Is Your Packaging Supplier Helping You Meet Child Resistant Regulations?

Before your packaging can help sell your product on retailers’ shelves, it needs to get onto the shelves in the first place. Many industries have rules and regulations governing both the structural requirements for packaging and the information about the product that must be clearly conveyed by the packaging. These rules are particularly strict for products such as pharmaceuticals, medicinal supplements, and recreational drugs like cannabis. Even the best packaging solution is ultimately ineffective if it’s kept off the shelf by a failure to meet a state’s code or guideline. It is critical that you have a conversation with a potential packaging supplier about rules and regulations before you commit to that supplier. Here are some questions to keep in mind when trying to identify the best packaging supplier for you.

Is your primary packaging already child resistant? Does the secondary packaging need to be?

If the primary jar, vial, or other primary container holding your product is child resistant (CR) itself, the secondary paperboard packaging may not need to be. Know if your product needs secondary packaging that is also CR (or if you might need this later for a product not yet fully developed), and ask any potential packaging suppliers about their experience with and knowledge about developing CR packaging solutions. Have they developed these in the past? Are they working on any current projects? Be specific about the substrates, structural specifications, and any other issues you anticipate may need to addressed in the future.

What state codes and regulations need to be met? Is the supplier able to develop a consumer-friendly solution that meets these?

Your packaging supplier should have an awareness of regulations and maybe even some state codes, but to ensure that your packaging is in compliance with all relevant laws, make sure you know the regulations pertinent to your specific industry so your packaging supplier can walk into the project with all the necessary information.

Be direct: can this packaging supplier develop a solution that meets regulations, is easy for your consumers to use and distinguishes my brand? Can they do it on a timeline that gets your product to market quickly? If not, it’s time to look elsewhere. You don’t have months to wait for a solution that may or may not work. Choose a supplier with a history of nimbly approaching packaging challenges and getting projects done on a tight schedule.

Have you looked at all your options?

Particularly in the realm of CR packaging, you may not be aware of many options, and it can be tempting to settle for the first supplier you come across. But slow turnaround, unreasonable prices, low quality, and limited options only hurt your business in the long term. Take the time to find a packaging supplier with the expertise and resources you need to get to market quickly and consistently.

Need child-resistant packaging for your supplements, pharmacueticals, medical marijuana packaging, or another product? Find out more about our experience delivering CR packaging designs.