Packaging inserts are secondary elements that are placed in the packaging beside the actual products. This includes items such as small cards, notes, folded sheets, dividers, inner trays, or liners. They help to improve the unboxing experience and also keep your product safe during delivery or storage.
The inserts can prove to be a valuable tool for businesses to improve their product presentation and build brand reputation.
This guide covers everything that you know about what packaging inserts are. You’ll get to know their types, the uses, and also related legal considerations. In the end, you’ll also discover how to choose the right inserts and where to buy them. So let's dive into all the info.
Understanding Packaging Inserts To Protect Products and Promote Brands
Any material that is placed inside a box or pouch to enhance the appeal of the packaging or provide protection to the items is known as a packaging insert. This includes thank you cards, notes, discount coupons, dividers, and many more. They are commonly used for e-commerce subscription services, the gift industry, and other retail products.
The packaging inserts help to market your product in a unique way. They make the unboxing experience memorable, hence leading to your brand being recognised. Through the use of discount codes and limited deals, your product purchase is improved, which leads to increased return on investment.
Difference Between Promotional and Protective Inserts
Some inserts are used to protect the items during shipping, handling, and storage. These are known as protective inserts. Whereas others are added to improve visual appeal or act as a marketing tool. They are called promotional inserts. The following table shows the difference between these two categories:
| Protective Inserts vs Promotional Inserts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Feature | Protective Inserts | Promotional Inserts |
| Main Job | Stop items from breaking | Make the package look good |
| Types | Dividers, corrugated insert trays, molded pulp inserts, plastic inserts | Thank you cards, coupons, free samples, warranty cards, referral cards, stickers |
| How They Help | Absorb shocks and hold items still | Share brand messages and surprise the buyer |
| Design Style | Tough, strong, and an exact fit | Bright colors, nice fonts, and neat logos |
| Best Used For | Shipping fragile or heavy items | Luxury items and monthly gift boxes |
Uses Of Packaging Inserts
If you’re wondering about what packaging inserts are used for, there are so many reasons. They are used for protection, to improve product presentation, and to lead to great customer satisfaction. Here are some of the reasons why businesses need to invest in packaging inserts:
Durability and Protection: The extra material is added inside the box to provide cushioning for the products and acts as a shield against damage. During shipping or handling, the inserts help to keep the item in place and thus prevent breakage.
Customer Retention: If you include the inserts, such as discount codes, QR codes, or others, it can help to engage your customers and lead to more purchases by the same customers. This proves to be valuable for subscription box services.
Boost Brand Reputation: When you place business cards, thank you cards, tissue papers, small samples, and other inserts, it creates a kind opening experience for customers. This way, they remember your brand name and perceive it as high value.
Cross-Selling: By placing items such as product catalogs, magazines, and pamphlets in the package, you can market your other products. Through this, your input value for ads is reduced.
Instructions and Labels: You can place user guides and put product information, even warnings, inside the box. The proper instructions lead to better use by the buyer, and hence returns are reduced.
Although packaging inserts are not a compulsory item for product boxing, they definitely take your brand reputation and sales to the next level. That is why it is highly recommended to invest in them.
Types Of Packaging Inserts Based On Material:
There is a wide variety of packaging inserts that are used for products. Some are premium while others are affordable. Each one proves to be valuable for your items. Here are some of the common types that are used:
Molded Pulp Inserts
These inserts are made from recycled pulp. These inserts can be molded into any shape or size. They are super useful for providing protection for the items. The interesting factor about them is that they are among the best choices for eco-friendly options. In addition to that, their lightweight nature makes them highly in demand.
Plastic Tray Inserts
The tray inserts are made from materials like PET and PVC. These inserts look much more polished. They are perfect if you want your products to stay organized. They can be molded in any shape and size. They can even be die-cut in the precise shape of the product.
Styrofoam Inserts
They are made from materials such as Polystyrene. They are used for shock absorption, vibration resistance, and insulation. In this way, they prove to be so valuable during shipping and transport. They are used for sensitive items to keep them safe. They are also sometimes used to improve the appearance of packaging.
