Arka provides branded and unbranded eco-friendly packaging for e-commerce businesses worldwide.
Learn how Verma Farms, Jenny Sayqua Studio, Barrel Maker Printing , The Lash Chic and Pyra beauty leveraged Arka’s packaging solutions for a great customer unboxing experience.
Verma Farms
As told to Arka by AJ Agrawal, Founder of Verma Farms
Tell us about your business. How did you come up with the idea? What made you pursue it?
With one of my other businesses, I'd been helping clients grow their CBD brands. It was an exciting industry and I immediately became aware of its growth potential. During my research, I ended up going to Hawaii and making some contacts in the industry there. I love the culture, the environment, and thought starting a Hawaiian based CBD company would stand out from other competitors while also allowing us to create some great products in a lovely environment.
How has branded packaging affected customer experience?
Our packaging ties back to our brand. When people see it online from unboxings or people just sharing their love for our products, they can instantly know that it's Verma Farms.
How did you go about designing your box?
I worked with a freelance designer to help me with the initial idea. My thoughts were a little all over the place, but I had some general ideas of what I wanted people to feel when they saw the Verma Farms brand.
Why did you choose Arka to order and print your box?
I chose Arka because after doing a ton of research, it was obvious they were the best option. They were able to take my artwork and turn it into a unique package that myself and customers love. Reordering and connecting to our WMS makes it easier too, that was always a pain for us.
What do you know now that you wish you knew then?
I wish I would have known how fun the entire branding process is and I would have started a CBD business a long time ago.
Jenny SayQua Studio
As told to Arka by Harold Heno, Founder & CEO of Jenny SayQua Studio
What inspired you to start your business?
My wife, Jennifer. She is a former costume designer and has always been interested in fashion beyond the stage. During a particularly cold winter two years ago, while living in the NYC area, she was lamenting the shapelessness and colorlessness of the designs for outerwear that season, unless one was willing or could afford to purchase the most expensive luxury brands. She thought that women in the middle income market had better personal stories to tell than the options available in the market. She imagined a line of coats that would complement the feminine form, excite the world with a splash of color, be true to the lines of classic designs and be within reach of practical, hardworking, but adventurous women. Her imagination is now the reality of Jenny SayQua Studio.
What is your target market?
Successful women who embrace femininity, boldness, and classic fashion.
How many years have you been in business?
We launched in February of 2020, 2 weeks before Covid shutdowns.
What is your biggest goal for this year?
Relaunching and finding out if there is an interest in the market for our designs.
What is your goal for the next 5-10 years?
If successful this year, to grow beyond outerwear and into women's natural fiber clothing, specifically casual to cocktail dresses. Within 10 years to have most production done in the USA.
How long have you been ordering from Arka?
We only had the opportunity to order once since we started.
How has custom packaging improved customer responses/retention/experience?
Everyone loves our Arka Boxes. They really support the brand's look in the market segment for which it is intended.
Barrel Maker Printing
As told to Arka by Zach Corn, Vice President of Barrel Maker Printing
What inspired you to start your business?
We actually started as a kids clothing company but started to get too many custom orders to focus on it.
What is your target market?
People who have rad art, that need it placed on a lot of things, that are great at communicating. Honestly to us, it is more about the people we are working with than the specific industry. I'd rather work with a sweet underwater basket weaving company than a large company that doesn't care about their relationships. But we'll gladly work with them too!!
How many years have you been in business?
12
What is your biggest goal for this year?
I'm still really trying to make it 360 degrees around the top bar of a swing set. 2021 is my year. For the company though probably growing our fulfillment side of the business and standardizing the ordering of promo boxes for our clients.
What is your goal for the next 5-10 years?
We do a ton of live printing and run Liveprinting.com. So I think we'd love to be running 10-20 live printing events a week throughout the country, have 10x more fulfillment going on, and be the number one source of information for people who need merch for their company.
How long have you been ordering from Arka?
2-3 years
How has custom packaging improved customer responses/retention/experience?
I think in the past companies would try to handle it all themselves. Ordering things from multiple vendors (What a nightmare!), designing the packaging, packing it all and shipping them all out. And then dealing with the returns, wrong addresses, etc. Since we've started to handle all of that for people, they seem to have a lot more time and get more recognition from their bosses, which in turn just makes them appreciate us more. Every client we've done custom boxes for and then fulfilled, has kept coming back for more.
TheLashChick
As told to Arka by Diane Lytle -Wallace, the CEO & Founder of TheLashChick
What inspired you to start your business?
I established TheLashChick Brand in 2010 with a desire to offer a higher quality in eyelash extensions, professional products and training certifications than what was currently being offered In the beauty industry. I felt a need to help other professionals provide a safer application with a more detailed training program, all hands-on and taught exclusively by myself in private 1:1 classes.
What is your target market?
Licensed Professionals in the beauty industry & all ages
How many years have you been in business?
Started in 2007, TM TheLashChick Brand in 2010
What is your biggest goal for this year?
To continue to work on customer relationships and build TheLashChick Brand
What is your goal for the next 5-10 years?
Retain and gain customers
How long have you been ordering from Arka?
5+ yrs I believe since ya'll started!
How has custom packaging improved customer responses/retention/experience?
Customers love the unboxing experience!
Pyra Beauty
As told to Arka by Angelica Romero, Founder of Pyra Beauty
What inspired you to start your business?
Pyra Beauty's mission is to make the world a better place through makeup that's good for your skin and the environment. We celebrate individuality and what makes you magical. We believe in makeup that's skin and universe friendly for all.
As Pyra Beauty founder, and consumer of cosmetics, I decided to go into the makeup business for many reasons. The main reason, however, is because a family member back in Colombia was diagnosed with skin cancer.
I started sending things to Colombia and learning more about ingredients, I was already on the pathway for it and the research for the formulas was based on personal reasons.
The inspiration of the makeup brand’s name, Pyra, is the pyrite stone, which symbolizes fire (fun fact: The Greek word for fire is “Pyr”). Pyrite is also known as “fool’s gold,” which symbolizes good luck and wealth and protects against negative energy.
From a cultural perspective, the pyrite stone is very common in Colombia. It comes up when people are mining and finding emeralds because we have natural sites for all these natural properties. I wanted the branding to have a piece of my native country.
What is your target market?
Humans who love products that have a connection with nature. Can be anyone that's into beauty with sustainable practices.
How many years have you been in business?
4 months
What is your biggest goal for this year?
Build a community of people that will love the products and tell all their friends about how great their skin feels after using our makeup.
What is your goal for the next 5-10 years?
Create more products that are low waste but that fit into the everyday lifestyle.
How long have you been ordering from Arka?
Recently
How has custom packaging improved customer responses/retention/experience?
I've had people want to order over the unboxing experience! Very cool! We love that Arka is US based and it matches our low carbon footprint goals, we love promoting this on our social channels. We created a custom GIPHY of our custom Arka packaging box!
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