Last month, Shelf Impact! also asked the following question: How do you validate the return on investment when using a contract packager for your package development? Here are some of your responses:

“ When extending brands into new arenas, we have often been out of our element. For certain products, a co-packer can deliver that added knowledge of the product and package. This is particularly important when launching a new product, to ensure a smooth take-off. ”

“ We measure return on investment in terms of finding out if the product has ‘ legs ’ . ”

“ One must take a full cost approach to comparing the costs of doing something in- house vs. outsourcing. This includes the opportunity costs of projects for which there are not adequate resources in-house, but also potential costs of a poorly executed outsourced result. ”

“ Our chemistry generally has difficult design parameters to get consumer acceptance and efficacy. As such, simply creating a ‘ win ’ for packaging is obvious. Ultimately, it is a function of increased shelf space, either at new accounts or existing accounts, which defines a win. ”

“ We measure by using the existing margins against the capital that would be required for the outsourced packaging project in order to indicate where the ROI would be for self-manufacture. If the ROI is higher, we would plan to recapture the technology. It it ’ s lower, it would remain with the co-packer. ”

“ Total cost versus the variable margin gained. ”

“ We analyze the cost of package development vs. sales increase. ”