Previously, we used to know these types of shops as “bag shops.” It’s understandable they were called that because they contained plastic packaging materials. However, nowadays, more professional packaging materials are available. They have hundreds of different products such as cardboard boxes, craft boxes, takeaway supplies, gift bags, stretch film, plastic bags, restaurant packaging materials, and shipping materials. Many companies offer these products online. However, apart from those sold in discount stores, it’s not very common to find many retail businesses selling these materials. You might, however, find sellers in town centers.
You can quickly generate high income by opening a packaging materials shop in a location with little competition in this sector . Moreover, it doesn’t require any special skills. You just need to stock the necessary materials in your business. This means having a wide variety of products from A to Z. As long as local businesses and online sellers believe they can find the necessary products at your shop, your business will surely become a popular destination. Now, let’s look at all the details for those who want to open a packaging materials shop .
Opening a Packaging Supplies Shop
The most important aspect for those wanting to start in this sector is the product sourcing stage. In fact, if you’re opening a shop like this, the sourcing stage is the last thing you should fear. Consider that there are thousands of businesses selling bags and packaging materials in our country. You can find over 100 websites offering services in this field online alone. In short, once you have sufficient capital, finding suppliers and opening a packaging materials shop will be the easiest step.
The real challenge in doing business in this sector isn’t opening the shop itself. It’s attracting customers and making people aware of your existence. Many small business owners have regular suppliers of packaging materials. It’s not easy to change their usual customers. However, these suppliers represent only about 40% of the businesses in your area. The remaining 60% of potential buyers depend on your pricing policy, product variety, and communication skills.
Some shops selling packaging materials offer delivery services to small businesses. This is actually a very sensible service model. Shopkeepers who suddenly run out of bags or packaging materials find themselves in a difficult situation because they can’t leave their shops. To overcome this problem, they contact shops that provide delivery services for packaging materials. Because there are order limits, a shopkeeper who needs to buy 2 kg of bags might prefer to buy 4 kg. This allows the shops to increase their turnover.
If you want to do business and make money in this sector, you should also work as a printer. Many of your customers will demand printed products from you. We can say that almost no one uses unprinted packaging materials anymore. Many products such as wet wipes, bags, serving containers, paper, or cardboard boxes are used with brand printing. At this stage, many businesses don’t know where to get this done. They contact printing companies they find online. However, you can offer them a solution at this stage. There are packaging shops that make a profit of 1000-2000 TL per day just by doing this. The total cost of printing a minimum of 1000 of these products comes to at least 5-6 thousand TL for the buyer. Since you act as an intermediary and provide this service, you earn at least a 20% profit. Now let’s list the steps to open a packaging materials shop .
How to Open a Packaging Supplies Shop
- First, determine how much capital you will invest in this business. Packaging materials are products that require constant attention because their raw materials come from abroad. Therefore, don’t let the amount of capital you invest in materials scare you. Instead, determine a capital figure that will allow you to stock your shop with materials.
- You need to create a business plan and roadmap. Before making any capital expenditure, determine where you will purchase these products. If you live in Istanbul, there are wholesalers in İstoç and Tahtakale. However, if you are outside of Istanbul, you can still contact manufacturers and have them supply you with wholesale packaging materials. During this roadmap phase, write down everything you need to do to open a packaging materials shop. This way, all processes will proceed in a planned manner.
- Start researching locations to open your shop. Unfortunately, many grocery stores are tucked away in side streets. Avoid this situation; choose a location on a main street or side street. Remember, you serve not only local businesses but also individual home customers. Finding a shop of at least 70 m² with affordable rent will be advantageous for you.
- After renting the shop, hire an accountant. Obtaining your tax registration certificate through the accountant will take a maximum of two days. After this stage, you can apply for a license.
- After obtaining your tax registration certificate, start purchasing fixtures and fittings for your business such as shelving, signage, display cases, etc. All these tasks will take a maximum of 2-3 days. For faster processing, you can purchase ready-made shelving.
- Once the renovation phase is complete, purchase packaging materials in bulk and arrange them in your store. Place the best-selling products on shelves in a way that customers will want to browse. Prepare product lots in baskets for the entrance.
- Now you’re ready to open your shop. You can’t have a grand opening like a kebab shop for this type of business. Just decorating with balloons is enough to announce the opening.
- From this point on, it’s entirely up to your communication skills. However, there’s one thing you should be careful about: Don’t immediately ask the customer what they want to buy. Let the customer browse. Let them memorize what’s in the store. If you leave the customer alone, you’ll win them over. Otherwise, you’ll come across as off-putting.
Read: Things You Absolutely Need to Know Before Starting a Business
Cost of Opening a Packaging Supplies Store
To open a shop like this and make a profit, you’ll need at least 70,000 TL to 200,000 TL. These costs might seem high, but to be profitable, you need to increase your product variety. Since the same bag comes in 5 different sizes, you should have variations of each model.
Yes, it’s possible to lower these costs even further. If you don’t have initial capital, you can open a shop for as little as 40,000 TL. However, if a customer can’t find all the products they want in one shop, they won’t come back. As long as you give the impression that you have every product, your customer base will grow.
Read this: If You Don’t Have Enough Capital, Here’s the Solution!
Packaging Shop Monthly Earnings and Profit Margin
In this sector, which sells both retail and wholesale products, profit margins range from 30% to 200%. Profit margins are lower for packaged products, while those sold unpackaged can reach up to 200%. Therefore, a shop with a daily turnover of 1000 TL will earn at least 500 TL in gross profit on average. Monthly earnings, after deducting costs, will range between 10,000 and 12,000 TL.
You can’t increase your net monthly income by cutting operating costs. Your main costs consist of rent, energy expenses, and staff salaries. Saving on these is impossible. To increase your income, you first need to increase your daily turnover. To increase daily turnover, if necessary, visit individual businesses and leave your business card. Tell them you’ll offer them special discounts. In the initial stages, if necessary, don’t make a profit to attract customers.
The second option would be to enter the online sector. These types of shops sell cake decorating supplies, gift boxes, and craft products. You can create a page on Instagram and sell these kinds of products.
Dealership in the Packaging Industry
It’s not possible to open a packaging products store using a franchise model. I haven’t yet encountered a company that offers franchises for this type of product. The reason is that the product range is quite broad and difficult to manage. Furthermore, it wouldn’t be logical even for the person who would acquire a franchise.
Imagine you have the opportunity to make a 200% profit on a product, but by buying a franchise, you’re going to reduce your profit margin to 50%. That doesn’t make sense. To make money in this sector, you need to contact wholesalers individually. Only then will you start making a profit and recouping your capital.
Documents Required to Open a Packaging Materials Shop
- Photocopy of Title Deed
- Lease
- License Application Form
- Criminal Record
- Room Registration Certificate
- Activity Certificate
- Fire Department Compliance Report
- Commercial Registry Announcement
- SGK Enrollment Declaration
- Environmental Cleaning Payment Receipt
- Photocopy of ID
- 2 passport-sized photos
Some district municipalities may require different documents. Therefore, before obtaining these documents, be sure to go to the licensing department and get the list of required documents.