“We were shipping plain kraft mailers with generic stickers,” the COO told me on our first call. “Average, forgettable, and not aligned with our sustainability goals.” The brief was straightforward: replace the status quo with custom printed mailing boxes that look sharp, hold up in transit, and meet stricter environmental targets.
We brought **packola** into the discussion early for rapid prototyping and file prep. Their sample run helped the team visualize what on-brand, low-impact packaging could look like without committing to a full tooling change. Here’s where it gets interesting: the creative ambition was high, but the CO₂/pack and waste targets were tighter than most mid-market DTCs set for themselves.
Over six months, the project moved from exploratory prints on Corrugated Board to production-ready boxes with Water-based Ink and G7 color guidelines. There were bumps—ink density on kraft stock, scuff resistance without lamination—but the brand stayed the course, balancing look, cost, and footprint.
Company Overview and History
Wildbrook Naturals, a North American personal care brand founded in 2017, ships 8–12k parcels per month across the U.S. and Canada. Their portfolio is broad—five hero SKUs, seasonal kits, and small-batch drops. The team had a simple question that kicked off the whole effort: “what are custom printed boxes for a brand that’s mostly online?” In other words, how do you turn a doorstep into a branded moment without unnecessary materials?
The first exploration focused on custom printed mailing boxes built on FSC-certified Corrugated Board with unbleached Kraft Paper facings. The brand wanted bold typography, modest ink coverage, and a matte feel—no plastic lamination. Digital Printing with Water-based Ink helped them test multiple layouts quickly, while keeping ΔE color shifts in check (aiming for 2–4 units). As packola designers have observed across multiple projects, kraft’s warmth can nudge brand colors; embracing that character rather than fighting it was part of the brief.
Early stakeholder feedback surfaced a few constraints: carrier handling scuffs, variable data needs for limited editions, and carton strength for heavier winter bundles. To keep the footprint lean, we ruled out film lamination and leaned on aqueous Varnishing for rub resistance. We also scoped a path for custom-made boxes for their holiday gift sets, which require tighter tolerances and more precise die-lines.
Full-Scale Ramp-Up
Phase 1 spanned four weeks of prototypes: Digital Printing on 32 ECT corrugate, Water-based Ink, and a low-gloss Varnishing pass. The turning point came when we dialed back ink coverage to avoid over-inking on Kraft Paper. Patterns were simplified, coverage fell by roughly 15–20%, and ΔE landed consistently around 2–3 on main brand colors. Die-Cutting and Gluing tests confirmed structural integrity without adding weight.
Phase 2 introduced a hybrid path: Digital Printing for Short-Run kits and Flexographic Printing for larger drops. That mix balanced agility with unit economics. Changeover Time ran about 30–45 minutes on flexo (settling near 25–35 once recipes were documented), while digital stayed nimble for Seasonal and On-Demand runs. Window Patching was off the table to avoid extra materials; instead, we refined unboxing flow via internal Folding and a clear information hierarchy.
Marketing ran a modest “packola discount code” pilot during the reveal to track DTC conversions tied to the packaging refresh. It wasn’t a silver bullet, but it helped isolate the effect of the new packola boxes versus creative changes on the website. The team kept the language clean—no hard sells on the carton—and centered the experience on texture, typography, and a short sustainability message panel.
Quantitative Results and Metrics
On the production side, FPY% settled in the 90–95% range for flexo, and near 95–98% on digital Short-Run lots. Waste rates moved down from roughly 8–10% to nearer 4–6% once ink limits and color recipes were locked. For color, ΔE stayed near 2–3 on primaries, with kraft variability nudging certain secondary tones closer to 4—acceptable given the substrate’s character.
Energy-wise, kWh/pack dropped by approximately 8–12% compared to the prior laminated setup, helped by lower curing loads and tighter throughput. CO₂/pack estimates—benchmarked via a simplified LCA—came down by roughly 10–15% with FSC materials and Water-based Ink, though the range shifted depending on shipping lane and seasonal volume. Payback Period for tooling and process changes hovered around 9–12 months, assuming steady monthly demand and two seasonal surges.
The results weren’t perfect. Scuff resistance on heavy winter bundles required a slightly tougher varnish spec, and one holiday run needed a reprint after a kraft lot showed higher porosity than expected. But the brand stayed aligned with its sustainability targets and delivered the experience they wanted. For repeat gifting SKUs, we kept using custom-made boxes with tighter board spec, while reserving digital for variable data stories and limited drops.