EVA Foam Inserts
Ethylene Vinyl Acetate foam inserts are soft and flexible. They provide strong cushioning and protection to the items during transit and handling. But that is not all; they also look quite exquisite. They can be precisely cut in the shape of the actual product. Businesses can use such foam to make the product into high-end and luxury items.
Corrugated Cardboard Inserts
Such inserts are made up of corrugated material. This usually includes a fluted layer sandwiched between the other two flat ones. This structural design provides much more safety to the items inside the package. They are most commonly used by the e-commerce industry for shipping purposes. It is lightweight, recyclable, and customizable.
Chipboard Inserts
These inserts are made from recycled paper fibers that are compressed. They are rigid yet lightweight. Such inserts are much more biodegradable as well as eco-friendly. Also, this material can be used to make cards for packaging.
Kraft Paper Inserts
These inserts are made from lightweight material. They are also very eco-friendly and affordable. They can be used for a variety of purposes, from protection to wrapping and other uses, to improve the presentation inside the box.
The type of material plays an important role in how it protects your items. Each one has a different visual appearance. You can choose the one that matches your preference.
Various Packaging Insert Ideas
If you’re wondering what inserts to use for your business, here are some of the packaging insert examples that can uplift your sales and perceived brand value:
Thank-You Cards and Personalized Notes
When you add a thank-you card, it makes your customers feel highly valuable. It elicits an emotional response, which makes them buy more from your brand again.
The thank you card inserts are one of the nice gestures to include in your package. Furthermore, the presence of personalized notes with great messages adds to the perceived value of your brand.
Discount and Referral Cards
One of the best ways to market your product is to offer something to customers that benefits them. The discount code does this job. They prove to be valuable for the customers as well as for you to improve ROI.
You can incorporate them with URLs or QR codes to make it easy to redeem the offer. In addition to that, you can add referral cards with codes that can be shared with friends or family.
Manuals and User Guides
It is important to provide manual instructions and user guides. This way, your customers can understand how to fully utilize your product.
So the chance of user error or negative reviews can be reduced. It can also minimize returns. The proper user guidelines make customers trust your product.
Product Catalogs
This insert can act as a free advertisement tool for your brand. You can include the product catalogs that market your other products.
This can lead to cross-selling. Also, smart integration, like QR codes or scan codes, can improve online customer engagement.
Warranty and Guarantee Cards
For tech and expensive items, it is very important to include warranty cards. This makes the buyers much more confident to purchase from your store.
In some cases, the presence of guarantee cards also fulfills the legal requirement set by consumer law.
Request Review
You can also include insert cards that request the consumers to review your product. This is highly valuable for an e-commerce business. The positive reviews by clients can definitely lead to better sales.
Safety and Compliance Inserts
Such inserts are legally required for many product categories. This includes pharmaceuticals, dietary supplements, electrical goods, children's toys, and many more.
The information, such as safety warnings, age restrictions, allergen information, regulatory certifications, and usage, needs to be mentioned for such products.
Sample Products
You can include free gifts or sample products. This not only improves customer satisfaction but can also lead to marketing your product in a smart way. This particularly provides value for cosmetic brands, jewelry, electronic items, and many more.
Creativity plays an important role in choosing packaging inserts. There are so many other things that can be included in the package to add the wow factor to the packaging.
Rules and Regulations Regarding Packaging Inserts
Packaging inserts are subject to a range of regulations. This depends on the product type and industry. In the United States, the following are some of the regulations to be followed:
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Guidelines
The FTC requires that all promotional claims made on inserts be truthful and not misleading. This is particularly important for coupon offers, guarantees, and testimonials.
Additionally, review request cards should never offer incentives to get positive reviews. You can ask for honest reviews. But you cannot offer anything in exchange.
FDA Regulations
This regulation needs to be followed specifically for food products, supplements, drugs, cosmetics, and more. The FDA requires brands to include specific labeling information.
You need to mention info like ingredients, nutrition facts, warnings, instructions, and disclaimers. All of the info related to this guideline is outlined in the FDA's 21 CFR regulation.
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
You have to add the safety information for the products that are sold to children. Even electronic and other similar items require safety and hazard warnings.
The CPSC clearly states all these requirements, and it is a must to follow them.
