Why Wrap-Around Packaging Is the Smart Choice for Your Business

When it comes to packaging your products, choosing the right solution is crucial. For your business packaging choice can significantly impact your costs, environmental footprint, and overall efficiency. for our own Brewery The Moersleutel, we explored the benefits of switching from traditional folding boxes to wrap-around boxes for our beer packaging. Let’s take a closer look at how this shift could benefit your business as well. *

The differences between folding boxes and Wrap-Around boxes

Material Use: Folding boxes require additional flaps for sealing, leading to higher material consumption. Wrap-around boxes eliminate unnecessary material, reducing waste with 31%.
Efficiency: Folding boxes often require manual handling or extra adjustments during the packing process, while wrap-around boxes are fully compatible with our Automatic Case Packer, streamlining your operations.
Carbon Footprint: Folding boxes have a higher environmental impact due to their design. The American folding box has 116 g/CO2 per box. Wrap-around boxes, by contrast, use less material and contribute to a lower carbon footprint, emitting only 84.5 g/CO2 per box.
Cost: Wrap-around boxes are 31% more cost-effective due to their streamlined design and reduced material usage.

Traditional folding box

Wrap around box

Cost and Environmental Impact: Calculations for Your Brewery

To show how these packaging solutions could benefit your business, we calculated the costs and environmental impact for a production volume of 10.000 hectoliters (HL) of beer, packaged in 0.33 cl cans with a 4×3 box orientation. For traditional folding boxes, the costs may vary based on your supplier and order volume, estimated:

The 12-pack 33cl folding boxes cost approximately €231 per 1.000 boxes.
The 24-pack 33cl folding boxes cost around €340 per 1.000 boxes. Including the cost of tape for sealing, the total estimated packaging expense yearly is around €46.544.

Additionally, the material use of folding boxes contributes to 116 g/CO2 emissions per box, which adds up significantly over large production volumes.

In comparison, wrap-around boxes provide a more cost-efficient solution:

The 12-pack 33cl side-load wrap-around boxes were priced at approximately €162 per 1,000 boxes.
The 24-pack 33cl wrap-around boxes cost around €240 per 1,000 boxes. By using glue for sealing, the total estimated cost for wrap-around boxes would be around €31,976, representing a yearly savings of over €14.500.

Additional Benefits of Wrap-Around Packaging

More efficiënt Palletization: Wrap-around boxes, with their thinner design, create a more compact package, allowing better palletization and reducing storage and handling costs.
Optimized Truckloads: The more efficient use of space leads to optimized truckloads, reducing transportation costs and minimizing pallet costs.

These efficiencies translate to substantial cost reductions across the entire logistics chain, benefiting your business bottom line.

Your savings over 5 years

By switching to wrap-around packaging, your business could see significant savings both immediately and over time. With potential savings of €14,500 per year, the total savings over 5 years would be approximately €72,836.

Preparing for the EU Green Deal

In addition to the immediate financial benefits, transitioning to wrap-around packaging helps future-proof your business. As the EU Green Deal and the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) come into play, sustainability is becoming more important than ever in the packaging industry. By making the switch now, you’ll not only reduce your environmental footprint, but you’ll also be ahead of regulatory changes that will soon affect packaging practices.

Adopting wrap-around packaging is more than just a smart business decision—it’s a commitment to sustainability and innovation. This step ensures that your business stays competitive, appeals to an increasingly eco-conscious customer base, and strengthens your brand’s position as an industry leader in both cost-effectiveness and environmental responsibility.

By choosing this future-forward approach, your business will be well-positioned to thrive in an evolving market while continuing to meet the growing demand for sustainable practices.

* Disclaimer: The box prices mentioned in this blog are based on estimates and are for illustrative purposes only. Actual costs may vary depending on the supplier, order volume, and other factors. Always consult your own supplier for accurate price quotes and terms.