From the Desk of Packaging Chic | November 2025
Yeah, November. The month many of us change our clocks. It’s also the month when everyone asks, “Where did the year go?!”
Of course, a lot of us are also saying THANK YOU to family, friends, clients, suppliers, fans and even strangers! Happy Thanksgiving!
Running a Packaging Business While Supporting Other Founders
People sometimes assume that because I help brands produce packaging, I must have everything running smoothly behind the scenes in my own business. The truth? I’m a founder just like many of my clients — managing timelines, juggling multiple projects, keeping cash flow steady, and making decisions that affect real people and real money.
The overlap is the point. I don’t just understand the pressure of a launch timeline, an unexpected packaging change, or a supplier delay — I live it too. Packaging isn’t just a creative exercise. It’s operations, forecasting, budgeting, trust, and leadership. And the closer we get to Q1, the more the hidden details matter.
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
Everything Worked . . . Except What Mattered
When the supplier said it would “look the same” and the customer said otherwise.
This month’s project spotlight is a somewhat painful reminder that packaging can “pass” every technical test and still fail the brand test.
At the client’s request, we moved pouch production to a U.S.-based manufacturer. The rep who handled the original run overseas was now with this new supplier, and assured us the new pouches would look and perform the same as before. Hey, he’s the expert in flexible material, so I trusted him with my client’s project.
Felt like this for months . . .
Well, they didn’t look the same. And service was less than stellar.
The pouches arrived weeks late, and while they functioned correctly, they looked noticeably different. Customers noticed too — some even questioned whether the product was authentic! While waiting, the client had to ship in three rounds of unbranded emergency pouches just to stay on top of order demand.
I documented the full timeline, requested testing, negotiated a credit, and ultimately adjusted the final invoice so the client didn’t absorb the financial burden alone — even though not all of the brand impact could be undone.
The lesson:
“Same specs” doesn’t guarantee “same result.”
And visual consistency isn’t cosmetic, it’s core to customer trust.
EDUCATION MOMENT
5 Packaging Mistakes That Slow Down Q1 Launches
Every year, brands lose time, money, and momentum because of avoidable packaging decisions. Here are the ones I see most often:
Approving artwork before confirming how it will actually be manufactured
Requesting quotes before specs are final (AKA: the fastest way to get fake numbers)
Underestimating lead times for specialty finishes, inserts, or offshore components
Not assigning internal ownership for approvals — “Who signs off?” becomes a crisis instead of a step
Skipping physical testing or mockups and assuming the screen version will behave the same in print
If any of these sound familiar, you’re not alone — and you’re exactly who I wrote the resource for!
FEATURED RESOURCE
5 Costly Packaging Mistakes (It’s a Download!)
This quick guide walks through the problems that don’t show up on the quote — but always show up in the budget, the timeline, or the stress level inside the team. It’s the same checklist I use during early production conversations with new clients, and it works whether you’re producing one SKU or a full retail line.
📌 Download: 5 Costly Packaging Mistakes (Free PDF)
Use it as a gut check before you lock in 2026 production plans.
INDUSTRY VOICE TO KNOW
Repeat spotlight is on Aggie Burnett of ABCreative NYC, a brand strategist with a sharp eye for emerging beauty founders. Her LATEST newsletter, First-Time Beauty Founders: This Is for You! offers practical, experience-backed advice for building beauty brands that connect.
If you’re in beauty or personal care, her insights on brand building and customer experience are worth adding to your regular reading.
QUICK TIP
Holiday Packaging Starts Earlier Than You Think
While many teams are racing to finish holiday 2025 production right now, the brands who always hit seasonal timelines are already planning holiday 2026! Sometimes my clients say with a dazed look in their eyes, “It’s holiday all year long! Wait what month are we in now?!”
Why? Because holiday packaging often includes:
Special finishes (foil, gloss, embossing, metallic inks)
Custom inserts or multi-piece structures
Higher order quantities + longer forecasting windows
Retailer deadlines that hit long before consumers ever see the product
If you want something premium on shelf next November, the conversation shouldn’t start in July — it should start now!
WHAT’S AHEAD
Cheers to the Holidays!
December’s post will look at 2026 packaging trends worth paying attention to — and maybe which ones will be gone before the year even starts.
If you need packaging produced, revised, or re-sourced before Q1, now is the time to reach out. Printers are already booking into next year, especially for anything with embellishments or custom materials.
Want to share what you’re up to? Let’s get on a Discovery Call! Here’s my calendar link!
