Packaging industry startup receives substantial investment

Take note – story published 2 years ago

PrintOnPack.com, a Latvian soft packaging marketplace startup, has raised 450,000 EUR, the company said July 13.

According to PrintOnPack: "The industry is technically complex and lacks transparency, with research showing that pricing offers for an identical order can vary on average by 88% and in extreme cases can be more than sixfold among competitors. PrintOnPack.com has onboarded over 120 soft packaging providers to give consumers transparent information about where they can produce and for what prices, and receive offers without picking up the phone. In just over a year, PrintOnPack.com has processed more than 500 requests from 10 countries and helped to order over 3 million packages."

So essentially it does not make packaging itself but acts as a middleman between manufacturers and their potential clients.

The startup idea came from veteran of the packaging industry, Ivars Sudmalis. After witnessing the lack of transparency in this space, the amount of manual work that goes into offer calculations, as well how cumbersome it is to find a packaging provider, Ivars saw an opportunity. In 2020, together with co-founders Ingars Zagorskis and Ivars Mirošnikovs, they embarked on developing a user-friendly platform for comparing and ordering soft packaging.

“Right now, printing services are discovered through trade shows, prices are calculated in spreadsheets, and orders co-ordinated through phone calls. Because of the hassle to request an offer, businesses rarely change their packaging producer, even though prices and materials may be superior elsewhere. We're making it easier to get information, and make the best choice for your business, and for the environment,” said Zagorskis, who is now CEO of PrintOnPack.com

The new 450,000 euro investment was secured from Finland-based SuperHero Capital. They invest in Finnish and Baltic startups, and this is the fund's first investment in a Latvian business.

Ernests Stals of SuperHero Capital said the packaging industry is "ripe for disruption".

Currently, PrintOnPack.com services the European market, with printing providers based across Europe, CIS countries, and Asia. By the end of the year, they plan to grow the team to 40 people, develop their platform, and increase the order volumes and revenue.

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