Hi guys :) I'm Sarah, the founder of Georgette. Super excited to be on Hacker News and to answer any questions anybody might have...!
Georgette Packaging (YC W16) Makes Custom Branded Boxes and Cups for Bakeries
11–20 of 48 posts
Re: Georgette Packaging (YC W16) Makes Custom Branded Boxes and Cups for Bakeries
#12Awesome looking site and a real opportunity I think. My ex-wife is a cupcake and deco cake maker and I sent her the link, she is really interested and will be contacting you guys soon. Best of luck to you!
Thanks very much! :D My e-mail is sarah@georgettepackaging.com, I'd love to hear from her :)
Re: Georgette Packaging (YC W16) Makes Custom Branded Boxes and Cups for Bakeries
#13This is a great idea. A huge part of the success over the last 10 or 15 years in the cafe and coffee industry has been about branding and design. Starbucks knows this: bright green straws, red holiday cups, etc. You can see a Starbucks cup from 100 feet away. Why should Starbucks, Blue Bottle, Coffee Bean, and Dunkin all capitalize on this, while a lot of the mom n pop shops that make the best coffee are serving thei…
Agreed! This is why we exist.. we want the small businesses of the world to have the same fighting chance to be known, recognized, grow sales, and create jobs locally.
Re: Georgette Packaging (YC W16) Makes Custom Branded Boxes and Cups for Bakeries
#14This is a great idea. A huge part of the success over the last 10 or 15 years in the cafe and coffee industry has been about branding and design. Starbucks knows this: bright green straws, red holiday cups, etc. You can see a Starbucks cup from 100 feet away. Why should Starbucks, Blue Bottle, Coffee Bean, and Dunkin all capitalize on this, while a lot of the mom n pop shops that make the best coffee are serving thei…
Inversely, why should you have to pay extra to get your great craft brewed coffee in a fancy paper cup? Branding like this is much less important for local businesses than national franchises/chains.
I think it depends on the goals you have for your business - there's a huge gap between little local spots that don't invest in being memorable, and major chains that everybody knows. Thoughtful branding is a major part of the bridge between the two. We work with a lot of ambitious, but small businesses that are keen to grow, be valued and loved by their communities, and be known for specific areas of expertise. Sharing that story is what branding has always been about. The price of a cup of coffee generally has a lot more to do with the experience and story (think Starbucks) than the cost of the beans, the hot water, the cup...
Re: Georgette Packaging (YC W16) Makes Custom Branded Boxes and Cups for Bakeries
#15Not that I buy many cake boxes, but the base unit cost, unprinted / coated seems pricey? $1.32 for a box, we must be taking really pricey cupcakes?!
YC also funded a startup called Pakible, which is "revolutionizing packaging"... presumably by charging 5x more than anyone else in the market.
Re: Georgette Packaging (YC W16) Makes Custom Branded Boxes and Cups for Bakeries
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
Inversely, why should you have to pay extra to get your great craft brewed coffee in a fancy paper cup? Branding like this is much less important for local businesses than national franchises/chains.
Totally agree. This is aimed at small runs, but for a small run of a standard box it was $2.24 per 6 cupcake box (much more for one with an actual design). What small shop can afford $2.24 a box? Quick look online found plenty of nice ones for $0.20 a piece that you could put a sticker on with your logo. This is what a lot of smaller places do in Seattle and it seems to work just fine.
Yes, a lot of small businesses use generic boxes and a sticker. When I owned my bakery, I did the same. That's not to say that this solution is ideal; most of the generic boxes are flimsy, tedious to assemble, and give your customers the idea that your product is ... humdrum, not something you'd pay much for. If you're working super hard to bake something amazing, your packaging should complement and introduce your product in a splendid way too -- you need to do something a little different from everybody else. Larger brands don't invest in beautiful, branded packaging for kicks -- it has a major influence on the perception people have of their wares, and contributes a lot to the customer's experience of their product. In terms of unit price being high at low volumes -- we're constantly working to get that down! :D Our minimum quantities for custom packaging are some of the lowest on the market, and our pricing very modest by comparison, because we invest in tooling on behalf of our clients. I think it's hard to see how great our pricing actually is, because it's near impossible to find other packaging companies that do what we do, or put all their pricing online.. :)
Re: Georgette Packaging (YC W16) Makes Custom Branded Boxes and Cups for Bakeries
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
Inversely, why should you have to pay extra to get your great craft brewed coffee in a fancy paper cup? Branding like this is much less important for local businesses than national franchises/chains.
Totally agree. This is aimed at small runs, but for a small run of a standard box it was $2.24 per 6 cupcake box (much more for one with an actual design). What small shop can afford $2.24 a box? Quick look online found plenty of nice ones for $0.20 a piece that you could put a sticker on with your logo. This is what a lot of smaller places do in Seattle and it seems to work just fine.
Apologies for the big block of text, I clearly haven't figure out how to make paragraphs on here. :p [Returns to box-making].
Re: Georgette Packaging (YC W16) Makes Custom Branded Boxes and Cups for Bakeries
#18This is a great idea. A huge part of the success over the last 10 or 15 years in the cafe and coffee industry has been about branding and design. Starbucks knows this: bright green straws, red holiday cups, etc. You can see a Starbucks cup from 100 feet away. Why should Starbucks, Blue Bottle, Coffee Bean, and Dunkin all capitalize on this, while a lot of the mom n pop shops that make the best coffee are serving thei…
Also interesting for pizza places. Many of the best pizzas I've had have come in generic boxes shared between many local shops.
Neat idea! :D
Re: Georgette Packaging (YC W16) Makes Custom Branded Boxes and Cups for Bakeries
#19This seems very similar to Pakible (YC W15) https://blog.ycombinator.com/pakible-yc-w15-makes-it-dead-si...
Pakible is awesome and we love them! :D They specialize in corrugated shipper boxes. We do paperboard retail boxes.
Re: Georgette Packaging (YC W16) Makes Custom Branded Boxes and Cups for Bakeries
#20Not that I buy many cake boxes, but the base unit cost, unprinted / coated seems pricey? $1.32 for a box, we must be taking really pricey cupcakes?!
YC also funded a startup called Pakible, which is "revolutionizing packaging"... presumably by charging 5x more than anyone else in the market.
Hmm I'm not sure what you're comparing Pakible (or us?) to... but a box that is manufactured in North America just for you, with your branding, still costs more than a plain box made in the bajillions in China. Georgette, and I think Pakible, are focused on making that customization as affordable and accessible as possible. We're getting there, it's early days! :)