Growth is exciting. More orders. More visibility. More demand. But at a certain point,
growth also exposes the cracks in systems that once worked just fine. One of the first
places those cracks show up is in packaging.
What worked at 1,000 units a month can quietly break down at 10,000. Labor gets tight.
Errors increase. Lead times stretch. And suddenly, packaging turns into a bottleneck
instead of a support system. That’s often the moment brands realize their packaging
strategy needs to evolve. It’s not because something is “wrong,” but because success
changed the rules.
At Ashtonne Packaging, this shift is something we see again and again: brands growing
into a new operational reality that demands smarter packaging decisions.
As unit sales climb, labor content inside your packaging process becomes one of your
most important cost drivers. The question is no longer just, “Can we get it packed?” but
“How efficiently can we scale this without burning people out or blowing up costs?”
This is where brands should actively look for bottlenecks:
* Manual box building slowing line speeds
* Hand-loading products causing inconsistent outputs
* Pallet building tying up high-value labor
* Repetitive motion tasks increasing injury risk
A 2023 McKinsey operations study found that manual packing steps can consume
up to 30–40% more labor hours once order volume scales, even when the packaging
itself hasn’t changed. Once those pressure points are visible, it becomes much easier to justify engineering changes that create real, measurable improvements.
Smart packaging engineering can transform your operation. We’re not just talking about
big ideas. We mean practical solutions that when implemented can reduce labor
dependency and unlock consistent throughput.
Depending on your product and volume, some innovative ideas might include:
• Case erectors to eliminate manual box forming
• Tray formers for faster, cleaner secondary packaging
• Robotic product insertion to stabilize speed and precision
• Palletizers to streamline end-of-line operations
These are strategic shifts that protect margins as volume climbs. In many cases, a
single automation point can free up multiple labor positions and immediately stabilize
production flow.
As your brand scales, your message almost always evolves. New positioning. New
retail channels. New customer expectations. But many brands forget to update one
critical piece of that evolution: their packaging graphics.
the graphics don’t match who you are now — not who you were years ago — you’re
leaving opportunity on the shelf.
Updated packaging also signals progress to distributors and buyers. It tells them your
brand is active, invested, and moving forward.
Every growing business knows the value of automation to ease operations. That
doesn’t come without growing pains of its own. Automation often changes packaging
formats. SKUs get downsized. Case counts change. Tray styles evolve. And when
those changes happen, materials deserve a fresh evaluation too.
This is where light-weighting and source reduction become real financial tools.
Reducing material thickness, optimizing board grades, or eliminating unnecessary
components can create meaningful savings at scale.
When done correctly, brands can lower:
* Material spend
* Freight costs
* Handling strain
* Storage requirements
All without sacrificing protection or shelf presence.
Most brands don’t outgrow their packaging because they failed. They outgrow it
because they succeed. But sustained success depends on whether operations are
allowed to mature alongside demand.
Reviewing labor content. Engineering smarter packaging flows. Introducing automation-
ready formats. Updating graphics. Reanalyzing materials. These are signs of a brand
stepping confidently into its next phase.
Growth changes everything. Smart packaging ensures your infrastructure is changing
right along with it.
If your business is growing, it makes sense to get ahead of any issues that growth can cause. We’ve helped many businesses revamp their packaging process because of past growth, and in anticipation of more of the same.
Remember, good packaging protects products. Great packaging protects reputations. Click here to read what our customers have to say. We’d love to talk with you about what is going great, and what issues might be lying in wait around the corner. Even if you are happy and satisfied with your current packaging partner, it never hurts to get a second pair of eyes on things. If you’d like to compare notes, we’re all in. Give us a call at 877-522-6937 or contact Ashtonne Packaging , and let’s talk about what we might see in your future.