Primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging are the three levels of packaging that you can use when you’re shipping your products to customers, clients, or resellers. Each level of packaging fulfills its own unique purpose in protecting your product while it’s in transit to its final destination – your customer, client, or reseller – so that it arrives safely and undamaged, ready to be used by whoever ends up receiving it. Let’s take a look at each of these three levels of packaging and how they can help your products get to their destinations quickly and safely.
Primary Packaging
When you order an item online, it’s usually delivered in Customized Cardboard Boxes. This type of packaging is often described as primary packaging or as product packaging. These boxes are usually made from cardboard, which is sturdy but not very durable—if you ordered something that needs to be shipped cross-country by truck, for example, it will likely arrive in a primary package.
Secondary packaging
Your primary packaging (i.e., your carton or box) protects your product from damage during shipping. However, if you’re delivering something particularly sensitive, you may want to protect it further by adding extra layers of protection—think bubble wrap or Styrofoam peanuts. You can usually find these types of packaging materials at office supply stores. A wide variety of materials is available: decide which ones work best for your needs!
Tertiary packaging
Once your Primary Packaging is inserted inside of a secondary container or box, you can use tertiary packaging to secure it in place. Typically made from foam or cardboard boxes, these inserts are used to securely hold larger boxes in place during shipping. This reduces shipping costs for businesses because it keeps everything snugly packed together with less slop room. While there are many different types of tertiary packaging available on the market today, one of our favorites is bubble wrap!
