CrinklePak: Premium crinkle paper for gift baskets, e-commerce packaging, and bulk decorative void fill.
- KLS
- 2 minutes ago
- 7 min read
For the 236th feature of our "Together Talks" campaign, we collaborated with CrinklePak and Chief Crinkler, Mark Gannon. CrinklePak launched in June of 2022 with efforts of making affordable crinkle paper to fill the void in any box, bag, basket, display, etc. With a focus on quality, sustainability, and innovation, they offer more than just packaging - they offer an experience.
"Together Talks" feature # 236: CrinklePak presented by KLS - Your Trusted Shipping Solutions In The USA
What separates you from your competition? What have been the biggest challenges? Goals for upcoming year + Next phase of the company?
What have you learned since becoming an entrepreneur? What aspect of entrepreneurship do you appreciate the most? Share a decision that you made that was detrimental? What is your why?
Story of how it was created?
I actually bought a food distribution business in 2021 called Imperial Foods, and it catered to a gift basket–style gourmet food customer.
I was positioned in the gift space, and ironically, I was a distributor for another crinkle paper manufacturer. I kept hearing the same pain points from my customers: Why is crinkle paper so expensive? Why are there such high minimum orders? Why are lead times so long? Why are you out of stock?
That was the constant feedback—over and over again.
My original goal when I bought the food distribution business was to do something in food. But what I quickly realized was that this entire segment was underserved. I always intended to add some form of branding or manufacturing to the business, but the opportunity became very clear in this category.
At this point, I’ve exited the food side entirely. I no longer operate the food business—I’m fully focused on crinkle paper.
What separates you from your competition?
If you look at our category, we compete in the decorative void fill space—specifically crinkle paper—and there are a number of competitors out there.
What sets us apart is that we’re more affordable, we provide better customer service, we have no minimum order requirements, and we ship quickly. At the end of the day, we’re extremely customer-friendly. We care deeply—almost obsessively—about our customers, because when their business grows, we grow.
As long as we take care of our customers, it becomes much easier for us to scale alongside them.
More broadly, crinkle paper competes with other void-fill options like kraft paper rolls, tissue paper, and similar materials. What’s unique about crinkle paper is how effectively it fills space. Tissue paper is only as good as how you pack it, whereas crinkle paper naturally expands to fill the voids in a box.
So not only does it protect the product—it enhances the overall presentation.
What have been the biggest challenges?
The biggest challenge is trying to make everyone happy at once.
There are a lot of opportunities to pursue, and the key is being intentional about going after the right ones at the right time. Over the past couple of years, my focus has been on building capacity, which is critical to maintaining strong service levels for our customers.
At the same time, customers can get very specific—especially when it comes to colors. Everyone wants something unique: custom shades, niche variations, private label.
Goals for upcoming year + Next phase of the company?
We’re currently the number two crinkle paper manufacturer in the U.S., so my goal is to become number one by the end of 2026.
More broadly, we’re working on launching a disruptive packaging technology that we’ll be unveiling shortly. It’s going to be a game changer in terms of reducing freight costs.
Right now, customers are often paying for dimensional weight—sometimes as if they’re shipping 90 pounds when they’re really only buying 40. Our goal is to change that, so customers pay for what they’re actually purchasing.
We’re focused on right-sizing packaging in a way that meaningfully reduces cost.
What were your concerns to transition to starting your own business?
One of the biggest challenges was that this is a very niche product. It’s not like there’s a well-established ecosystem of equipment and vendors readily available.
It took time to figure out how to partner with the right company to build a prototype machine. We went through multiple iterations—evaluating what existed in the market, testing what we could produce, and refining from there.
I still remember the day we got our first machine. I’m not particularly mechanical or handy, and like any piece of equipment, it jammed immediately. We had to figure out how to fix what felt like the world’s worst paper jam.
It was a challenge—but we got through it.
Looking back now, it’s almost funny. The machine feels simple to operate today, but at the time, it was overwhelming. It really reinforced that progression: crawl, walk, run. Now, we’re fully in the “run” phase.
What have you learned since becoming an entrepreneur?
I like this question because I came into entrepreneurship with an MBA from Northwestern and thought I understood business pretty well.
