what makes up a successful production process.

A contract packer is a company that packages products on behalf of its clients. It is also often referred to as manufacturing or co-packing.

These packaging and labelling services can be used for many types of products including pharmaceuticals, foods, beverages, industrial, and household products.

Contract packing is required by businesses that do not have their own packaging workforce or internal expertise. It is essential for businesses where a high volume of distribution is required. It allows businesses to have goods packaged offsite, at a controlled cost.

If a business is creating lower volumes of goods, then a co-packer will not be necessary. It’s important to consider the capabilities of your own workforce too. If companies have the required internal expertise to oversee packaging processes, then co-packing may not be needed in these circumstances either.

Co-packers are experts in creating the services and packaging solutions for an array of materials including loose bulk products, gifts, cosmetics, pet products, and a whole host of others.

There is a growing need for packaged liquid filling services too. Liquid filling involves putting viscous or non-viscous liquids – such as gels, creams, lotions, and syrups – into a variety of containers or receptacles.

As well as filling small 2ml glass vials to 5 litre jerry cans and everything in between, we are also finding that spouted pouches are trending at present as they arrive flat packed, which saves massive space in warehouses, increasing storage space generally.

One of the biggest benefits is that co-packing can be used to control your costs. Work is agreed at a fixed rate, so your pricing is also fixed, which is essential in helping companies clearly and simply calculate their baseline costs on the packaging element of their products.

Co-packers are usually specialists in several fields too, which means they can steer their customers towards the most suitable packaging for their needs.

Experienced packaging partners also know when to add emerging and trending materials to their production lines. Many companies now prioritise renewable and recyclable materials for their business packaging solutions.

Regulators are moving on the issue, and retailers and FMCG businesses are leading the way, making self-assured commitments to enhance their packaging sustainability and to fundamentally re-strategise their packaging methods.

A co-packer can assist companies in finding the right materials that meet both packaging and sustainability requirements.

For example, sunlight can be an issue for many products, which is why co-packers ensure that certain colour or flavour-sensitive products are packaged in amber glass or PET bottles.

The brown glass or PET reduces greatly the damaging UV light, meaning products maintain their quality, flavour, and colour for longer. This is the type of insight and expertise that you would only gain from working with a co-packing expert.

Using a co-packing service can resolve space constraints too, especially for those companies that may run from offices in cities. Often these businesses are mainly sales-focused and have no resources or space to put their products together.

These issues can be resolved by working with a third-party, as most co-packers have onsite warehouses with plenty of space to store your products. They can also assist in sourcing specific materials too if needed.

Competition among co-packers can be fierce but it does ensure the best practices are followed, as strict compliance standards are essential to winning new business contracts.

Most co-packers have a range of quality and food packing/storage accreditations, as well as regular audits to ensure they meet all the correct regulations and health and safety measures.

Knowing this protocol is being dealt with by experts in their fields eases the pressure on companies who may have been trying to organise packaging solutions internally.

Meeting the right compliance guidelines and industry regulations can be areas that take up a lot of head space and passing these tasks onto a third-party co-packer essentially frees up a business’s valuable time.

With a co-packer dealing with the complexities outside a business’s expertise, they can then get on with what they do best – picking up better business contracts and using their full inhouse resources.

Knowing what to look for from a potential contract packing partner may seem daunting, but there are some key points to consider.

Ideally, your chosen co-packer will be a business that has been running for some time and with staff who have years of industry experience.

Another important point to contemplate is whether your potential partner has the right equipment needed for packing your products. If not, are they open to considering a joint investment opportunity with your company?

Location should also not be overlooked. You want your co-packer to be easy to get to and with good motorway connections. This will help to minimise transport delays, especially if larger vehicles are being used to carry materials to and from the co-packer’s premises.

Finally, reliability is crucial. You want your co-packer to be able to assist if any problems arise during your time working together. Not only this, but it’s important that they can flag any issues before they happen, and it is too late.

From material limitations to not meeting sustainability requirements to labels containing type errors, a reliable co-packer with the right experience will be able to point these out immediately, so that problems do not escalate further down the line.