Corporate Identity for Importers

Creating your own logo and brand identity seems like a waste of time — many manufacturers can provide you with their own packaging design and logo. Unfortunately, they do the same for everyone else buying their products, and these goods may even enter your home market without your knowledge.

By Klaus-Dieter Hanke

Branding Your Products
Many importers underestimate the importance of crafting a distinct brand identity and get into trouble later on. Having your own brand name and a convincing product packaging design could be the main key to success for your import business.

Why is it so important to have your own name, logo, and box design? It immediately establishes your corporate image with Chinese manufacturers and customers in your home country. It sets you apart from the rest of the crowd and gives your outfit a professional touch.

Many manufacturers actually have their own packaging designs, and can even provide a unique one for you at little extra charge. Unfortunately, they will provide this service to anyone asking for it and these goods may even enter your home market without your knowledge.

Then you'd become just another look-alike retailer in a crowded field. The result is more competition and inability to achieve your planned profit margin. In other words, you wasted a lot of time and money without benefiting from it.

Selecting a Brand Name
Let's start with your choice of brand name first. You may need some outside help with this because the brand name which you want for your products may have already been registered somewhere else. It would be disastrous if you become entangled in legal battles after you have distributed your imports in your home country.

Get a lawyer — they have the tools to do thorough research and can register your brand name for either worldwide or only local use. Theoretically, your chosen brand name may only suit a certain kind of product but I suggest choosing one that can be used for a wide range of products. This supports a future expansion strategy — should your business prosper, you don't want to be hampered by an inflexible brand name.

At this point, your gift box design is only a concept about color combinations, graphics, use of photos, etc. The design can only be finalized after you have finalized your product selection.

Protect Your Brand
Here's another reason for having a custom design: the Chinese Government has implemented new restrictions that protect you as an importer. The restrictions prevent factories from producing and shipping products of your brand to anyone else other than the legal brand owner.

Once you have created a nice and professional-looking gift box design, there is always the risk that some factory or other importer copies it and uses it. Do everything you can to protect it from the beginning.

You can't always track every copycat from every corner of the world, but if matters go to court, the law is on your side. Now can see why an original brand is so important! When you become hugely successful, it will be very valuable.

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