Bottles packaging: the selection guide to ship wine

Bottles packaging is one of the most important material assets when deciding to sell wine, beer, spirits or oil online. The reason? Packaging characteristics affect significantly the probability of damages occurring during shipments. In order to avoid incurring the costs of breakage of bottles (which we have covered in this article), it is essential to find out what characteristics to look for when seeking a new packaging.

The seven characteristics that a good bottle packaging must have

Now let us see, point by point, what are the essential characteristics that bottle packaging must have in order to be considered the right one.

1. Safety

The first fundamental characteristic to be considered is the safety’s degree of the packaging, or its ability to guarantee that the product inside arrives intact at its destination. In order to be considered safe, a package should:

Have some approval, or eligibility obtained from third parties (such as couriers or international approvals such as ISTA 3A) to ship dangerous goods;
Be made of high-quality materials that is resistant and thick;
Be able to cushion the most common blows,those on the bottom and on the sides;
Wrap and lock the bottles;
Protect the critical points of the bottles, namely the bottom, the shoulder and the neck.

💡Advice n.1

In order to compare safety’s degree of different packaging, ask for information about the breakage rate of the packaging in question, or the probability that breakages will occur when using it. The company you are contacting is unable to provide you with a precise numerical data? It is a bad sign!!!!

💡Advice n.2

A good indicator of reliability’s level of the packaging, is to consider who has already chosen it. Is it a significant number of producers? Is it also used by large e-commerce companies that ship lots of bottles every day? Surely there will be a reason.

2. Reduced storage and transport space

You know perfectly how much storage and transport space affect the accounts of an activity, and how much packaging affects these two aspects. So choose a bottle packaging that is:

The smallest as possible in size, both in the shipping and storage phases;
Suitable for palletizing;
As little bulky as possible once assembled, both for efficient warehouse management and also to prevent that the final customer receives disproportionate amounts of packaging

Observation If you are still using Styrofoam cellars, let you know that you will not have any of the advantages listed above. There are alternatives on the market today that are just as safe but they also save storage and transport space. We will talk about it at the end of the article.

3. Assembly speed of bottles packaging Sustainability

You have to choose a packaging that is:

Quick and easy to assemble;
Consisting of up to two parts / elements.

4. Sustainability

Is it really necessary to reiterate how important is it to the final costumer that packaging is sustainable?! We hope not.

This aspect must be taken into consideration even more if you are shipping a product related to the earth and nature, such as wine or oil. In this case, it is even more important to uphold the principles of respect for the environment that the product itself represents.

According to this year’s research by the Nomisma Observatory, in order to be considered sustainable, the packaging must be:

Recyclable and as much as possible recycled;
Space-saving and easy to dispose of;
Produced without exploiting the manpower

5. Possibility to customize the outer packaging

An aspect to not underestimate, is the one related to the possibility of customizing your packaging.
Engage in making an attractive packaging will increase the probability that the final consumer will remember you and will be inclined to share his purchase on social media.

6. Flexibility and speed of service

At times like these, it is difficult to predict the stock inventory, and since storage space is often scarce, choosing a partner that can guarantee a flexible service is fundamental.

Choose a company that guarantees:

Rapid order processing;
The possibility to easily increase and/or decrease the quantity of goods ordered;
Dedicated and competent assistance.

7. Specific technical competence

Come per ogni settore, affidarsi a degli specialisti può fare la differenza. Scegliere un imballaggio di sicurezza da chi fa solo imballaggi di sicurezza, è certamente sinonimo di una maggiore attenzione e competenza.

Is there any bottles packaging with all these characteristics?

Arrived at this point, you will have noticed that all packagings for shipment, that you have examined until today, have at least one of the characteristics listed above.

If it is not so, means that you already know the only packaging for bottles that can guarantee them all: it is about NakPack®.

We will briefly list the main features of NakPack®, or the reasons why you should choose it for your shipments.

Security: it is certified by UPS and has the lowest breakage rate on the market, equivalent to 0,003%. Here you can find out more technical features;
Sustainability: it is made entirely of microtriple cardboard and 100% recyclable; it is free of synthetic glues and the first ever to have obtained the Plastic Free product certification®. Here you can find additional information regarding the sustainability actions implemented by the company;
Before being assembled, it is a simple sheet, it saves space in shipping and storage. An experienced warehouse operator takes 30 seconds to assemble both parts;
Market leadership: it is the leading packaging company, among Italian wineries, that protects every day more than 60% of bottles traveling in Italy. Here you can see some of the companies that have chosen NakPack® for their shipments.
Flexible service and constant customer care.

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Credit photo Magda Ehlers