What if the box your product ships in could make or break whether your customer buys from you again? Most entrepreneurs overlook packaging — treating it as a cost center, not a marketing channel. But as you’ll hear today, your box may be your most powerful untapped growth lever.

Derick is the founder of CustomBox.io, a packaging company helping small businesses replace plain shipping boxes with affordable branded packaging that boosts loyalty, lowers costs, and scales revenue. With a background spanning e-commerce, marketing, and software, he’s passionate about leveling the playing field for small business owners.

On this episode of Become Sensible, I sit down with Derick to explore how branded packaging builds trust, fuels repeat sales, and even creates sustainability wins. He shares his path from corporate roles at Yex, Cox Media, and Home Depot to scaling a side hustle into one of the top Shopify stores. We dive into lessons on customer reviews, capital challenges, and why you can’t be everything to everyone as you grow.

If you’ve ever underestimated the customer touchpoints in your business, this episode will spark new ideas—and maybe inspire you to rethink your product's packaging!

Resources

• Visit CustomBox.io Online
• Check out CustomBox.io's Instagram

Connect

• Follow me, Fiona Nguyen, on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fionahnguyen
• Learn more about Balannx: https://balannx.com/.

Timestamps

• 0:00 – Intro
• 0:30 – Why packaging is part of the customer experience
• 2:15 – Derick’s path from corporate to CustomBox.io
• 4:50 – Early wins, setbacks, and $40K in month two
• 6:30 – Surviving the hard first six months
• 9:15 – Authentic reviews and customer passion
• 11:00 – Landing your first big client by solving pain points
• 13:45 – Scaling milestones: 10,000 orders and top 25% on Shopify
• 15:00 – Balancing speed, cost, and quality (“pick two” rule)
• 20:00 – Why CustomBox.io focuses on small businesses
• 24:00 – What most brands get wrong about packaging
• 28:30 – Environmental impact and the vision for 100% recycled boxes
• 32:30 – Lessons learned and advice to day-one Derick

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