Packaging
Packaging supply and design
Supplying or designing crates, bags, jars, labels and branded packs for food and farm products.
Opportunity to investigateNon-farm-based
- The problem
- The opportunity
- The customer
- The solution
- How money can flow
- What is required
- Start small
- Scale
The problem
Small producers often cannot find suitable, affordable packaging and labels.
The opportunity
Supply the right packaging in small quantities, or offer label and pack design.
The customer
- Processors
- Farmers
- Retailers
- Caterers
The solution
Stock, source or print packaging; help producers meet labelling needs.
Who pays?
Producers pay per unit or per job.
How money can flow
Margin on packaging or design fees.
What is required
- Verified suppliers
- Storage
- Design skills or partners
- Working capital
Skills needed
- Sourcing
- Design
- Customer service
Major challenges
- Minimum order sizes
- Import dependence
- Price swings
- Matching regulations
How to start small
Resell a limited range to local processors.
How it could scale
Offer custom printing, design and bulk supply.
Descriptors
- Starting complexity
- Medium
- Capital intensity
- Medium
- Skill requirement
- Intermediate
- Infrastructure
- Moderate
Descriptive categories, not profitability rankings.
Regulatory considerations
Food-contact materials and labelling rules apply; check the national standards body.
Rules differ by country. Confirm with the relevant national authority.
The customers, routes to market, business models and many practical tips on this page are suggestions, not findings. Know something better? Suggest an improvement →
What the sources say
Source-backed observations about this kind of business in Africa. They describe conditions and challenges, not income or results.
- FAO notes that poor packaging is among the main reasons locally made food products struggle to compete with imports. Packaging also contributes to food losses along the supply chain.
- FAO notes that suitable packaging is often lacking for both fresh and processed foods in sub-Saharan Africa, and its project aims to help SMEs with packaging materials, equipment, technologies and knowledge.
- FAO's packaging project includes guidance on regulation for food chain actors in the region. Suppliers should still check the applicable national rules and not assume harmonised standards.
- For fresh produce, packaging mainly protects against mechanical damage from shock, vibration and compression. A FAO training manual stresses that new packaging only makes sense if it reduces losses enough to justify its cost.
- Overloading, poor ventilation and sun exposure during delays damage produce in transit. Poor packing-house conditions can also cause cross-contamination between sorted and unsorted produce.
- Reusable plastic crates offer hygiene benefits but their upfront cost deters small farmers. A FAO study in Southeast Asia, which is not sub-Saharan Africa, found that leasing from packaging companies helped, and that untreated wooden boxes can carry pest risk. Labels may need to carry safety and handling information to meet the requirements of importing countries.
Sources and further reading
Links open in a new tab.
- Improving food packaging for Small and Medium Agro-Enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa — FAO Regional Office for Africa
- Prevention of post-harvest food losses: fruits, vegetables and root crops, a training manual (Packaging chapter) — FAO
- Packaging in Fresh Produce Supply Chains in Southeast Asia — FAO
The sections above are a general outline and practical suggestions, not findings from these sources. Check local rules with official sources before you act.
Not financial advice and not a promise of income. Try the planning calculator with your own figures.