Every year, those in the beauty industry rake in a combined $532 billion and that number is expected to continue to grow in the future.
If you're looking to get a piece of that action by creating your own beauty supplies, you need to get cosmetic packaging. But with so many plastic tube packaging suppliers to choose from, how do you pick one to work with that will help you grow your business?
Keep reading as we show you how to find the best cosmetic packaging suppliers and what information you should have on hand when contacting them to ensure you're working with the right company.
What to Look for in Plastic Tube Packaging Suppliers
Having the right plastic tube supplier can make a huge difference in the success of your business. For that reason, you'll want to take your time when selecting one.
These are the qualities you need to look for in a supplier to ensure you get the right one for you and your company. We'll take a closer look at each of these to show why they're so important.
1. Large Selection of Products
Although you may only need a few packaging options right now, as your company grows, you'll want to start getting more products out there. That's why you want to make sure the supplier you're working with will have everything you need now and in the future.
Check a company's catalog to see how many products they have to offer and what their overall selection is like. First, make sure they have what you need at the moment, and then see that they have plenty of other packaging options you can consider for future product lines.
2. Products in Stock
The size of a supplier's collection doesn't matter if they don't have something in stock. You need to make sure all of their items are kept in stock and ready to ship out when you need them. This is important so that your production process doesn't have to be slowed or halted because of a lack of packaging.
3. Competitive Pricing
Whether you're just starting your business venture or you're expanding an existing one, it's important to do what you can to keep your overhead costs down, which includes your packaging. As you look at cosmetic packaging suppliers, make sure the one you go with offers competitive prices on their products.
You shouldn't automatically go with the cheapest option because they might not deliver a quality item or may have poor customer service, but you also don't want to pay more for the same level of quality and care if you don't have to. Make sure you're paying for what you need and getting what you're paying for.
4. Timely Delivery
If your supplier says your products will arrive within 14 business days but they end up taking significantly longer, this can be a sign of an inconsistent or untrustworthy supplier.
Because you depend on the timeliness of their deliveries to manufacture your products, you need to make sure your products will arrive from the supplier when they say they will. Although it's possible to have the occasional delay, if you're consistently receiving products later than stated, you may want to find a new supplier.
5. Consistent Product Quality
Another type of consistency you need to look for is the quality of the products. Every packaging shipment you get should be the same as the last. Mistakes happen so you'll likely get the occasional poor quality package, but this should be the vast minority of what you're receiving.
Consistent quality in packaging is essential for you to be able to continue to provide a consistently high-quality product to your customers.
6. Certified
One of the best ways to ensure your supplier is providing you with high-quality products is to see if they're certified according to ISO 9001:2008. This sets standards for all producers of products in the United States. Your company should have that certification and so should your supplier.
If your supplier doesn't have this certification, there's no way to guarantee the consistency or quality of their products.
7. Compliant
In the cosmetic industry, there are many other organizations that you have to be compliant with to keep selling your product. Some of these include the packaging of your beauty products. Before you jump into buying from a supplier, you need to make sure their packaging is compliant with the right regulatory laws so you don't waste your money on packaging you can't use.
8. Warehousing Services
If you're just starting out, you may not have a lot of warehouse space yet where you can store packaging while you wait to use it. For that reason, you want to make sure your supplier can help you with your warehousing and hold onto your orders until you need them.
9. Inventory Management Services
Inventory management services should be part of a supplier's warehouse services. This means they have a system in place that allows them to quickly and easily locate your products and ship them out to you as needed.
It also means they know exactly what products they have on hand so they can provide an accurate estimation of production and shipping times for all of their cosmetic packaging products.
10. Great Sales Team
Having a great customer service team that works with you can make a huge difference in your company. Since your plastic tube packaging supplier is a crucial part of your business, you want to make sure you can count on them to work with you to improve your company.
11. Accurate Documentation
If you can't understand what's written on the invoice or there are discrepancies between what's on the invoice and what actually arrived, these can be signs that the supplier is disorganized and not focused on providing good service to you as their customer.
Once again, this is something that can occasionally happen but shouldn't be an ongoing problem with your supplier.
Information to Have on Hand During Calls
As you're talking to a sales representative to learn more about the supplier, they'll likely have some questions for you, as well. This will help them know how they can best serve them. For that reason, you'll want to be prepared with answers.
Let's dig into some of the things you need to know for your first call with a supplier.
Where Your Products Will be Sold
This will have an impact on the types of materials that can be used since every country has different regulations concerning packaging materials. If you're planning on only selling your items in the United States or want to go global, you may need a different type of packaging.
Seasonal Demand of Your Products
Will your products have approximately the same demand throughout the year or will you experience surges during certain seasons? This is important to know so the supplier can be prepared to always meet your needs.
How You'll Set Your Product Apart
With so much competition in the beauty industry today, you need to make sure you're setting your product apart from the rest. The supplier will want to know how you plan on doing that with your products to see if you may need to get custom packaging for your business.
Your Long-term Goals with Packaging
You should have goals with every aspect of your business which includes packaging. Consider what your goals are for this so you can be ready to discuss these with the supplier.
How Ecologically-friendly Your Company Is
Does your company have a "green" initiative in place? If not, it's a great idea. It's an easy way your business can do its part in helping protect the environment plus many people are now looking for ecologically-friendly options when making purchases so you can boost your bottom line by doing so.
Fortunately, many companies today offer sustainable packaging so you can find a high-quality packaging option that's also "green."
Your Packaging Needs
Here are some of the things you'll need to decide when choosing packaging for your products:
- Product and packaging compatibility
- Acceptable air barriers
- Thermal resistance needs
- Controlled dispense or pourable cap
- Material needed for the cap and cap liner
- Attached or separate caps
- Your desired order quantities
You'll also need to think about whether or not you need labeling performed by the supplier or if that's something you can do yourself.
Ready to Find the Right Plastic Tubes for You?
Now you know how to choose from the many plastic tube packaging suppliers that are available to you. As you can see, this is an essential step in your journey to launching a product so it's important to take the time to pick the right supplier for you.
Here at A Packaging Group, we strive to meet all of the needs of our customers by providing high-quality products in a timely manner. We also pride ourselves on having excellent customer service and do what we can to help your business grow.
If you're ready to find the right plastic tubes for your product, check out our catalog. We have a huge variety of products available so we're sure to have one that will work for you and your business.