Importing honeycomb paper as a distributor: margins, range and your first container

Every packaging distributor who sells honeycomb paper reaches the same question sooner or later. Should we keep buying from someone local, or import a container ourselves?

Importing looks tempting on a spreadsheet. The roll price from a factory is lower, so the margin looks bigger.

The real answer depends on three numbers, not one: what each roll costs you landed in your warehouse, how fast a container's worth of stock turns into sales, and how much warehouse space and cash it holds while it waits. If you can sell a container within a few months at a healthy margin over landed cost, direct import makes sense. If not, keep buying locally until you can.

We make honeycomb paper in Jaipur and sell to distributors in 20+ countries, some under their own brand. So I have a clear interest here. I will still tell you when buying locally is the smarter move.

Why is the container the unit of decision?

Because honeycomb paper is light and bulky. A roll weighs little, but it takes up space. Freight is charged by the container, so the freight per roll depends on how many rolls you fit in.

Our figures for our most exported item, 380 mm x 250 m flat rolls, are:

A 40 ft container costs more to ship than a 20 ft, but on many routes it is not twice as much, so the freight per roll often comes out lower in the bigger box. Ask your forwarder for both prices to your port and do the division yourself.

This is also why we prefer one 40 ft container per order. A 20 ft is perfectly fine for a first order, when you are still learning what sells.

How do you build the landed cost per roll?

Add everything between the factory gate and your shelf, then divide by the rolls. Our separate guide on landed cost per roll works through the arithmetic line by line.

1. Product price on FOB terms (goods loaded on the ship at the Indian port).
2. Ocean freight to your port.
3. Insurance.
4. Import duty and any import taxes you cannot reclaim. Your customs broker will confirm these for your country.
5. Port, handling and customs broker charges at your end.
6. Trucking from the port to your warehouse.
7. Cost of money, i.e. interest on cash paid weeks before the goods sell.

Items 2 to 7 can add a lot more to a bulky product than buyers expect.

It is very easy to build a spreadsheet that stops at item 2. Leave out any one of them, and the margin you planned will not be the margin you get.

Worked example: margin per pallet, not per roll

Here is a simple way to compare options. All numbers are an index, not prices. Call your landed cost per roll 100.

On margin per roll, direct import wins easily. Now look at the cash and the space. Option A ties up a container's worth of stock for months, and fills pallet places you might use for faster products. Option B earns less per roll but needs very little of either.

If option A sells in two months instead of six, it is a clear win. If it sells in twelve, the interest, the space and the risk of paper sitting through a wet season eat a large part of that extra margin.

Do this table with your own numbers before you import.

It takes an hour, and I promise it can save you a year.

What range should a first container carry?

Keep the first container narrow. I would take two or three items you are sure about over ten items you are guessing about.

As a working rule, plan at least 4 pallets of each item in a mixed container. Fewer than that, and the item is hard to load, count and manage at both ends.

A sensible first container for a general packaging distributor often looks like this. Treat it as an example, not a recommendation for your market.

1. The workhorse roll: a mid-width natural kraft roll, 380 to 400 mm, in a middle grade. This is what most ecommerce packers want.
2. A wide roll: 490 to 500 mm, for customers packing larger items.
3. One small item for small customers, such as 100 m rolls or pre-cut sheets of 390 x 500 mm.

US distributors would think in 12, 15 and 20 inch rolls instead.

Colours, narrow widths and mailers can come in the second or third container, once your customers tell you what they want. Our sister article on building a honeycomb range for a packaging wholesaler goes deeper into SKU choice.

How do you protect the margin once you sell?

In my view, three things decide it.

First, sell by the flat metre, not by "a roll". If your competitor quotes rolls in expanded metres, show your customer the flat length and the weight. Our guide on writing a honeycomb paper purchase order shows the weight check.

Second, do not chase the cheapest grade. Distributors who switch to a cheaper roll often lose the saving in complaints. The weak paper tears, their customers wrap twice, and usage per order goes up. We see buyers who left us for a cheaper roll come back for exactly this reason.

Third, help your customers forecast. A customer who knows how many rolls they use orders steadily. Ask them to count orders packed per roll for two weeks. That one number lets both of you plan stock.

Should you buy FOB, CIF or DAP?

We quote FOB Mundra as standard. When freight to your port is stable, we also quote CIF or DAP to your warehouse.

FOB gives you control of the freight and the forwarder. It suits an importer who already brings in containers. CIF or DAP is simpler for a first import, because you get one price closer to your door. Either way, our quotes are usually valid for 7 days, because kraft paper and ocean freight both move quickly. Our export page has the details.

Own brand or supplier's brand?

Both work.

Selling under the factory's brand is quicker to start. Selling under your own brand (private label) means your customers cannot easily shop around for the same roll. A UK packaging distributor sells our honeycomb rolls under its own name and product codes, with cartons printed to its design. Our private label page explains how that works.

I would start with whatever lets you test the market fastest, and move to your own brand once the volume is steady.

A short checklist before the first container

1. Your landed cost per roll, with all seven items above.
2. Your realistic selling price and monthly volume per item.
3. Months to sell one container's worth. Be honest with yourself.
4. Dry warehouse space for the stock, away from dock doors.
5. Samples tested on real customer products.
6. A broker who has confirmed the HS code and duty for your country.

If the numbers work, send us your item list, destination port and expected volume through our contact page. We will send samples and a loading plan with the quote. If the numbers do not work yet, keep buying locally. We will still be here when they do.