Introducing noissue: Your Creative Business's New Best Friend - Interview with noissue

At FWWR, we love creative businesses that are making the world a better place through their focus on sustainability! How did noissue begin and what was the need you saw that wasn't being met in the marketplace?

noissue was created to answer a need that our founders realized wasn't being met in the current market. Having started a company that created custom eyewear out of reclaimed materials, they needed packaging but not at the minimums that were currently available. The packaging industry has stayed pretty much the same for the past half-century—to get custom packaging for your business you need to go through a variety of providers, getting quotes and engaging in long sales chain emails before event getting to send through your design and hoping that they get the colors right. And that's if you can meet the minimums that typically start in the low thousands.

For our founders the goal was to create a solution that they would use themselves, and that involved a few simple concepts: the first being easy online design, which is how they created the noissue design platform which allows you to design in real time and see your packaging as you create it. The second was the need for low minimum orders so that small business owners and start-ups would be able to access custom-branded packaging without needing to spend exorbitant amounts. Finally, and honestly something that was always a no-brainer was that all the packaging should be sustainable. When it comes to sustainability, you often have to sacrifice elements of your own branding in order to show that you're making an effort for the environment. The goal with noissue is to show that you can focus on sustainability and maintain your own personal branding without worry.

How have noissue's products supported women-owned business? Any favorite clients you've worked with so far?

The majority of the companies we work with are women-owned and operated. We set out to create a solution for businesses of all shapes and sizes and with that goal we've been supported by such an amazing community. The women that we're fortunate enough to work with are the leaders of their fields and are putting in work on every level of business, from small side-hustles to brilliant direct to consumer brands that blend creative solutions with environmental sustainability and incredible branding. At the end of the day, we're here to fulfill their vision for what their branding and packaging should look like and we're thrilled to be able to do our part. A few of the brands that we've drawn inspiration from include Botanica Box, Polka Pants, Laundry Day Co, Enrich and Endure to name a few... We also just worked on a really fun collaboration with Staycation, a group of D2C brands that came together for a NYC event organized by Maude.

As an innovative and brilliant creative company, what advice would you give to a new creative entrepreneur just starting out? For anyone just starting out I think a key piece of advice is to focus on what problem you're solving. Inspiring creativity often comes from authenticity, and if you're committed to a specific solution then everything will come more naturally. Stay true to that initial vision and use it as a benchmark whenever you're making decisions for the direction of the company. Also write down any ideas you have, no matter how silly they sound. They might come in handy.

What are three things that readers might be surprised to learn about noissue?

We were founded in New Zealand, and still have our headquarters in Auckland. Initially the name of the company was going to be noissue Tissue, but was kept as noissue for a simpler look (thank goodness!). As of 2019 all of our packaging is not only environmentally friendly, but completely compostable.

Give us the run down of all the services Noissue offers and how it can support small and big businesses alike?

At it's simplest, we print and deliver custom, sustainable packaging. Our point of difference is how we provide packaging—for small businesses, low minimum order quantities and global free delivery allow them to get a branded packaging solution without the usual time lag and prohibitive larger order quantities they might face otherwise. For larger businesses, those lower minimums allow them to do seasonal packaging runs or one-offs for pop-ups and the like. As a great example, the pop-up we collaborated on for Staycation was with a collection of D2C brands used packaging made for the event to elevate their branding.

Other than that, we pride ourselves on having a fantastic support and design team that are available to help anytime you need something sorted out. The team is ready to help if anything comes through that might be a bit offset or where a color hasn't been specified.

At FWWR, we are all about empowering the voices and stories of womxn and partnering with brands that can get behind this vision. How does Noissue celebrate and support womxn in business and storytelling?

It's funny, packaging is often viewed as a necessity—something to help deliver an item from point A to point B and protect it for the journey. But more and more, brands are realizing that packaging is such a useful tool for extending your brand's story and showcasing creativity to make your customer feel that much more appreciated. Everyone knows what it's like to receive something in a plain brown box, and it's something we've come to expect. But when your order arrives in something other than the norm, with branded packaging and sealed with a sticker, maybe even a thank you note inside, it makes it that much more special.
This might be going a bit too off script, but as we continue to engage with each other more and more in the digital sphere, these moments of tangible branding become so much more important, because it connects your customer with who you are as a brand and why you set out to do what you're doing in the first place. In that regard your packaging isn't just a functional element, but really contributes to the story you're telling your customer, and to the appreciate they have for your brand. We want to connect with the people behind the business, and your packaging is just one of the ways you can do that.

7. What are few core beliefs that define Noissue today?

noissue has always stayed true to three core beliefs. One, that custom packaging should be easily accessible for brands that want it. Two, that packaging should be sustainable. And three, that this should all be affordable and within reach for brands of all shapes and sizes. Those have been our beliefs since the beginning and they remain core to our mission moving forward.

noissue is an online platform for designing and ordering custom, sustainable packaging for your brand. With low minimum order quantities, worldwide free shipping in three weeks, and a support team ready to help with your design, we're making high quality, custom packaging available for businesses of all shapes and sizes!

Custom tissue paper /Custom stickers /100% Compostable Mailers/ About us