Packaging
The client changes packaging supplier only when something goes wrong
In industrial packaging the supplier is rarely changed. When it happens, it is for a specific problem: a delay, a rising cost, a new rule on materials. Whoever is present at that moment wins the client; the others do not even know.
The starting point
The challenges we meet most often
Challenges 1
Blocked supply relationships
Clients already have a supplier that works well enough. Without a concrete reason they won't open their vendor list to a new one.
Challenges 2
Product perceived as a commodity
Boxes, film and trays look the same to the buyer. If the conversation stays on the material, you end up talking only about price per piece.
Challenges 3
Regulations that change the rules
The European packaging regulation and recyclability targets are forcing many clients to rethink their packs. Few suppliers use it as an opportunity to step forward.
The method in the industry
How we work in this industry
We segment prospects by type of packaged product and line, because a cosmetics company and a mechanical components company buy packaging for opposite reasons. We use regulatory deadlines, new product launches and format changes as triggers. The message goes to the packaging engineer or to sustainability with a concrete technical proposal, for example switching to a recyclable mono-material on the same line, and only afterwards does the purchasing office come into play.
Who we talk to
Purchasing manager
They reason in terms of cost per unit, supply continuity and minimum lots. They want a credible second supplier before the first one causes problems.
Packaging engineer or product development manager
Deals with how the pack behaves on the line, in the warehouse and on the shelf. Interested in tests, samples and technical advice.
Sustainability manager
Must meet recyclability targets and reduce plastic. Looks for suppliers who help balance the environmental books without changing the lines.
Operations Director
They look at packaging downtime and compatibility with existing machines. A material that slows the line doesn't pass.
The objection we hear most often
«Our clients are loyal to their current supplier, they don't switch.»
They do not change until they have a reason. Our job is to find who has that reason now, because they have a new line or a deadline to meet on materials, and to get there before others. To the others we do not write to take the contract away: we ask to come in as a second supplier, which is a much easier request to accept.
Case studies
The method in this industry
Recommended services
The channels we use here
Multichannel Outbound
Three channels coordinated on the same person. A name already seen on LinkedIn makes the email expected, and the phone call comes when there is something to say. We multiply the opportunities, not the insistence.
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Cold Email
Email campaigns personalised message by message, aimed at the final decision-maker, on lists defined on your market and with a custom-built infrastructure.
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Frequently asked questions
Questions about the industry
How do you find new clients for an industrial packaging company?
We start from the industries where your packaging gives a measurable advantage, identify the companies with compatible lines and contact whoever develops the pack, even before whoever buys it. Generic requests for quotation come in anyway: the ones we look for start from a problem.
Is the new European packaging regulation a sales argument?
Yes, if you use it with competence. Many clients know they need to change something but not what. A message that explains in two lines what changes for their type of packaging is read far more than a company presentation.
Does it make sense to book meetings before Ipack-Ima or other packaging fairs?
Yes. In the weeks before the fair we contact the target clients and propose a meeting at the stand with a sample designed for their product. You go to the fair with meetings already confirmed.
Your market is in the industry packaging? Let's talk.
In the Feasibility Study we tell you honestly whether it makes sense to get started in your industry, and how.