Branding my cake boxes, what option is best for me?

(Reviews on Printed Cake Boxes) 

One question we often get asked when discussing cake boxes is, can I get my company logo or message printed on the packaging? When there are so many options to look at and different factors it becomes confusing for you to work out the best way to brand your cake boxes. Sound familiar?  

So, in this article we will attempt to show:

• the advantages and disadvantages in printing cake boxes
• the different processes involved in print on cake boxes ie flexography and Litho Laminate
• DIY branding on your cake boxes

And finally

• a quick assessment tool to help you decide what is best for your business

which might help you decide if printing your cake boxes is for you or not. 

ADVANTAGES IN PRINTING MY CAKE BOXES

There are three key advantages:

• Create Brand Awareness

Printing a cake box gives you a lot of exposure to your brand to attract other potential clients. For example, when your cakes are either taken to a party or when your customers share a photo of your beautifully baked goods to their social media. This increases the chances that others will be able to see where they can come to get these same experiences. 

• Differentiate from your competitors

Having the same box as everyone else doesn’t help you stand out from the crowd. 

• Compliment your food

By printing your cake boxes you can spend very little with a graphics designer to design nice graphics that will tie in with your branding making you and your business very professional. 

DISADVANTAGES IN PRINTING MY CAKE BOXES

Transversely there are four disadvantages as well such as:

• Larger MOQ Required

To print your cake boxes effectively, it will requires a special run just for you.  Two key considerations are:

• To ensure printing lines up with the finished box the board is printed very early in the manufacturing process. Before the box is die cut or patched with a window.
• When manufacturing cake boxes, there is a certain cost involved in setting up printing machines, die-cut machines, and other machines required in the process, so to make it viable to run, there needs to be a minimum of 2,000pcs before the time taken to set these machines up will pay off.

• Higher Costs

Generic cake boxes are often run-in high volumes like 10,000 – 100,000pcs to make it efficient which in effect brings the cost down. As a result, many customers like you purchase the same items as many others.  

Custom printing your cake boxes requires a specific run therefore bringing the cost per unit higher as it is likely you would be wanting less than these higher numbers. 

• It can takes longer to receive your packaging

As your custom branded cake boxes are waiting in line for their special run, it normally takes factories from 4-8 weeks from when they receive your order through to delivery. 

PRINTING SET UP

Did you know that when printing boxes, most print processing requires a print plate? Print plates require special processes and can typically be made of rubber or flexible plastic, and its surface contains a raised image that picks up a thin layer of ink.  

Different print processes 

If printing cake boxes is best for you, let me help you understand the different print processes between flexographic and litho laminate detailing their advantages and disadvantages so you can make an informed decision: 

Flexographic 

This is the more traditional and original way of printing colours directly to board inline often during the die cutting procedure. Allowing high speed production. 

Advantages of Flexographic print 

• This is cost effective to print and doesn’t cost a lot more per piece to running a plain cake box.

Disadvantages of Flexographic print 

• High setup costs 

It can cost anything from $600-3000 per colour depending on the machine used to print the board. 

• Quality of Print

Quality of print while it has vastly improved over the years, it is a lower quality print due to the speed in which it is applied to the board. 

Litho Laminate

This process is more complex with added steps in the manufacturing process. The key additions are: 

• Printing colours up to 5 or 6 colours or a full colour print onto a quality coated paper (this is a poster).
• The posters are then adhered to individual sheets of corrugated board.

Advantages of Litho Laminate 

• Very Flexible printing capability

There is a lot more flexibility about what you can print, including ability to print full colour imagery and high-quality prints and graphics.

Disadvantages of Litho Laminate 

• Due to much longer processing time the unit cost is normally higher by 50-100%.
• Scuffing and easy to damage
  

Dark colours can show scuffing and imperfections very easily and this can happen in transit before you have received your goods. 

And finally there is a third alternative, DIY.

I WOULD RATHER DIY MY BRANDING ON MY CAKE BOXES

If printing cake boxes sound like too much paraphernalia, or too much investment but you still want to get your brand on your cake boxes there are alternatives in the marketplace.  

There are three possible choices, and the good news is that they are all NZ based: 

• Purchase a custom-made stamp. They give your cake boxes a rustic, yet stylish and contemporary appeal, and are versatile enough to use on all our cake box range. We recommend the Wellington Rubber Stamp Company. 
• If you’re looking for a label, then our top pick would be Kiwi Labels or Labels Plus for small quantities with easy quote/order online functionality

And finally, 

• For a wax seal you can purchase a wax gun and buy wax sticks from Stamps Plus 

With all the processes mentioned above there are some advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages in branding your own Cake Boxes 

• It’s a simple and easy start to branding your cake boxes.
• You can start branding in as little as 5 working days from today.
• You only need to purchase a little as 1 carton of cake boxes so that you can keep your storage to a minimum.
• Utilise down time in a more effective way. There’s always some time before or after the customers come in when your staff can have turns at adding your brand to the cake boxes.

Disadvantages in branding your own Cake Boxes 

• If you have an eye for detail, your brand won’t be shown in the same place each time. Conversely, this may annoy or frustrate you!
• You may be tempted to stop doing this step when you get crazy busy, so a top tip is always have some ‘ready to go’.

QUICK ASSESSMENT

So to summarise when it comes to finding what the best way of branding your cake boxes is for you, here’s what we’ve found in a nutshell: 

Printing Cake boxes are usually a good fit for those who: 

• Don’t have cash constraints in their business
• Doing more than approx. 200 of the same size cakes per week.
• Who have a brand that they want to hold onto for a long time
• Have sufficient storage to receive the whole amount purchased in 1 delivery

Stamping, Labelling, or Wax Sealing are usually a good fit for those who: 

• Have a small budget
• Just starting out in Business
• Have little storage
• Love the Hand-Crafted look

With all this in mind, if you’re ready to just stick with plain cake boxes or do your own branding on a stock range you can check out our range of cake boxes. 

At Berica we are committed to providing you with the latest information that can assist your business.  Have a look at our other articles here.

berica.co.nz | 0800 237 422 | sales@berica.co.nz