wegg® showcase: Coni Lefferts, President, Creative Packaging Solutions

My sales promotion agency had a customer who made gourmet cookies but their sales program was unsuccessful because of their packaging. Their cookies were packaged in a brown paper bag, something like a coffee bag with metal twist turns on top of it. There was a window so you could see the cookies inside the bag. Unfortunately, what people saw were crumbs, not cookies, so the product didn’t sell very well. We changed the packaging from a brown paper bag to a metal, cigar box-looking can. The container presented their cookies in a much better light, they weren’t cracked, and the perceived market value was prestige.

Recognizing the importance of, and a greater need for packaging, we began searching stores to see what packages needed improving. Then we approached the brand owners and told them we could help them, and we decided to make it into a viable business.

Creative Packaging Solutions does retail consumer brand packaging. We make the empty packaging that goes on the shelf. Lotions, potions, nuts and bolts, whatever is made has to be packaged to protect it and market it. Our customers include Revea, facial skincare, and Babo Botanicals, which is on the retail shelf on Whole Foods.

I was a nervous wreck! A company out of Israel called Ahava [makers of Dead Sea mineral skincare products] had a U.S. owner at the time, and they wanted shopping bags. We decided to have the bags made in China. Everybody around me was negative on doing business in China, so when the boxes arrived, I really didn’t know if they’d be filled with bricks or stones or dirt. But when I saw the bags, I was unbelievably pleased. The quality was fantastic, the price was good, and that sold me on doing international business. I’ve been importing ever since.

One time we had a container on an ocean ship from Japan, and the ship developed engine problems. The containers had to be transferred from that ship onto another. Those of us who owned the shipments had to contribute to the cost of the transfer. It caused a delay but thankfully we had cargo insurance that paid for the transfer. It taught me that you really need cargo insurance.

Another interesting situation was when we had a shipment on a cargo carrier that was unable to pass through the Panama Canal. The company that owned the boat filed for bankruptcy and was unwilling to pay the passage fee. It never occurred to me that you had to pay a fee to go through the Panama Canal, but you do. Once again, the owners of the shipments, like me, had to share in the cost to get the ship through the canal.