Warranty Disclosure
Any business that offers a written warranty needs to follow the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. According to this, the terms for warranty should be clearly disclosed before the sale. The warranty cards need to be outlined with specific information. This includes the actual duration of coverage, what is to be covered, and how one can make a claim.
It is essential to follow these regulations for packing inserts in order to avoid any penalties or legal issues.
How To Choose The Right Inserts For Packaging?
If you are concerned about how to choose the packaging inserts, here are some steps and tips that can help you make the right decision:
Determine Your Objective: Define whether you want the insert for a protective purpose, marketing purpose, or just for presentation. You need to know your exact goal before the purchase.
Personalization For Customer: You need to add the insert based on your target audience. The age factor, gender, and the type of product all influence what type of inserts you need.
Box Dimension and Weight Considerations: Heavy inserts should be avoided as they can increase the weight. This can be a challenge for shipping products. You also have to measure your box dimensions in order to choose the right size of insert.
Choose An Insert For Brand Value: The inserts need to be according to your product type. For luxury products and gift boxes, EVA foam may suit better, whereas for retail products, the cardboard option is more affordable.
Print Quality and Materials: The quality of the material matters. The way it supports printing options is important as well. You can choose flexographic printing for large orders and digital printing for quick turnaround time.
Review Your Budget: Some inserts are expensive while others are affordable. You need to set out your budget, and then, based on that, just choose the custom insert options.
A lot of planning and strategies go into choosing the final packaging insert. Try to make sure to keep the above factors in mind when you buy packaging inserts.
Where To Buy Packaging Inserts?
You can buy packaging inserts from MyBoxPrinting. We are the top supplier for packaging services. We have been in this industry for over 25 years. During this time, we have provided services to many businesses, such as custom boxes, pouches, and inserts. You can expect to get the following things from us for the intended purpose:
Custom Labelling: You can get quality labels with a variety of printing options and creative designs.
Custom Stickers: There are a variety of stickers to choose from, be it creative illustrations or tamper-evident.
Cards: You can get cards made from eco-friendly material. The add-on options like embossing and debossing can also be incorporated into them.
Brochures: If you want a user manual, product catalogs, or other booklet-type stuff, you can get everything from us.
Dividers: If you need inserts for protective purposes, you can get various options such as corrugated inserts, box dividers, and many more.
Biodegradable Material: Sustainability is one of our core values. We offer eco-friendly materials for insert formations.
Discount on Bulk Orders: If you place a wholesale order for packing inserts, we’ll give you a great discount.
Free Sample: What you see is what you get. We’ll be happy to provide a sample so that you can get an idea about the quality we have to offer.
If you're still not sure what packaging inserts are or how to buy them, then you can get in touch with us. We are here to provide free customer support 24/7.
Frequently Asked Questions About Packaging Inserts
What are vaccine package inserts?
These inserts are the compulsory requirement set out by the FDA to label the vaccine items. All the information related to dosage, storage instructions, testing conditions, and other important factors must be mentioned.
Can I ship my product without inserts?
It is possible, but not recommended. The inserts improve your product safety and enhance the box opening experience. Hence, it is important to choose the inserts.
What are eco-friendly options for product inserts?
There are many options such as corrugated material, kraft paper, chipboards, molded paper pulp, and many more.
Can inserts be used for food products?
Yes, but they must be approved by the FDA. The paper-based and eco-friendly materials are generally regarded as safe to be used with culinary and food items.
Can the inserts for packaging be customized?
Of course, if you choose MyBoxPrinting for design packaging inserts, then you can personalize them in any way possible.
What are patient package inserts?
The PPI leaflet is provided with the medication. It is approved by the FDA. It is written in plain, non-technical language. It mentions how to use the product, its purpose, dosage, potential side effects, and any warnings.
Final Thought
Packaging inserts are the additional items that are added to the box, in contrast to the actual products. They help to protect the items. Also, they provide great visual appeal and help to market your products. The quality of the inserts improves your brand image. You can include dividers, thank you notes, warranty cards, and other such items. The material choice also affects how the packaging appears. It is recommended to go for biodegradable ones. You need to specify your goals and budget requirements to choose the right insert. The best ones can be bought from MyBoxPrinting.
