Kraft Boxes vs. Cardboard Boxes: Which is Better for Your Business?

New to the business world and thinking about which packaging will be the right choice for your products? Packaging is one of the crucial aspects of any business. The right packaging will not only protect your products but will also add up to the marketing and branding factors. The variety of packaging varies from kraft boxes to cardboard boxes depending on what kind of business you are in and its preferences. Let’s dive into the article to thoroughly understand which packaging is better for your business. 

Kraft boxes

These boxes are manufactured from unbleached recyclable material, making them a perfect choice for product packaging. In case your customers are conscious about the environment, they can be used even after recycling. Usually, these storage boxes are involved in packaging cosmetics, food items, and other products, which require fragile yet strengthening holding features. These packaging boxes can easily handle some wear and tear during shipping.

Cardboard boxes 

Corrugated cardboard is used to manufacture these storage boxes that offer high strengthening and durability features. The reason is they are manufactured using multiple paperboard layers. Depending on your needs, you can customize corrugated boxes, like designs, colours, logos, or other printing features. Manufacturers use these packaging boxes for packing stock products, heavy items or electronics, and even fragile products that require an extra cushioning effect. These boxes assist the brands to stand out among the competitors. 

Comparison of Kraft and Cardboard Boxes

Strength And Thickness 

The first and foremost thing you must consider while selecting the right packaging box for your business is its strength and thickness. No matter how much you have focused on the printing and design, if the box is not strong enough to handle the weight, it is of no use.

Which box packaging should be used for the product depends on its weight. The package’s sturdiness and rigidity depend on what material is used for its manufacturing.

One of the best kinds of strengthening material is used in the production of kraft boxes. In German, kraft means strength, and manufacturers use these boxes for stock products due to their durability and reliability. Businesses that deal in heavy machinery use them for their product. 

On the other hand, cardboard boxes are famous for their excellent aesthetics and versatility. These boxes offer the same features as the custom kraft packaging boxes, but the distinguishing factor is they are slightly less rigid. Industries dealing with cosmetics, clothing, and others use cardboard for packaging. 

Cost-effective

The next factor is the price of the package. If the product packaging is costly, not many consumers will buy the product, resulting in product sales slowing down. No doubt, both packaging materials provide strength and protection to the products. 

But kraft packaging boxes prove to be somehow costly due to the material thickness. You can enjoy amazing discounts if you place bulk orders for packaging boxes. Using biodegradable stock not only impacts the environment but is also cost-effective.

Customizing packaging boxes

When you offer customization features to your clients, your sales rank up. It assists in grabbing clients’ attention to a considerable level. Cardboard boxes offer various customization options, whether related to size, shape, or design style. The range varies from pillow, square, triangular to rectangular, and so on. On the other hand, kraft packaging boxes come only in square or rectangular choices. 

Size

Based on product size, the size of the package varies too. As cardboard offers extensive flexibility options, it’s easier to customize them than kraft boxes. Due to the material thickness and less flexibility, changing them in diverse options is difficult. But the products are more secure in kraft packaging boxes than corrugated boxes. 

Printing compatibility 

Apart from the customization and size of the product package, the next factor to consider is printing compatibility. Corrugated boxes are slightly thin, which makes printing an easier task on them. In contrast, the sturdiness of kraft paper proves to be a hurdle in the printing sector. 

Another considerable point is kraft paper comes in brown or white colour only, which limits the diversity of printing choices. As these boxes come in diverse colours, it’s easy to add digital printing aesthetics to the boxes.

Unit and bulk packaging 

Cardboard boxes are preferable and routinely used in unit packaging in almost every industry. At the same time, manufacturers use these boxes for storage and shipping of bulk products. Products like heavy machinery and electronic equipment are stored and shipped using kraft packaging boxes as they are huge and spacious. 

Also, these boxes do not need any extra materials for assembling. Kraft boxes deal with heavy equipment, requiring proper seals or tape to secure the product inside the package.

Kraft Boxes vs. Cardboard Boxes: Which is Better for Your Business?

