Marketing strategy for a packaging company: rules first, then the plan

Rule 1: Recyclable and compostable claims

The FTC's Green Guides say a product or package should not be marketed as recyclable unless it can be collected, separated or otherwise recovered from the waste stream through an established recycling program, and that unqualified recyclable claims are for items where facilities are available to a substantial majority, at least 60 percent, of consumers or communities where the item is sold; otherwise the claim must be qualified. Compostable claims need substantiation that the item breaks down into usable compost in a timely manner. In California, SB 343 deems a chasing arrows symbol, among other symbols, statements or directions, a deceptive or misleading claim unless the product or packaging is recyclable under statewide criteria.

Rule 2: Extended producer responsibility

EPR laws shift the cost of packaging's end of life to producers, and they change what brands ask of their suppliers. CalRecycle describes California's SB 54 as a new extended producer responsibility program for packaging and single-use plastic food service ware across every sector of the economy, giving primary responsibility for managing products after their useful life to producers. Oregon's Recycling Modernization Act (SB 582) took effect on 1 January 2022, with program changes from July 2025, and producers of packaged items, paper products and food serviceware pay for many of the improvements. Brands now want data from their packaging suppliers: material composition, weights and recyclability evidence. Suppliers who provide it easily win business.

Rule 3: Selling into the EU

The European Commission's packaging waste page says the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) replaces the 1994 Packaging Directive, has been in force since 11 February 2025, and has an application date of 12 August 2026, establishing a harmonized regime for packaging placed on the EU market. Exporters to the EU, or suppliers to brands that sell there, need to be ready for the questions it raises.

Part 1: Position by format, end use and proof

Choose where you compete: the formats you make well (cartons, flexible pouches, bags, trays, labels), the end uses you know (food, retail, e-commerce, industrial), and what you can prove about materials, recycled content and end of life. Say it in a sentence and use it everywhere. A company that is clearly the right supplier for one end use gets shortlisted more often than one that claims to make everything for everyone.

Part 2: Content that helps buyers meet the rules

Packaging buyers need help understanding the rules above and choosing formats that meet them. A plain explainer on what "recyclable" means under the Green Guides, a guide to the data an EPR program will ask a brand for, a comparison of formats for one end use, a case description (with the brand's permission) of a switch to a recyclable format: this content earns trust and inquiries. CMI's 2027 research found 40% of B2B marketers are spending more on owned media; for a packaging maker, that means your own site and library. Google's helpful content guidance asks whether a page shows first-hand expertise, which in packaging means data and the people who produced it.

Part 3: Be found for formats and materials

Buyers search for a format and a material ("compostable stand-up pouch supplier", "recycled board folding carton manufacturer", "jute bags wholesale"), often with an end use or a region. Each should land on a format or material page that carries the specifications, the evidence and the sample path. Our guide to designing a packaging maker's website covers those pages, and our B2B SEO service covers being found for them.

Part 4: LinkedIn for named buyers

The buyers are named: packaging managers, procurement leads and sustainability managers at brands in your end uses, and buyers at packaging distributors. LinkedIn's ad targeting reaches members by job title, company, industry and seniority. Use it to put a compliance explainer or a format comparison in front of those roles, and to support a new format launch.

Part 5: Samples

Packaging is bought after it is held. Make stock samples easy to request from every format page, explain how custom samples and proofs work and how long they take, and follow up each sample on a date with the person who requested it. Track samples sent and orders that follow, by format and end use.

Part 6: Repeat orders

Packaging is a repeat purchase, so the customers you keep matter as much as the ones you win. Keep in touch with useful updates (new materials, compliance changes, capacity), review annual volumes with key accounts, and make reordering easy. That email is commercial email: in the USA the FTC's CAN-SPAM guide requires accurate headers, a postal address and an opt-out honored within 10 business days, with penalties up to $53,088 per email, and in Canada CASL requires consent first.

How to measure it

Each month, by format and end use: sample requests, samples that became orders, new buyers, repeat buyers and their annual volume, quotes won, and inquiries started by compliance content. Visits and followers are context; repeat buyers and annual volume are the numbers to move.

If you want it run with you

PromotEdge International is an international strategy, technology, marketing and design company, and our delivery team is in India. Packaging clients we have worked for include Sara International, a maker of jute, cotton and juco bags, for its business in India, delivered by our team there. Our manufacturers marketing service and content writing pages describe the work; we do no pack design or printing. This guide is general information, not legal advice; your compliance team decides what each claim may say in each market.

Facts we rely on: see our company facts for what we state about ourselves and where each fact comes from.