November 18, 2022

The Best Types of Packaging Materials for Shipping

If you ship fragile items, the packaging you choose can make or break your business. Using inferior materials to deliver your products can result in product damage during shipping, leading to plenty of disgruntled customers.

That’s not a scenario any business owner wants to face, so choosing the proper packaging for shipping is vital. With so many options available, we know choosing the right one for your business can be confusing. Below, we’ll share the best types of protective packaging materials for glass containers so you can ship your products safely.

Corrugated Cardboard

Brewers, winemakers, and liquor companies have a few things in common: they all produce products that need sturdy, well-made packaging for shipping. That’s where corrugated cardboard boxes come in. 

Corrugated cardboard is strong, durable, and lightweight enough to save money on shipping costs. It’s also easy to print on, which means you can brand your boxes with your company logo or other graphics. Plus, corrugated cardboard is recyclable, so it’s a sustainable protective packaging material.

There are two types of corrugated cardboard: single-wall and double-wall. Each one uses fluted paper between the flat cardboard walls to increase overall strength. Single-wall corrugated cardboard has one layer of fluted paper, and double-wall corrugated cardboard has two.

The double-wall configuration is twice as strong, so it’s an excellent choice for shipping heavy or fragile items. Ultimately, the type of box you choose will depend on several factors, including the size and weight of your product, how fragile it is, and how many items you need to ship at one time.

Molded Pulp

If you’re in the business of selling beverages, then you know how critical packaging for shipping is to customer satisfaction. Not only does it need to be functional, but it also must be eye-catching and appealing to customers. 

After all, your packaging is often the first thing potential customers see. That’s why you need customized inserts for your bottles, jars, and cans. Molded pulp inserts are a wise option for businesses looking for high-quality, protective packaging materials. Since they’re biodegradable, they show your customers that you’re doing your part to protect the planet.

Pulp inserts use recycled paper products formed into shape using water and heat. They can fit nearly any size bottle or can, which makes them versatile. Best of all, they’re 100% recyclable, so they’re an eco-friendly choice. These inserts are sturdy and capable of absorbing impact. The insert will help cushion and prevent breakage if a drop occurs during shipping.

Foam

Foam is the perfect packaging for shipping to protect your bottles and cans during transit, whether by land, sea, or air. Its primary use is to keep products from being jostled around and damaged during transportation. 

Form-fit foam packaging kits fit snugly around your product, providing a high level of protection against shocks and vibrations. Loose-fill foam packaging kits use small pieces of foam that fill the area around your product. Either way, you can be sure that your products will be safeguarded with these protective packaging materials.

Another great benefit of foam packaging is the ability to maintain constant temperature levels inside the box. Thermal insulation is vital when shipping items that can spoil or must be kept in a temperature range to sustain the integrity of the product.

You never know what environment your products will face during transportation. Having extra protection against severe heat or cold will help preserve your product’s taste, texture, and chemical composition. So, if you’re a brewery, winery, liquor company, or any other business that ships glass bottles, foam packaging for shipping are a great option to protect your products.

Bubble Wrap

Shipping products can be a delicate and costly process, especially when those products are glass bottles or cans. Any damage sustained during shipping can lead to significant financial losses for your company. That’s why protective packaging materials are a necessity. They absorb impact, prevent breakage, and protect your bottom line. 

Bubble wrap fits that criteria. You can ship almost anything with it, including fragile items. This lightweight packaging for shipping is super easy to work with and does an excellent job of protecting your products from rough shipping conditions.

You can wrap bottles and cans individually or group them in packs. Bubble wrap is also ideal for wrapping around oddly shaped items. No matter what you need to ship, you can adapt bubble wrap to fit your needs.

Another great thing about bubble wrap is that you can reuse it. If you receive a shipment wrapped in bubble wrap, save the bubble wrap and use it again the next time you need packaging for shipping. And to top it off, bubble wrap is recyclable. So you can feel good about using it because it won’t end up in a landfill.

Thermoform Shipping Trays

With climate change becoming more severe, many of us are looking for ways to minimize our environmental footprint. One way to do this is to employ the concepts of reducing, reusing, and recycling. 

Thermoformed shipping trays can help in this effort by reducing the need for loose-fill packing materials and allowing for a greater packing density. Additionally, shipping trays are reusable, reduce overall storage space, and keep shipping costs to a minimum. 

Thermoforming is a process that heats rigid plastics, closed-cell foams, or other specialty materials into a specific mold to create a usable product. With thermoforming, it is easy to create different sizes or shapes of protective packaging materials, and there is less waste and fewer delays associated with the manufacturing process.

In addition, thermoformed products tend to be lighter and stronger than their injection-molded counterparts. As a result, thermoforming is an increasingly popular choice for manufacturers looking for an efficient and cost-effective way to produce high-quality packaging for shipping.

Get the Best Packaging for Shipping from Gorilla Shipper

As you can see, there are a variety of materials you can use to protect your products. In this article, we’ve shared the benefits of using corrugated cardboard boxes, molded pulp inserts, foam kits, bubble wraps, and inflatable airbags. So which type of packaging is best for you? It depends on your products and the level of protection you need.

If you need superior protection to prevent product damage during transit, shop protective packaging materials from Gorilla Shipper. Our Hexabox, pulp, and foam packaging is ISTA 6-FEDEX-A certified, meaning they can withstand the roughest shipping environments. If you have any questions about our packing solutions, contact us to speak to an expert.