But the reality is, running a small business teaches you ten times more than any MBA program ever could.
There’s no comparison. You learn more by actually being responsible—running Google Ads campaigns, building a website, shaping your brand, designing packaging—than you do reading case studies.
Being in the driver’s seat forces real learning.
My advice to anyone would be: get in the game. The wins are sweeter, the challenges are harder, but you’ll be far better off in the long run.
What aspect of entrepreneurship do you appreciate the most?
I take a lot of pride in being an employer and building a team. My employees are passionate about what they do, and we’ve worked hard to cultivate that kind of environment.
The same applies to our customers.
At the end of the day, I don’t make gift baskets or finished products—I have a warehouse full of crinkle paper and corrugate boxes. But when I see our product in a finished application—whether it’s a gift set, retail packaging, or a holiday bundle—it’s incredibly rewarding.
Seeing how our product contributes to someone else’s brand is something I genuinely enjoy.
Share a decision that you made that was detrimental?
There are plenty of mistakes—you just hope the negative ones are short-lived and the positive ones have a lasting impact.
One that stands out came from the food business.
We had an old website that didn’t look great, but it had been around for 30 years and was highly indexed by Google. When we redesigned it, we made it more modern and user-friendly—but we failed to properly transfer the backend SEO structure, including content and keywords.
As a result, we lost 40% of our organic traffic.
It was a painful lesson.
Since then, I’ve become extremely meticulous about website changes and how they impact performance. Unfortunately, we never fully recovered on the food side—but it also pushed me to focus entirely on crinkle paper.
And that leads to a broader lesson: focus is everything.
I was trying to do too much—multiple brands, multiple responsibilities, wearing every hat myself. Scaling a business is already incredibly difficult, and if you spread yourself too thin, you won’t get far.
You have to focus on the one thing that works and go all in.
What is your why?
I saw a massive opportunity in a market that was clearly underserved.
I wanted to be different from the incumbent vendors. I wanted to improve the customer experience—whether that meant flexible minimums, better service, or simply being more responsive.
For me, the real satisfaction comes from seeing our customers succeed.
We love being part of the process—the assist behind a product you might see in Walmart, Costco, or even a retail store like Starbucks. We take pride in helping elevate other brands.
Because ultimately, when our customers win, we win. Being able to champion them is incredibly fulfilling.
Do you have a moment that brings you the most joy?
There have been a lot of high points, and it’s hard to pinpoint just one.
We’ve had placements in major retail and gift programs, which is exciting. But more than anything, I’m focused on what we’re building.
My goal is to become the number one crinkle paper manufacturer, and we’re not slowing down until we get there.
We’ve had success, and I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished—but there’s still a lot of work to be done. I don’t think I’ve fully allowed myself to sit back and enjoy it yet.
What is next
We’re very close to launching our new packaging technology.
We don’t like seeing customers overpay for crinkle paper—but what we really hate is seeing them overpay for shipping. There’s no reason freight should cost more than the product itself.
This right-size packaging solution is going to change that, and we believe it will be highly disruptive.
We’re planning to launch within the next couple of weeks—so stay tuned.
Piece of Advice
I’m obsessed with small business, entrepreneurship through acquisition, and the content around it—podcasts, case studies, all of it.
The biggest piece of advice that always resonates with me is simple: get in the game.
You start seeing results once you put yourself out there.
When I first bought a crinkle paper shredder, I didn’t have many customers. But the moment I committed—put real skin in the game—I started gaining traction. I was making calls, building relationships, and growing the business.
There’s real momentum that comes from simply starting.
A lot of people hesitate—they overthink, they wait, they second-guess. But you can run small tests, validate product-market fit quickly, and if it works, go all in.
Starting is everything.
Promo Code
Purchase from their site, CrinklePak, and use the promo code below!
KLS15 -> 15% off!
Community Callout
Amerikoa - They are my business partners and their help has been instrumental to my success. They are a food ingredient manufacturer specializing in sprinkles, sweeteners, starches, and specialty toppings.
In Closing
KLS wants to thank CrinklePak and Chief Crinkler, Mark Gannon, for today's "Together Talks" feature. Follow along for their journey with their social handles below!