What Swiftpak does

Swiftpak is a privately held UK wholesale packaging distributor headquartered in Reading, Berkshire, founded circa 1977-1980. The company supplies transit, industrial, and bespoke packaging materials to UK business customers across multiple verticals including pharmaceutical and chemical, electronics/IT/telecoms, automotive and aerospace, light and precision engineering, and home products and construction. Its core product portfolio spans 11 categories - polythene and shrinkfilms, adhesive tape, postal, corrugate and pallets, strapping, protective packaging, labelling, stretch wrap, warehouse and tools, machines, and thermal solutions - augmented by proprietary branded products (SupaTak, PAKTOOL, MWRAP, Precisionrap DK) and a suite of services including bespoke packaging design, sustainable packaging, pharmaceutical packaging, temperature-controlled packaging, and free packaging audits.

The company's core technology is conventional distribution combined with an in-house packaging design team and an owned delivery fleet that handles approximately 95% of orders, supporting a 98% On Time In Full (OTIF) delivery performance and next-day delivery for stock items ordered before 3pm GMT. Its product surface includes advanced supply-chain indicator labels (ShockWatch RFID, ShockWatch 2, TiltWatch, ShockDot), ESD-protective packaging, and tamper-evident solutions used by enterprise customers including Google (Nest Doorbell packaging), Abcam (100% recyclable packaging transformation), semiconductor equipment manufacturers, and flu vaccine distributors.

Swiftpak's business model combines transactional wholesale supply (unit pricing with bulk discounts, free next-day delivery over GBP 100 in Gold zone) with subscription-style account management (12-month fixed pricing, consolidated weekly/monthly invoicing, bespoke SKUs loaded into customer online accounts, approval workflows, waste and spend reports). Revenue is generated from one-time materials sales and bespoke professional services revenue. The company holds Certified B Corporation status, Carbon Neutral certification (2025), ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, and BRCGS Site Certification, and carries a 4.8/5 Trustpilot rating. The go-to-market is sales-led through industry-specialist account managers (4-hour resolution SLA) backed by a transactional e-commerce portal for existing accounts, operating exclusively in a UK single-country geography.

Name

Swiftpak

Legal name

Swiftpak Limited

Website

https://swiftpak.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Swiftpak is a privately held UK wholesale packaging distributor in Reading, Berkshire, supplying transit, industrial, bespoke, and temperature-controlled packaging materials and design services to business customers across pharmaceutical, electronics, automotive, and precision-engineering verticals via its own delivery fleet.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Wholesale Packaging Supplies

NAICS

Packaging and Labeling Services (56191)

SIC

Wholesale-Professional & Commercial Equipment & Supplies (5040), Wholesale-Machinery, Equipment & Supplies (5080)

akta.pro primary industry

Custom Engineered Transit Packaging & Packaging Design Services (IMALAFAM)

Keywords

• Wholesale packaging supplies
• Protective packaging materials
• Bespoke packaging design
• Industrial transit packaging
• Warehouse packaging equipment

Headquarters

HQ city

Reading

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Packaging Materials Sales: Sale of standard and bespoke packaging materials including polythene, shrinkfilms, adhesive tape, postal supplies, corrugated boxes, pallets, strapping, protective packaging, labelling, stretch wrap, warehouse tools, machines, and thermal solutions. Products are sold in wholesale unit quantities geared towards business use.
2. Bespoke Packaging Solutions: Custom packaging design and development services where Swiftpak's in-house packaging design team creates samples and develops bespoke products for individual business requirements. These products are then added to the customer's online account for easy ordering.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Swiftpak is a wholesale packaging supplier that sells protective, transit, industrial, and bespoke packaging materials—including adhesive tape, corrugate and pallets, strapping, stretch wrap, void fill, postal packaging, labelling, machines, and thermal solutions—to UK businesses. It complements its 2,500+ stocked products with an in-house packaging design team that creates custom bespoke solutions, delivers orders via its own truck fleet (covering 95% of shipments) for next-day delivery, and offers services such as packaging audits, sustainable packaging, pharmaceutical packaging, and temperature-controlled packaging.

Product overview

Swiftpak is a wholesale packaging supplier offering a comprehensive portfolio of protective packaging materials, equipment, and bespoke solutions. The core product portfolio spans 11 main categories: Polythene & Shrinkfilms, Adhesive Tape, Postal, Corrugate & Pallets, Strapping, Protective Packaging, Labelling, Stretch Wrap, Warehouse & Tools, Machines, and Thermal Solutions. The company complements its standard product range with branded proprietary offerings including SupaTak, PAKTOOL, MWRAP, and PrecisionapDK. Strapping solutions include PET Strapping (extruded polyester with various tensile strengths STPT30 through STPT90) and Polypropylene Strapping in multiple core sizes. Void fill products encompass paper void fill (Paperplus, Papertech, Pakfill brands), air bags (Storopack and FP brands), foam-in-place, and loose fill materials (biodegradable foam chips, polystyrene, vermiculite, woodwool). Supply chain protection is provided through indicator labels including ShockWatch RFID, ShockWatch 2, TiltWatch series, and ShockDot for impact, tilt, and handling monitoring. Adhesive tape offerings include gummed paper tape and reinforced variants. The company provides services including bespoke packaging design, sustainable packaging solutions, pharmaceutical packaging, temperature-controlled packaging, and free packaging audits. With 2,500 always-in-stock products and 50% of products being bespoke, Swiftpak serves diverse industry sectors including electronics, automotive, pharmaceutical, and precision engineering.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SupaTak: Product brand for packaging solutions
• PAKTOOL
• MWRAP
• PrecisionapDK

