Whether you ship ten parcels a week from a spare room or fill a truck with export cartons every day, the right packaging suppliers save you money on every order. South Africa has hundreds of box makers, plastics converters, wholesalers and packaging shops, and prices for the same carton can differ by a third between them. Send one request with what you pack, the sizes and the quantities, and suppliers who deliver to your area quote you directly. It is free and there is no obligation to buy.
What packaging suppliers sell
Most businesses buy from more than one kind of supplier. A packaging wholesaler or distributor keeps stock of the everyday items: plain cardboard boxes in standard sizes, bubble wrap, pallet wrap, tape, courier bags, takeaway containers and paper bags. A manufacturer or converter makes to order: corrugated cartons cut to your size and printed with your logo, blown bottles, injection-moulded tubs or printed film on a reel.
Stock items are cheaper in small quantities and arrive within days. Made-to-order packaging needs a minimum order, often 500 to 5,000 units, and two to six weeks, but the price per unit drops quickly as the run gets longer.
How to describe what you need
A supplier can only quote accurately if they know the product, the size and how it travels. Give:
- Inside dimensions in millimetres, length x width x height, measured around the product plus any wrapping.
- Weight of the packed item, which decides single or double wall board.
- How it is shipped: by courier, on a pallet, in a container for export, or carried home from a shop counter.
- Quantity for the first order and the monthly usage after that.
- Printing: plain, a one colour logo, or full colour artwork.
Food, cosmetics and medicines also need the material to be suitable for contact with the product, so say what goes inside.
Stock sizes, custom sizes and printing
Standard carton sizes are the quickest and cheapest way to start, and many suppliers sell them per bundle of 25. If your product rattles around in a stock box you pay twice: once for the extra board and again for void fill and courier charges based on volume. A box made 10 mm larger than the product on each side often costs less in total once courier fees are counted.
For printed boxes, a simple one colour flexo print on brown board is affordable from about 500 units. Full colour litho-laminated or digitally printed boxes cost more and suit retail display and gift packaging.
Comparing packaging quotes
Check that every quote is for the same board grade, the same size and the same quantity, and whether the price is per unit, per bundle or per pallet. Ask what delivery costs and whether there is a minimum order value for free delivery. For printed work, ask about once-off plate or tooling costs, how long artwork approval takes and whether the supplier can hold stock and deliver monthly. Ask for a sample before a large run, and compare the typical packaging prices in our guide.
What to include in your request
- What you are packing and its weight
- Inside sizes in mm (L x W x H)
- Quantity now and monthly usage
- Plain or printed, and how many colours
- Delivery address and the date you need it
Packaging Suppliers for different businesses
- Online shops and ecommerce: shipping boxes, courier bags, tape and void fill bought monthly for parcels
- Restaurants, takeaways and food producers: takeaway containers, paper bags, deli tubs and food-safe wrap for daily service
- Shops and retail stores: carrier bags, gift boxes, tissue paper and display cartons for the shop floor
- Factories and manufacturers: custom cartons, dividers, pallet wrap and strapping for finished goods
- Warehouses, distributors and exporters: export cartons, pallet wrap, corner boards and tape by the pallet load
- Households and offices moving: moving boxes, bubble wrap, tape and markers for a household or office move
- Farms, packhouses and nurseries: fruit cartons, crates, punnets and pallet wrap for packhouses and markets
- Cosmetics, candles and health products: bottles, jars, tubes and printed boxes for creams, oils and candles
Frequently asked questions
Do you sell packaging yourselves?
What is the smallest order a packaging supplier will quote?
How long does delivery take?
Can I get eco-friendly packaging?
Packaging Suppliers by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg