Key takeaways
- A 1 m drop in six orientations is the baseline for a cosmetic unit.
- Compression testing catches carton collapse that drops miss.
- Vibration testing finds loose caps and leaking pumps.
Transit packaging testing is a simulation of the parcel journey: the drops, the stacking, the vibration and the temperature swings. Each test catches a different failure, and a programme that runs only one of them will pass a product that still breaks in the post.
1. The drop test
Drop a filled unit from 1 m onto concrete in six orientations: flat, edge, corner and each side. Inspect for breakage, label scuffing and closure failure. This is the baseline test and it catches most glass and pressed powder failures.
2. Compression
Stack cartons and apply a load equivalent to the weight of the pallet above. A carton that holds a bottle in a drop test can still collapse under 200 kg of stacking. Compression testing catches the failures that happen in a warehouse rather than in a parcel.
3. Vibration
Vibration at 1 to 200 Hz for an hour simulates a truck journey. Loose caps work free, pumps prime themselves and leak, and powders settle and crack. A cap that survives a drop can still loosen under vibration, which is why both tests are needed.
4. Temperature cycling
A parcel can sit in a cold depot and then a warm van. Cycling between 5 and 40 degrees stresses the pack and the formula. A silicone valve can deform, a label can lift, and an emulsion can separate. The cycle test is where formula and pack failures appear together.
5. Pressure and altitude
Air freight exposes packs to reduced pressure, and a poorly sealed bottle can leak. A pump pack that is primed before shipping will dispense in the cargo hold. Ship unprimed and with an air-tight secondary seal.
6. The cost of damage
A 3 percent damage rate on a 1,000-unit shipment costs 30 units plus the returns handling and the review. A pulp insert costs a few cents per unit and typically reduces the rate below 1 percent. The economics favour the insert at almost any volume.
7. Packaging cost trade
Over-packaging is also a cost: a heavier carton adds freight weight and material. The optimum is the lightest pack that passes the tests at the target damage rate. Testing is what lets a brand find that optimum instead of guessing.
8. E-commerce specific
A direct-to-consumer parcel is handled more and dropped more than a retail carton. A mailer with an inner insert is the standard for glass. A poly mailer alone is not enough for a bottle, whatever the label says about fragility.
9. Documentation
Keep the test report with the pack specification: drop height, orientations, compression load, vibration profile and results. When a damage complaint arrives, the report is the evidence that the pack was tested and the failure is a production deviation.
10. Retest triggers
Any change to the pack, the filler, the carton or the shipping route invalidates the test. A brand that changes its carton supplier without retesting will discover the difference through returns. Add the retest to the change control checklist.
11. Where it fits
Transit packaging runs across the pressed powder range; the carton detail continues in the carton entry.
Reference: Transit test protocols and damage rate data, 2025