Products and services

• Polythene & Shrinkfilms Wholesale polythene films and shrink wrap materials for packaging, wrapping, containment, and ESD-protective applications for business packaging operations.
• Adhesive Tape Comprehensive range of adhesive tapes for carton sealing, masking, and packaging applications, including gummed paper tape for tamper-evident carton closure.
• Postal Packaging Packaging solutions for postal and courier shipments, including envelopes, mailers, protective postal packaging, and laptop/film support packs.
• Corrugate & Pallets Corrugated cardboard boxes and pallet solutions for shipping, storage, and transit packaging.
• Strapping Strapping materials and tools for securing and stabilising pallet loads, including PET strapping and polypropylene strapping.
• Protective Packaging Materials designed to protect goods from damage during transit and storage, including void fill, cushioning, impact protection, foam-in-place, air bags, and loose fill.
• Labelling Stock and custom labels for packaging identification, handling instructions, and supply chain monitoring, including ShockWatch RFID, ShockWatch 2, TiltWatch, and ShockDot impact/tilt indicators.
• Stretch Wrap Stretch film for wrapping and securing pallet loads to prevent shifting during storage and transport.
• Warehouse & Tools Packaging tools, dispensers, and warehouse equipment for efficient packaging operations.
• Machines Packaging machinery including taping machines, strapping machines, and dispensing equipment.
• Thermal Solutions Temperature-controlled packaging solutions for maintaining product integrity during thermal-sensitive shipments such as vaccine and pharmaceutical distribution.
• SupaTak Proprietary Swiftpak brand of packaging tape/solution offered as a standalone product line.
• PAKTOOL Proprietary Swiftpak brand of packaging tools offered as a standalone product line.
• MWRAP Proprietary Swiftpak brand of stretch wrap / wrapping solution offered as a standalone product line.
• PrecisionapDK Proprietary Swiftpak zero-waste stretch wrap solution supporting sustainability and EPR compliance, offered as a standalone product line.
• Bespoke Packaging Solutions Custom packaging design and development service where Swiftpak's in-house design team creates samples and bespoke products tailored to individual business requirements.
• Sustainable Packaging Solutions Eco-friendly packaging solutions including recyclable, reusable, and reduced-material options supporting environmental responsibility and EPR compliance.
• Pharmaceutical Packaging Specialised packaging solutions for pharmaceutical and chemical industries requiring exceptional protection and tamper-evidence for medicines and sensitive medical equipment.
• Temperature Controlled Packaging Thermal packaging solutions for maintaining product integrity during temperature-sensitive shipments such as vaccine and pharmaceutical distribution.
• Packaging Audit Free no-obligation packaging audit providing assessment and proposals targeting cost savings up to 57%, productivity gains up to 40%, and waste reduction up to 74%.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 57% cost savings through packaging audit
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Rajapack: Largest UK and European packaging distributor offering a broad catalogue of boxes, wrapping, and protective packaging with next-day delivery. Direct competitor to Swiftpak on standard transit packaging SKUs and online ordering for UK SMB and mid-market customers.
• Davpack: UK-based packaging supplier focused on cardboard boxes, packing materials, and shipping supplies for e-commerce and B2B. Comparable catalogue breadth, customer segment, and online-led distribution model to Swiftpak.
• Kite Packaging: UK distributor of transit, protective, and food packaging supplies with a multi-depot network. Overlaps Swiftpak on protective packaging, polythene, strapping, and B2B sales-led distribution.
• Smith Packaging: UK wholesale packaging supplier offering bespoke packaging design and a broad catalogue of transit, protective, and industrial packaging. Closely comparable in business model, scale, and service-led positioning.
• Packaging Supplies Ltd: UK supplier of cardboard, void fill, tape, and protective packaging for B2B customers. Comparable wholesale distributor model and product range to Swiftpak.
• Storopack: Global protective packaging manufacturer and supplier (paper void fill, air pillows, foam) that Swiftpak resells. Comparable on void-fill and protective packaging, but with manufacturing scale and a wider international footprint.
• Polybags Ltd: UK manufacturer and supplier of polythene bags, shrink films, and postal packaging. Comparable on the polythene/shrinkfilm category that Swiftpak distributes and offers ESD variants of.

Broad incumbents

• Antalis (KPP / Klinger Partners): Large international paper, packaging, and visual communication distributor with a UK operation. Broader portfolio and geographic reach than Swiftpak, but directly competes in transit packaging and bespoke solutions.
• Macfarlane Group: UK-listed protective packaging distributor (Macfarlane, Network, Paulanpal) with multi-site UK coverage. Directly comparable in transit and protective packaging distribution with greater scale and geographic reach than Swiftpak.

Emerging players

• LIL Packaging: UK-based sustainable packaging supplier focused on ecommerce-ready, recyclable mailers and boxes. Adjacent competitor for Swiftpak's sustainable packaging service line and ecommerce segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Swiftpak
• Facebookfacebook.com/Swiftpak

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Swiftpak