How BioGaia reinforces their premium customer experience with Wool Envelopes
BioGaia, a pioneering Swedish biotech company, specialises in developing, marketing, and selling a broad spectrum of probiotic products.
While the company greatly relies on resellers for distribution, BioGaia has been investing more in its ecommerce efforts to sell products directly to consumers via its Swedish and UK online stores.
We had a chat with Michael Clyne, BioGaia's Ecommerce Manager, about their recent decision to use Wool Envelopes for shipping ecommerce orders to their customers.
Recognising the problem: from a bubble mailer fiasco to the pursuit of a premium unboxing experience
BioGaia's journey to more sustainable ecommerce packaging was triggered by an internal user experience test. The company asked its employees to order products from their online store and then fill out a survey regarding their experience, from placing the order to receiving the order.
The survey results were clear: out of all the steps of the customer’s buying journey, the unboxing experience had the most room for improvement.
More specifically, testers were very critical of the look and feel of the postal packaging – basic bubble mailer envelopes – which often arrived scruffy, having been damaged during the journey.
As a premium brand, BioGaia strives to deliver not only top-quality products but also a memorable and high-quality overall customer experience.
"It was evident from the user experience tests that bubble mailers were not delivering a premium experience," Michael confessed.
Truth be told, they knew bubble mailers were not ideal even before conducting the tests – occasionally, customers would complain about products being damaged during shipping due to inadequate protection provided by bubble mailers. However, the survey results made it crystal clear that it was time for a change.
Searching for a solution: a collaborative effort of test-driving and evaluation
BioGaia's primary goals for a new packaging solution were two-fold:
ensuring the safe arrival of products and
enhancing the unboxing experience to match the brand's premium quality.
While Michael’s team led the search for new postal packaging, they also involved people from the sustainability and supply chain departments. After some research and recommendations from team members, the BioGaia team requested samples from four different packaging providers – Woola being one of them.
“Some of the options we evaluated still used plastic, which obviously wasn't ideal. And others looked great when they were brand new, but not that great once they went through the mail,” Michael explained.
As the bubble envelopes had offered insufficient cushioning, one idea was to switch to cardboard boxes for more robust protection. However, as envelopes fit through the mailbox easier – offering more convenience for the customers – they decided that high-quality protective envelopes would be preferred.
Deciding on postal packaging that checks all the boxes and shows a commitment to sustainability
In the end, it was the Wool Envelope that checked all the right boxes. “Once we decided it would have to be an envelope, we all preferred Woola,” Michael said.
“Wool Envelopes looked great even when they got crinkled during shipping – they almost even looked nicer than brand new. And we also appreciated their unusualness and uniqueness – the Wool Envelopes make BioGaia packages stand out and memorable,” he added.
While BioGaia’s primary aspiration was eliminating product damage and aligning their unboxing experience with their brand, they also saw how Wool Envelopes help with sustainability communication.
“We realised we could use Wool Envelopes to communicate about our commitment to sustainability.
Rather than just including a line about how we reduce our footprint in the emails we send – no one’s going to pay attention to that – the envelopes don’t just say it but show it, which is nice.”
– Michael Clyne, Ecommerce Manager at BioGaia
What does your unboxing experience say about your brand?
Wool Envelopes are not just a sustainable postal packaging solution; they're a statement of sustainability, and an upgrade to the overall customer experience.
If you're looking to elevate your ecommerce brand’s unboxing experience, you can easily request Woola packaging samples here.
