Are you thinking of creating and importing a custom product? Good! It is essential when importing a product to customize it by increasing the perceived value for the consumer.
The reason why creating one’s own brand during importation is fundamental because, by customizing the product with one’s own brand, it differs from standard products of that type resold under the most famous commercial brands (e.g. Carrefour or MediaWorld).
The huge volumes of goods purchased by the giants allow these companies to practice very important economies of scale, which translate into a lower price for the end consumer.
The best solution for a small business owner is not to offer the lowest possible price, but to create their own brand and/or packaging that communicates a message, that stands out and increases the perceived value of the product.
“But who cares about an unknown brand? I’m not a brand recognized all over the world!”
In reality, even the world-renowned brands such as Coca Cola or BMW started from scratch. In addition, many consumers are now “avoiding” the big brands. But this does not mean that they are satisfied with an anonymous product; on the contrary, they are looking for niche brands, often less established, but precisely for this reason more authentic.
How to create a branded product
Placing a private label on your “Made in China” product is quite simple as it is a routine operation for many Chinese manufacturing companies. Furthermore, in most cases it involves a very small additional cost (we are talking about a few cents for customization).
However, it is important to notify the supplier from the beginning that you want to insert a brand (or logo) on the product as this is an operation that must be carried out during the process of making the product (or packaging); not a posteriori.
Here are the most common strategies for placing a brand on your product:
Logo on the product
This is the most common way to insert a trademark. Most suppliers will be able to offer you a brand printed on the product for a more than reasonable price. In this case, it is necessary to send the logo/brand to the supplier and indicate where it should be printed on the product, continuously checking that no errors occur.
Branding on the packaging
The easiest way to put a brand on your packaging is to have your logo printed on the standard packaging used by your supplier. In this case you can choose the colors and graphics, but not the shape or materials of the packaging. Obviously it is also possible to create your own personalized packaging by describing (visually or in words) the shape, material and design of this package; Clearly in that case the costs will be higher than using the standard format.
If you’re thinking of importing unbranded products from a supplier, you can still “customize” your product by putting branding on the packaging. Also consider that for many products the brand on the packaging is the only option (some products are not customizable so you can only work on the packaging).
Custom Product Design (OEM)
Developing a unique product is the best way to make your brand stand out among those of the competition. That said, inventing, designing, and manufacturing a product from scratch requires some technical expertise, deep product knowledge, and excellent supplier communication skills. It is particularly important to be able to communicate clearly and correctly the specifications of the product such as dimensions, colors, materials, components, required certification standards, etc.
If you are not sure you know how to do it, it is always advisable to be supported by a team of experts such as our project managers Importazionefacile.it who can follow the entire project to avoid errors or misunderstandings with the supplier.
How to avoid the most common mistakes?
It can happen, if you are not followed by experienced and competent people, that unfortunately things go wrong when you import from China. In this case, the excitement for the arrival of the personalized product is soon replaced by despair when you notice that the logo has been printed backwards or using the wrong colors. The best way to avoid such a scenario – forget about being able to send products back to China – is to send the supplier instructions and a list of specifications as clear as possible, as well as to be followed, for the first operations, by experts in the field.
Unfortunately, there is no generic form that can be suitable for every product sector, or a form to be filled out, which can be suitable for all types of products and their brand. However, it is possible to list some fundamental information that you should always communicate to your supplier:
- Brand size
- Color (Pantone or RAL code)
- Positioning
- Type of printing (engraving, sticker, etc.)
- Sending the logo/brand in high definition
It is also crucial to have several print samples sent to you before confirming production, and the samples must be the final production samples. Any misunderstanding that has not been resolved before the start of production will in fact give rise to an error which, depending on the severity, could affect the entire investment.
Need help importing products from China?
The brand represents more than just a logo!
Our agency can offer you professional 360° import advice and can assist you at every stage of your project, including designing and ideating new products with suppliers in China.
Rely on ImportazioneFacile.it experts who will take care of having all the specifications required by the suppliers, checking that no errors are made in design and production.
Rely on ImportazioneFacile.it’s experts, they will support you step by step by putting their many years of experience at your service, to face all the possible pitfalls that lie behind an import.
Fill out the form to get a free consultation now, describe your project and they will contact you to evaluate the best way to make it happen!
