How Much Does Contract Packing Cost?

How are contract packing costs calculated?

Our contract packing prices vary depending on specific needs. Some factors that will affect the total cost of the job include:

• Quantity – For example, a run of 50 will be more costly per product than a run of 50,000 and a small trial order or sample order will always be more expensive compared to a repeat production product on a weekly contract. Sometimes, doing a smaller run is valuable. For example, some companies will adopt a strategy of putting forward a “loss leader” product to increase overall sales. Sometimes you need to undertake a small trial run off-site to test the viability of a product before bringing production in-house.
• Types of packaging – as expected, the type of packaging you select will naturally dictate the price. See below for some examples of more or less costly options.
• Print options – a fully printed packaging design will add cost, along with the complexity of the print design. Simple packaging with minimal print will be cheaper. Digital printing can mitigate the price a little, as it avoids some of the costs involved in traditional printing.
• Audits – customers often want to undertake an audit of a contract packer’s service. This is a cost that contract packers simply cannot take on for every job – although they can readily supply their own documents demonstrating the quality of their services and the ISO requirements and regulations that they meet. For this reason, the customer will pay an average cost of £1,600 for an audit.