Holiday demand starts long before December. So should your packaging. For B2B and D2C brands alike, Q4 is the most critical—and most chaotic—shipping window of the year. Lead times stretch. Material availability tightens. Freight costs spike. And late packaging decisions almost always translate to missed revenue. The summer months are your opportunity to lock in inventory, fine-tune designs, and ensure packaging won’t be the reason you fall behind when holiday orders start flooding in. Production and Lead Times Are Already Under Pressure Holiday packaging needs to be ordered, produced, and delivered well before peak season begins. But many businesses underestimate just how early they need to act. Custom corrugated orders can carry lead times of 6–8 weeks by late summer, with delays compounding as demand surges across print vendors, die cutters, and fulfillment partners. Waiting until September or October often means settling for compromises in design, quality, or cost. Early preparation lets you finalize specs while lead times are shorter and production capacity is still available. Whether you’re running custom-printed RSCs, branded folding cartons, or seasonal POP displays, June–August is the window for stress-free production. Design Revisions Take Time—Don’t Rush Them Holiday campaigns usually require refreshed branding, new inserts, or modified packaging configurations to accommodate limited-time products or bundles. But packaging design is a technical process. Structural testing, prototyping, dieline creation, and regulatory compliance all require coordination—and last-minute updates can introduce unnecessary risks. Summer is the time to work through revisions carefully. It ensures you don’t rush through decisions that impact protection, retail appeal, or brand perception when it matters most. Lock in Materials Before Seasonal Shortages Hit Packaging material supply is cyclical. By fall, board mills and film suppliers prioritize large Q4 contracts, often pushing out smaller runs or limiting availability of specific substrates and coatings. In 2023, certain grades of white corrugated and foil-lined board were backordered for weeks by early October. When you plan in summer, you avoid price hikes and limited availability. You also give your packaging partner time to source cost-effective materials with enough buffer to meet demand. Peak Shipping Costs Can Be Reduced with Smart Packaging Smart packaging design finalized early can help you avoid excess freight charges later. Optimizing box dimensions, reducing cube size, and minimizing overpackaging helps reduce parcel volume and weight—which directly translates to savings during the holiday shipping crunch. Start those conversations in summer, and you’ll have time to test structural changes and confirm compatibility with carriers before rates spike in Q4. Final Takeaway: Summer Planning Is a Competitive Advantage If you want to avoid rush fees, stockouts, design errors, and missed retail windows, start your packaging preparation now. Whether you need custom printed corrugated boxes, retail-ready displays, or e-commerce inserts, the businesses that act in Q3 are the ones best positioned to capitalize in Q4. Need help getting ahead of the holiday packaging curve? Contact Brown Packaging to start planning your seasonal packaging strategy today. (714)300-0650 request@brownpackaging.com Most Recent Posts: Categories: Corrugated Ecommerce ESD Design Display Flexible Packaging Foam Folding Carton Packaging Plastic Packaging Pouch Printing Protection Retail Rigid Box Thermoform Sustainability Subscribe To Our Newsletter By submitting your information, you agree to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. Custom Packaging Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Relevant Posts

The Challenge of Multi-SKU Holiday Programs During the holiday season, brands often shift from selling single products to curated sets, bundled assortments, and promotional kits—each combining multiple SKUs into one sellable unit. This strategy boosts perceived value, enables cross-selling, and aligns with gift-buying behaviors across retail and e-commerce. But while multi-SKU kits may look polished on shelves or in unboxing videos, behind the scenes they demand precision planning and execution. For packaging managers, the holiday period brings tighter timelines and higher volumes—but also greater SKU complexity. That means more: Coordinated inventory requirements Custom inserts and structural builds Labeling and tracking of subcomponents Retail compliance across kit formats Without an experienced kitting strategy in place, small errors can ripple across thousands of units—leading to delays, rework, or even chargebacks. Key Elements of Successful Holiday Multi-SKU Kitting Whether you’re packaging electronics with accessories, pairing skincare SKUs into gift sets, or bundling tools and manuals for a new product launch, each element of the kit must be accounted for both functionally and visually. Successful multi-SKU holiday kitting requires: Structural Design for Multi-Component Fit Die-cut corrugated inserts, folding cartons, and rigid partitions help hold items in place and prevent shifting. Components must remain secure in transit, but also present well when opened. Accurate SKU Mapping and Inventory Coordination Kits should be mapped with exact SKU usage to avoid over/understocking individual items. Version control is also key—especially for products with seasonal variants. Efficient Line Setup for Packout The kitting process should minimize touchpoints. That means smart workstation layout, batching logic, and easy identification of each component using barcodes or pre-sorted totes. Retail & E-Commerce Compliance Holiday kits often go to big-box, online, and regional retailers—each with different compliance rules for outer labeling, pallet configuration, and product orientation. Why Early Planning for Multi-SKU Kitting Matters Lead time compression is the biggest enemy of multi-SKU kitting during the holidays. The more SKUs in a kit, the more touchpoints and chances for delay—especially if custom components like printed cartons or foam inserts are involved. Waiting until Q4 to finalize packaging or book kitting services leads to: Backordered components Limited fulfillment labor Higher expedited costs Reduced flexibility for promotional changes Brands that succeed in holiday kitting begin planning by mid-to-late summer, allowing time for design revisions, sample approvals, and fulfillment reservations. How Brown Packaging Supports Multi-SKU Kitting We support clients through every stage of holiday kitting, offering: Packaging design for organized, protective multi-item kits Sourcing and production of custom inserts, trays, folding cartons, and RSC boxes In-house or partnered kitting, co-packing, and display assembly Inventory tracking and labeling per SKU, batch, and destination Retail and e-commerce fulfillment with routing compliance Whether it’s 500 units or 50,000+, our kitting process is built to handle high volume without compromising on quality, speed, or accuracy. Final Takeaway Multi-SKU kits are one of the most powerful tools for driving holiday sales—but they’re also among the most operationally demanding. From packaging configuration to inventory planning and fulfillment, every element needs to work in sync. The earlier you begin, the smoother your holiday programs will run. Let’s get your holiday kits right—start the conversation with Brown Packaging today. (714)300-0650 request@brownpackaging.com Most Recent Posts: Categories: Corrugated Ecommerce ESD Design Display Flexible Packaging Foam Folding Carton Packaging Plastic Packaging Pouch Printing Protection Retail Rigid Box Thermoform Sustainability Subscribe To Our Newsletter By submitting your information, you agree to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. Custom Packaging Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Relevant Posts