Innovative Ideas in Product Packaging As the market for your product evolves, the way it's packaged may need to change, too

In 2010, when Veronica Rains and her partner, Jeffrey Bailey, started Wholesome Chow in Los Osos, Calif., their approach was hands-on, to say the least. They made the organic, gluten-free, vegan baking mixes in a commercial kitchen, did the packaging and labeling themselves and sold their product at a local farmers market.

When health-food stores started stocking the mixes, Rains was thrilled--and overwhelmed. "We were hand-mixing all of our product, printing our own labels, sifting everything, portioning it into bags, sealing and labeling the bags. It was a lot of work," she recalls.

Most small-business owners plan for growth, but that doesn't mean the business will grow according to plan. Wholesome Chow wanted to expand, and the partners knew their business processes needed to become more efficient. One of the first changes they made was to outsource the packaging.