Annually, the cardboard box and container manufacturing industry generate a revenue of $81.7bn. So, the question is which packaging box will be better for you! Look at the businesses discussed below to clearly understand which packaging box you should select for your product. 

Display and Jewellery 

One of the most trending businesses nowadays is display boxes and jewellery. If you are running a retail business, whether it’s related to cosmetics, food items, decorations, or even a grocery store, kraft boxes are the right choice for you. The reason is these boxes attract customers and ultimately boost your business too. 

These boxes don’t require much space; many well-known brands place them on the countertops, which is an effective marketing technique. They are the right choice for jewellery and cosmetics like mascaras, eyeshadows, lipsticks, and even foundations. Even kraft packaging boxes are in great demand for the jewellery business too. 

Shoes and clothing

When it comes to shoes and clothing, both kraft and cardboard packaging is in demand. Many business owners use white-bleached kraft paper to give a stand-out effect to their shoe packages. While on the other hand, in the case of many apparels like shirts, ties, or even unstitched cloth, cardboard boxes are the best choices. In this industry, it depends on the customers’ preferences regarding which packaging will suit them best. 

Healthcare

Medical instruments will be damaged if the packaging is not up to the mark. Great packaging will not only protect the instruments, but it will also maintain the good hygiene of the products. Medical products should be packed in extra rigid boxes so bacteria can’t affect hygiene. They also protect the products from contamination with specific protocols. Pharmaceutical industries also use corrugated boxes so patients get their medicine properly and hygienically.  

Bakery

Another category where you can try your luck is the bakery business. Baking has become a trending business for the last few years. If you are a bakery owner and offer your customers wholesale cakes, pastries, chocolates, or other bakery items, go with the kraft packaging boxes. Depending on the occasion and your client’s demands, you can sell your items in custom boxes. These packages are in great demand for celebrations like birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, or other events.

Electronic appliances

Next comes electronic appliances. Electronic products need extra care whenever they are shipped, as a little mishandling and you’ll break the product. So, it’s necessary if you are dealing in the tech industry; all your packaging material should be sturdy and cushioned. It would be best to consider using kraft packaging boxes as they are ideal for transporting tech products.

Food industry 

Cardboard boxes prove to be the best choice in the food industry. They are resistant to bacterial infections, increasing the shelf life of food items. Another notable point is these boxes are easy to recycle as they are once used for food deliveries from place to place.

Gifts and postage boxes

Many people use kraft boxes for packing gifts instead of wrapping them up. This relieves the customers from all kinds of mess-ups due to wrapping sheets, tapes, glues, and other stuff. Another noticeable point is you can even post these parcels to your loved ones. As these small boxes are strong enough to deal with mishandling during shipping, business owners can also use them to send parcels to short or even long distances. Ensure to use tapes on the package to secure your product’s safety. Other than that, there is no hazard even when delivering fragile products in these boxes.  

Textile and luxury products 

Another market is the textile industry, where packaging matters the most. Attractive packaging attracts customers and adds up to your marketing value too. Trending from the last few years in the social media industry, customers now post their unboxing experience regarding textiles, shoes and bags, and other items. By joining hands with the fashion industry, the textile industry is now taking its business to the next level with notable marketing and packaging opportunities. 

E-commerce 

Last but not least is e-commerce, where sales are increasing daily. In e-commerce, the packaging is further distributed into secondary and tertiary packaging. The exterior packaging falls under secondary packaging. On the other hand, storage, and distribution of bulk products include tertiary packaging. Cardboard packaging boxes work as the backbone of the e-commerce industry. Numerous brands and marketing agencies have joined hands to manage the package size. All this effort is to ensure high-quality graphics to create a better in-home experience for your customers. 

Wrap up 

So, this is all about kraft and cardboard boxes. Both boxes have their own pros and cons, and both offer great strength and protection. But which will be the better one for you? It completely depends on your business. Whatever packaging you choose for your products, consider their environmental impact too. This will not only add up to your brand’s value but also bring a lot of new customers for you too.