Products made from wild berries may become more expensive due to stricter packaging requirements: experts

Wildberries announced that starting July 8 it will tighten packaging requirements and recommendations for several products. The changes will affect products in the categories “Cosmetics”, “Baby Food”, “Baby Products”, “Toys”, “Household Chemicals”, as well as dishes and other fragile items. The announcement of the new rules appeared on the official Telegram channel of the marketplace for suppliers, RB.RU noted.

Wildberries assured that the updated packaging standards will ensure the safety of goods and other products during storage and transportation. New requirements and recommendations have already been included in the “Product Packaging” instructions.

According to experts interviewed by RB.RU, increased packaging requirements can lead to higher prices for end customers.

Founder of the promotion and analysis service for sellers “Anabar” Petr Markov He believes that if additional packaging costs fall on sellers, prices for buyers will increase.

“The innovations should help the market make more money, as denser packaging protects the product upon delivery and buyers are more likely to buy it again if it arrives in good condition. At the same time, sellers are fully responsible for the packaging of products, so if their costs increase, this may lead to a slight increase in prices in categories with new rules,” Markov believes.

AURET Co-President Tatyana Gudina RB.RU stated that now sellers will have to spend more on packaging and because of this, the price of products may increase. Although, in the end, the merchandise will arrive intact, even when “logistics is long”, which will mean savings for sellers.

“There is a high probability that the merchandise will arrive intact. Until now, sellers consider the obligation to pack the goods well to be an advantage,” says Gudina.

The co-president of AUREK believes that after the introduction of new packaging standards, collection points will mainly benefit.

“For the owners of collection points, these measures will only be an advantage. Many sellers, to save money and sell products cheaper, package them poorly. For example, the plates are simply shipped in adhesive tape, without boxes or bubble wrap. It arrives at the collection point in very poor condition, with chips, broken or cracked. The point for ordering defective goods is paid 20% of their cost,” Tatyana Gudina told RB.RU.

The expert noted that it is very good if the product is in an airtight box, reinforced with air filters and bubble wrap.

According to Markov, to smooth the transition to new standards, the market has added the possibility of using various packaging options.

“Previously, for example, children’s cereals, tea and bulk products were kept in original cardboard boxes and covered with adhesive tape. Now there are two ways. First, it’s a thick extra box, and second, two layers of bubble wrap, plus an extra box and tape. Probably in the future only the improved version of the packaging will remain,” Markov clarified.

According to the expert, in some categories the characteristics of the packaging material have been modified. For example, for wet wipes without a factory box, a package of at least 40 microns was sufficient before, but now a package of 50 microns is required.