Guide / Packaging basics / Chapter 1.6
How to write a packaging brief.
A good brief gets you an accurate quote, the right recommendation and fewer surprises. Here's what to include, in the order a packaging supplier needs it.
The short answer
A packaging brief is a short document that tells your supplier what you're packing, how many you need, how it travels and how it should look. Include your product's size and weight, the quantity and how often you'll reorder, the box style you have in mind, the print you want, your deadline and your budget range. You don't need technical language. Clear facts and a few photos are worth more than a perfect specification.
Why a brief matters
Packaging quotes depend on many small details: size, board, print method, quantity and timing. When any of those are missing, a supplier has to guess or ask, which slows everything down and makes quotes hard to compare.
A brief also helps you. Writing it forces you to decide what the packaging needs to do before you choose how it should look. That's usually where the biggest savings are.
What to include
1. The product
What it is, its size in millimetres (length × width × height) and its weight. Note anything that matters for protection: fragile, heavy, liquid, oddly shaped, or sold as a set. Our measuring chapter explains how to measure.
2. Quantity and frequency
How many you need now, and how often you expect to reorder. Quantity, together with the box you choose, decides the print options and has a big effect on cost per unit.
3. How it travels
Posted to customers, sent by courier, sold in store or shipped on pallets. This decides how strong the packaging needs to be and whether it doubles as the shipping box.
4. The packaging you have in mind
A box style if you know it (for example a mailer box or a shipping carton), a photo of something you like, or simply "not sure, please recommend".
5. Print and finish
Plain or printed, outside or inside, one colour or full colour, and the board colour you prefer, such as kraft brown, white or black. Mention any finishes you're interested in.
6. Timing and budget
When you need the packaging in hand, and a rough budget per unit or per order if you have one. Lead times vary by print method, so a deadline helps us recommend an option that arrives in time.
Keep it short: one page, not ten
A good brief fits on one page, or in a short email. A packaging supplier needs the key facts: the product size and weight, quantity, how it travels, the print you want, your deadline and your budget. That's it.
Long briefs slow things down. A 5–10 page document, especially one written by an AI tool, buries the details that matter under background, brand stories and general wording. Your supplier then has to dig out the facts, may miss one, and usually comes back with questions anyway.
- Lead with the facts. Size, weight, quantity, deadline. Put them first, as a short list.
- Skip the background. Your brand history and market research don't change the box. Add a sentence only if it affects the packaging.
- Check anything an AI tool wrote. AI tools often add requirements you didn't ask for, invent specifications, or sound certain about details you haven't decided. Cut it back to what you actually know.
- Use photos, not paragraphs. A photo of your product and a box you like says more than a page of description.
- Say "please recommend". If you're unsure about board, style or print, say so. That's what your supplier is there for.
A one-page brief template
There's nothing to download: copy these headings into an email or document and fill in what you know. Leave anything you're unsure of as "please recommend".
| Heading | What to write | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Product | What it is, product size in mm, weight. For a reorder, the existing internal box size (labelled as such) | Candle in glass jar, product 90 × 90 × 110 mm, 450 g |
| Quantity | Now, and reorder frequency | 250 now, about 250 every two months |
| Travel | How it reaches the customer | Posted Australia-wide, some market sales |
| Style | Box or bag type, or a reference photo | Mailer box, opens like a gift |
| Colours, coverage, inside or outside | One-colour logo on lid, kraft brown board | |
| Protection | Inserts, filler, cushioning, fragile notes, any size tolerance | Fragile, needs an insert or filler |
| Timing | Date needed in hand | Before 1 November |
| Budget | Range per unit or per order | Open, please suggest options |
What it means for you
The same question, answered for where your business is today.
Choose your stage at the top of the page to open the advice for you.
Start-up · under 100 units
Keep it short. Your product size, quantity and a photo of a box you like is enough to start. Ask for a recommendation rather than a fixed specification.
If you're unsure of quantities, ask for prices at two or three quantities so you can compare.
Growing · 100 to 2,499 units
Add your reorder pattern and every product the packaging needs to fit. A supplier can often suggest one size that covers several products.
Try this: include your current packaging costs and problems, such as damage or slow packing, so the recommendation solves them.
Enterprise · 2,500 units and more
Turn the brief into a full packaging specification: board, dimensions, print method, colours, tolerances and packing quantities. Use the same document for every order and every site.
Share the brief with your warehouse team too, so practical issues are raised early.
Common mistakes
- 1Sending a long, padded brief. A 5–10 page document, especially an AI-written one, hides the facts your supplier needs. Keep it to one page or a short email.
- 2Giving only a box size for a new product. For a new fit we need the product's size and how you'll protect it. For a like-for-like reorder, the existing internal box size is fine.
- 3Leaving out quantity. Price per unit changes a lot with quantity. Without it, a quote can't be accurate.
- 4Describing the look but not the job. Start with what the packaging must do, then how it should look.
- 5Forgetting the deadline. Custom packaging takes time to make. A date helps us suggest an option that arrives in time.
Packaging brief questions
What is a packaging brief?
Do I need technical knowledge to write a brief?
What's the most important thing to include?
Should I include a budget?
How long should a packaging brief be?
Can I send photos instead of a written brief?
Keep reading
Popular starting points
Ready to send your brief?
Send us what you know, even if it's just a size, a quantity and a photo. Our Melbourne packaging team will reply with a recommendation, usually within 1 business day.