In today’s e-commerce environment, the packaging used for a business can be a unique selling point in itself. Corporate gift hamper business The Goods Tube exemplifies this.

Founded in 2012 in Sydney by wife and husband Laura Eiersted Snell and Joe Snell, the company packages boutique, small batch goods – mostly Australian-made – for corporate gifts, and the consumer market.

What makes the company stand out is its distinct packaging, a long tube made of recyclable cardboard instead of a standard box.

Eiersted Snell told ProPack.pro, “In terms of the experience and the way we package things, it becomes more of a discovery. You find more things as you go down and dig into it”.

Considering the popularity of unboxing videos on YouTube – as one example the account Unbox Therapy has over 12 million subscribers – the packaging experience is more crucial than ever to the end-user, and brands’ broader marketing strategies.

The Goods Tube packaging is custom-printed by third parties with the corporate branding or logo on it, creating a package that stands out in the office when received. The company also boosts the profile of the small-producers that have their items featured in the hampers.

Eiersted Snell said, “We get them into the office, and whoever receives it can discuss where it comes from, and potentially buy it. We’re a link between the local market and corporate market”.

As consumers’ sustainability demands and expectations change, sustainable packaging and local produce as a combination is almost an expectation in their gift-giving field.

Eiserstad Snell said, “A corporate can buy thousands of branded umbrellas made who knows where. People don’t appreciate that in the same way anymore.

“There’s no story behind it. There’s no link or connection, like there would be for a family business based in regional Queensland.”

Sustainable goods and packaging also positions your brand as greener, opening up links to marketplaces online that serve that niche. The Goods Tube is also sold on third-party marketplace Hard To Find.

And as Snell noted, “We have been approached by more ‘green’ sites to sell our things on their platform”.

The Goods Tube also buys its packaging locally, with its Christmas gift-hamper tubes being supplied by ProPac for the upcoming season.