.
What if the product you make could help a school buy new equipment? What if it could become a thank-you to every volunteer in your community? Celebrate a hometown milestone? Introduce people to a local cause? Or bring several businesses together to create something none of them could have created alone?
You don’t need to change the product or make something new. Just get creative with the packaging.
Instead of thinking of packaging only as the container that gets your product onto a shelf, imagine it as the beginning of an idea. A special-edition box created for a community celebration. A package that transforms a favorite local food into a fundraiser.
A gift box filled by several area manufacturers, each contributing something it does especially well. A familiar product reimagined to support a school, thank a volunteer, or tell the story of a local cause.
With the right product, the right partners and a little bit of creative, all of these outcomes are very possible.
Recently, we at Ashtonne Packaging partnered with our local Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce to help them recognize each of its 626 members. We created a special “Cracker Jack” inspired box. That box was then filled with caramel popcorn from a local candy company, Ashley Candy & Nut Shoppe.
The candy company made something delicious. The Chamber created a moment of appreciation. Ashtonne built the idea that connected them. Each partner just did what it did best!
And look at what came from it: 626 local businesses received a fun and unexpected thank-you. A local candy maker’s product reached hundreds of people. The Chamber strengthened its connection with its members. And the entire project became a physical reminder of what a community can create when its businesses work together.
Your product may already be capable of doing far more than you imagined. Creative packaging can give it a completely new role in your community.
Here are five possibilities worth opening up.
If you’re like us, you support local fundraisers whether you need the product or not. We didn’t necessarily need another roll of wrapping paper. We weren’t waiting for a catalog filled with products we had never heard of. We bought because we cared about the person or the cause.
A local food manufacturer could create a special package for a school band, athletic team, church, animal shelter, or community organization. Part of each purchase could support the cause, while the packaging introduces the organization, explains what the money will accomplish, and recognizes the local partners making it possible.
The same idea could work with candy, coffee, baked goods, candles, personal-care products, pet treats, or almost anything people enjoy buying and sharing.
The package is what turns the product into their fundraiser. It gives the campaign its own identity and helps buyers feel connected to where their money is going.
Every community has products people are proud to call their own.
Brought together in a thoughtfully designed package, they can tell the story of an entire community. A company could use that collection as a holiday gift for customers. A hospital could welcome a new physician with products from the community they are joining. A university could send it to a visiting speaker or prospective employee. A local development organization could give it to a business considering a move into the area.
It could even become a way for established manufacturers to make room for younger or smaller businesses that deserve to be discovered.
The goal isn’t to gather a few unrelated products and place them in a box. The opportunity is to create something cohesive that explains why each business was included and what those businesses collectively say about the place they call home. That’s where the creative packaging comes in.
The product is the story. The packaging tells it!
Schools are surrounded by generic fundraising products and mass-produced promotional items. But school pride is personal.
Creative packaging can capture some of that.
Imagine a local snack renamed for the school mascot. A package that features student artwork. A box designed to resemble the school building. A series of packages celebrating local school history. Or a gift created specifically for graduating seniors, with contributions from several businesses that have watched them grow up.
The product becomes more meaningful because it couldn’t belong to just any school. It belongs to their school.
It’s not hard to ship a box of candy bars in a box designed exclusively for a school. It’s smart!
Communities are full of moments worth marking: a bicentennial, a championship, a major anniversary, a downtown festival, the opening of a new park, the restoration of a landmark, or the retirement of someone who has spent a lifetime serving others.
A special-edition package gives people something tangible to connect with that moment. It may be purchased, presented as a gift, included with event admission, or saved as a keepsake long after the product inside has been enjoyed.
This way we aren't asking "How can we sell more of it". We're stating "This matters. How can we part of it".
When that involvement is sincere, people remember the businesses that showed up.
The goodwill and recognition are real. And, who knows, maybe it helps to build a brand and drive growth. That’s a nice perk, don’t you think?
The cause doesn’t have to be enormous. In fact, the most natural partnership may be deeply local.
A food company might create a special package supporting a neighborhood food pantry. A pet-product manufacturer could partner with an animal rescue. A personal-care brand could work with a shelter serving women and families. A manufacturer with strong ties to veterans could help a local organization reach people who need its services.
Or you could simply design packaging that always and automatically ties you to a cause that you support. Make it part of your brand so that like-minded customers will associate you in that way.
Your product already travels into stores, workplaces, homes, and gatherings. For the right cause, its package could carry a story along with it.
It may already be something people enjoy, trust, use, give or share.
Ashtonne Packaging doesn't need you to arrive with a completed design or a fully developed campaign. Bring us your product. Tell us about the people or purpose you care about. Introduce us to a potential partner, or let's think together about who else should belong at the table.
If any of this inspires you, and we hope that it does, let us know. Let's talk about ways your business can participate in a big time Win/Win way in support of your community, and towards your brand of being there for what matters the most.
At Ashtonne Packaging, we have the front -row privilege of seeing everything and everyone that goes into helping put all this together. Reach out and let's talk about how we can bring some of that behind the scenes excellence to your next idea or project. Call 877-522-6937 or contact us via email here and we'll guarantee someone will get in touch with you fast!