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Everyone needs and uses soap in one form or another. That's good news if you're in the soap business: Everyone wants your product.

However, in a market with so many options, it can be challenging to make your soap more appealing than the wares of your competitors.

You can differentiate your products by using all-natural ingredients, formulating unique scents, choosing beautiful colors, and otherwise ensuring that your soap performs well.

However, it's essential that you go beyond functionality if you really want to stand apart from the competition. That means designing really memorable and unique packaging.

You already know that soap needs special protection during shipment. After all, this is a relatively delicate product that can easily be damaged by a number of things, including moisture. This means that it is imperative to design custom soap packaging that is designed to protect the contents and appeal to consumers.

When you design soap packaging that both protects the product and draws the eyes of consumers, you are bound to see your sales increase. Talk to the custom packaging experts at Mid-Atlantic Packaging today to learn more about how you can transform your soap packaging.

Things to Consider When Designing Packaging for Soap

Designing custom packaging can be tricky. In fact, there are numerous things that you'll want to consider at the beginning of the process. These might include:

• Whether you are selling liquid or bar soap
• The shape and size of your products
• The identity of your brand
• The type of shipping that you typically use
• The needs and expectations of your customers
• Your packaging budget

Other factors also may affect your choice, but these are the elements that are most likely to be included in any soap manufacturer's consideration.

Opt for Sustainability

Today's entrepreneurs make a wise choice when they decide to use sustainable soap packaging. Cardboard or paperboard boxes are always a great option as they are easy to recycle, look great, and can be printed on in a variety of ways. If your company specializes more in upscale soap, a wonderful alternative is cloth bags. These can be placed in custom mailer boxes for additional protection.

Keeping Your Soap Fresh

Above all, you want to be certain that your customers will receive your soap while it is still fresh. Since soap is rather delicate, it is essential that you choose packaging materials that will protect it from water and other damaging elements during transport.

Some of the most reliable options include cardboard shipping boxes, kraft paper tubes, and cloth bags, any of which provides the right amount of protection. It's helpful that these choices also are recyclable and therefore sustainable.

Kraft paper is an excellent choice to use with soap because of its natural absorbency and ability to protect soap from water. Durable and sturdy, a cardboard box provides the ideal protection throughout the shipping process. Cloth bags are particularly popular choices in brick-and-mortar stores that sell soap because the material is just breathable enough to allow a safe amount of air to reach the product.

It further may be helpful to add some extra protection when shipping. Tissue paper is an excellent material for accomplishing this, and it has the advantage of being customizable. This means that you can customize the shipping box, the tissue paper, and the primary packaging on the soap. You'll have people talking about your brand in no time.

Take it one step further by adding a customized, branded sticker to each product that is wrapped in tissue paper. Custom stickers have the additional advantage of providing extra security to your wares in transit.

What if you are shipping liquid soap? In this case, you might opt for a void-fill material that is sustainably sourced. The void fill is designed to absorb movement and shocks that may occur during shipment. Sustainable void fill is made from recycled materials so that they are lightweight, durable, and recyclable.

What Kind of Packaging Is Right for Your Soap?

When it comes to the type of packaging you choose, you have several options. Let's take a look at a few of the most popular ones in detail so that you can make an informed decision.

1. Boxes

This is by far the most popular choice for soap packaging. Boxes provide excellent protection and give you a nice amount of space to provide text and graphics. Plus, it's easy to customize boxes, and they can be recycled.

When it comes to boxes, you have two categories from which to choose. These are closed boxes and custom boxes with cutouts or display windows.

Closed boxes are frequently used for commercial bar soaps. Typically, these boxes are made from white cardboard or kraft paper. Closed boxes are available in a variety of styles such as:

• Two-piece boxes: These include a lid with a tray on the bottom.
• Tuck-top boxes: A top closing panel is equipped with a small flap that can be tucked into the box top.
• Crash bottom boxes: These have opposite flaps that are pushed toward each other, which locks the box's base.
• Lock bottom boxes: The flaps on this box lock together to form the box's bottom.
• Reverse tuck boxes: One flap folds in one direction while the other flap folds in the opposite direction.
• Straight tuck boxes: The flaps are folded directly into the box.

Closed boxes, regardless of configuration, are among the most popular choices for soap packaging. This is because they offer great protection, are highly customizable, and provide plenty of space for adding text and graphics.

Perhaps the only downside to this packaging is that it doesn't really allow the customer to easily see or smell the soap.

That is a good reason to choose a custom box with cut-outs or windows. These are an excellent choice if you want your customers to be able to readily see the color and texture of your products. Keep in mind that a cutout box will place a portion of the soap open to the air and able to be touched and smelled by consumers.

By contrast, a window on a box is protected with a thin layer of PVC. This protects the soap from air exposure but still lets the consumer see the details on the bar of soap.

Windows and cut-outs can assume any shape, including familiar ones like rectangles, circles, and ovals or they may be designed in a custom shape that is specific to your brand.

The main advantage of using window or cut-out boxes is that they let the customer see and smell the product before they buy. However, if the packaged bars of soap are going to be stored for an extended period, it may be necessary to ensure specialized warehousing is available.

2. Wrap Around Bands

This minimalist approach goes by many other names such as belly bands, cigar bands, and packaging sleeves. Wrap-around bands really put your soap on display and may leave them considerably exposed to the elements. Still, there are many options for customization.

Wrap-around bands further have the advantage of being quite affordable. However, the soap will require specialized storage.

3. Paper Wraps or Pouches

This is a simple, sustainable packaging solution that may appeal to numerous brands. Paper wraps function exactly as they sound. You simply wrap your bars of soap in decorative paper. Glue or a sticker can be used to fasten the wrapper. Alternatively, your bars of soap may be placed in a paper pouch or bag. These are endlessly customizable, sustainable, and attractive.

Paper wraps and pouches are affordable and accessible. If your soap brand places an emphasis on natural ingredients and an eco-friendly approach to business, these are a great choice. One of the few downsides of this type of packaging is that it may be possible for the soap to sweat over time and cause the paper to discolor.

Choosing Packaging for Your Soap

When it comes to deciding on packaging for your soap, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. It is essential that you weigh your specific products, your brand identity, and your storage and shipping methods before you choose the ideal packaging.

The good news is that companies like Mid-Atlantic Packaging take a great deal of the stress and confusion out of designing custom packaging for soap. With our professional design team and many years of experience at your disposal, designing custom packaging for your brand is probably far easier than you imagine.

Are you ready to design soap packaging that will genuinely make your products stand out from the crowd? Whether you are most interested in boxes, wrap-around bands, or paper wraps and pouches, contact Mid-Atlantic Packaging today to get a custom packaging quote.