Custom packaging by industry.

Two boxes of identical dimensions can have completely different specifications depending on what goes inside them. A carton for granola and a carton for a CBD tincture are the same shape and almost nothing else. Industry determines the material rules, the regulatory copy, and often the structure itself.

Regulated categories carry the hardest constraints

Food contact, cannabis and CBD, vape, pharmaceutical, and medical device packaging all operate under rules that vary by jurisdiction and change regularly.

For food and beverage and bakery, the constraint is the substrate: board and inks have to be approved for direct contact, and oily products need a grease barrier or they stain the carton from the inside.

For cannabis and CBD and vape, the constraint is the panel layout. Warning symbols, potency data, batch numbers, and licensee details can consume a third of a small box. Designing the brand artwork first and fitting compliance copy afterwards is the most common and most expensive mistake in these categories.

For pharma and medical, tamper evidence and serialisation drive the structure.

Unregulated categories are driven by the unboxing

Where there is no compliance burden, the packaging is competing on perceived value and shelf presence instead.

Cosmetics and jewelry lean on finishing: foil, embossing, soft-touch lamination, and fitted inserts. Subscription boxes are designed around a repeated opening ritual and the photograph the customer might post afterwards. Ecommerce and retail brands optimise for dimensional weight, because carrier pricing punishes empty space.

Shipping profile changes the board

A product sold only in stores travels on a pallet and needs shelf appeal. A product sold direct to consumer travels alone through a carrier network and needs crush resistance. A product doing both usually needs two packaging systems: a retail carton and a shipper.

Electronics and toys and games frequently fall into that third case, which is worth planning for early rather than discovering after the first retail order arrives.

Sustainability expectations differ by buyer

Grocery and beauty buyers increasingly ask for recycled content and recyclability documentation. Eco-conscious brands often want to go further into compostable materials, where the honest answer is frequently that a recyclable carton serves the customer better than a compostable one that needs industrial facilities most people cannot access.

Pick the industry closest to your product below, or tell us what you are packing and we will specify it with you.