There are generally four types of packaging: primary packaging or sales packaging, secondary packaging or grouped packaging, tertiary packaging or transport packaging, and service packaging. (IVCIE, 2016) Secondary packaging has two main functions: branding & display and logistics. (DEUFOL – secondary, 2016) Tertiary packaging has three main purposes as well: protection, versatility, and customized solutions. (DEUFOL – tertiary, 2016)
Secondary packaging, aka grouped packaging, “is used to collate primary units for ease of handling in the selling environment” (Prevent and Save, 2016). This type of packaging includes “cardboard boxes or trays, or shrink-wrapped plastic packs containing a number of primary units” (Prevent and Save, 2016). This type of packaging makes an impact in marketing strategies when companies have to pack their products in certain ways for display; it also “serves to group several products together for ease of handling, transport and storage” (DEUFOL – secondary, 2016). Secondary packaging does not only serves the purpose to protect the product, but also for packaging that can be visually seen to the customers in business displays. (DEUFOL – secondary, 2016) In other words, when primary packaging is not sufficient enough to package certain products, secondary packaging comes into play.
Tertiary packaging, aka transport packaging, is to handle “secondary packs in order to prevent handling and transport damage” (Prevent and Save, 2016). This type of packaging can be “pallets, stretch-wrap plastic film or shrink-wrapped plastic hoods”, which includes protective items, such as “cardboard guards, layer pads, or pallet caps” (Prevent and Save, 2016). One of tertiary packaging’s main jobs is to offer a protection “against the elements such as humidity, excessive temperatures or heavy weather” (DEUFOL – tertiary, 2016). Another main job of tertiary packaging is to prepare for “multiple stages in transit before the product reaches its final destination” (DEUFOL – tertiary, 2016). In other words, the tertiary packaging has to be strong enough to tolerate the multiple uploads, offloads, re-packaging, and other ways of storage of the product(s) and still remain good conditions without being damaged. The third purpose of this packaging is to be able to customized as much as possible to individual client’s needs. “The focus here is on packaging that is lightweight, robust, easy to handle and that takes up as little space as possible” (DEUFOL – tertiary, 2016).
- Deufol.com – secondary. (2016). Secondary packaging. Retrieved from http://www.deufol.com/en/glossary/secondary-packaging.html.
- Deufol.com – tertiary. (2016).Tertiary packaging. Retrieved from http://www.deufol.com/en/glossary/transport-packaging.html.
- IVCIE. (2016). Types of packaging. Retrieved from http://www.ivcie.be/en/page.php?pageId=513.
- Prevent and Save. (2016). Chapter 2: Packaging Terminology. Retrieved from http://www.preventandsave.ie/documents/Toolkit/Toolkit/Toolkit_Ch2_Packaging_Terminology.pdf.
