Costco POD Packaging: Custom Design and Manufacturing by Holidaypac

Reference scope: This factory guide interprets the supplied POD Guidelines — June 2025, © Costco Wholesale Corporation. Confirm the current requirements with your Costco buyer before production. This is Holidaypac’s manufacturing guide, not a Costco-issued approval or certification.

What is POD packaging?

In this guide, POD means Product on Display. It is a display-ready quantity of merchandise enclosed for handling and transport. The June 2025 document describes imported loads arriving without pallets, being unloaded with a clamp truck, placed on approved pallets at the depot and later presented in the warehouse after the protective outer packaging is removed.

A retail pallet display and its shipping enclosure have different jobs. The display presents the products; the complete POD must also protect them during the specified handling and stacking conditions. Holidaypac plans these parts together so the display layout does not create avoidable weaknesses in the shipping load.

Holidaypac retail display example. The protective POD shroud and shipping reinforcement are not shown; this photo is not evidence of POD test approval.

Start with the display, then engineer the packed load

Product access, shopping orientation, layer arrangement and transport protection should be considered together. Browse our custom pallet displays for presentation formats, then share your POD requirements for a project-specific design.

Key dimensions and material requirements

The figures below come from the supplied June 2025 guide. They are design inputs for that document, not a universal specification for every retailer or a substitute for your current buyer instructions.

For metric planning, 48 × 40 inches is approximately 121.9 × 101.6 cm; 46 × 38 inches is approximately 116.8 × 96.5 cm. Check the complete assembled dimensions, rather than only the size of the product tray.

The components Holidaypac plans around your product

• Bottom tray: locates the merchandise, shroud panels and corner posts.
• Display trays or layer sheets: organize the sell units and, where required, help distribute weight between layers.
• Corrugated shroud panels: fully enclose the load, with fluting oriented vertically as specified in the guide.
• Corner reinforcement: supports the intended stacking arrangement and helps confine the load.
• Top cap: closes the assembly and retains the upper ends of the corner posts.
• Plastic banding: secures the completed assembly; optional top framing is considered only when needed.

We define the manufacturing scope around your packing operation. That may involve coordinated packaging components, printed display trays and packing instructions. Confirm separately who supplies merchandise, assembles the loaded POD, performs validation and books transport.

From factory brief to a shipment-ready packaging plan

1. Review the sell unit. Record external dimensions, gross weight, fragility and shopping orientation. Agree the buyer’s preferred display tray or box format.
2. Plan layers and reinforcement together. Avoid gaps that allow movement and align packages vertically. Account for both static and dynamic double-stacking conditions described in the guide.
3. Develop the sample assembly. Position straps below the bottom tray, build the layers, fit shrouds and corner posts, then close the top cap. The guide places the posts slightly above the top product layer.
4. Validate the complete packed load. Review clamping, stacking and transport requirements using actual merchandise or an agreed representative load. Record materials, assembly method and test conditions.
5. Confirm print and production details. Obtain the buyer’s packaging review before printing. Approve artwork, component dimensions, packing responsibilities and the production sample.
6. Coordinate dispatch. Agree packaging quantities, shipping configuration, destination and delivery scope with Holidaypac before booking shipment.

Clamping and height need project-specific confirmation

The supplied guide states that PODs must withstand mechanical clamping up to 2,300 psi / 159 bar without damage. That figure must be interpreted with the handling equipment and agreed validation method; it is not a paperboard strength rating or a load-capacity claim for a Holidaypac product.

The document also limits the stacked merchandise layers to no more than half the loadable height of the inbound equipment. Obtain the applicable loadable-dimensions guidance for the actual shipping equipment instead of assuming one fixed POD height.

Prepare the identification markings before printing

The June 2025 guide calls for identification on the front and back 48-inch shroud panels. It specifies black printing and Helvetica Neue LT Std 77 Bold Condensed, with the layout scaled to the actual panel size. Production artwork needs the buyer’s review.

Prepare the item number, purchase-order number, product description, product line drawing, sell-unit count, shipping-unit sequence, gross volume, gross and net weights, and country of origin. In the supplied template, weights are labeled in English and French; origin is shown in English, French and Spanish. Imported product descriptions use all three languages, while domestic product descriptions use English.

Gross weight includes packaging and, when shipped on a pallet, the pallet; net weight refers to merchandise alone. Ask your buyer to confirm exact marking data and language treatment before Holidaypac prepares the print-ready file.

Can additional single layers be shipped above PODs?

The supplied guide permits supplementary layers only with NLC approval. These are individually enclosed, single-layer display-ready units with the same footprint as the POD. They use a top cap, bottom tray, corrugated panels and straps; corner posts are not required for that layer format. Clamping performance and identification still matter, and total supplementary-layer quantities must equal complete POD quantities.

Confirm this arrangement before optimizing a container plan. Additional layers are not an automatic allowance to increase the load.

What to send Holidaypac for a quotation

Send your product or sell-unit dimensions and weights, photographs, quantity per layer and POD, order quantity, destination market, buyer guidelines, artwork files, packing location and target arrival date. Include any approved test plan, load study or specific handling restrictions.

We can then discuss a practical scope for design, samples, manufacturing and shipment. Material grade, price, lead time and delivery terms are quoted for your project rather than assumed from a generic display photograph.

Frequently asked questions

What does POD mean in Costco packaging?

POD means Product on Display: a fully enclosed, display-ready quantity of merchandise prepared for distribution handling and eventual in-store presentation. It does not mean print on demand in this context.

Does Holidaypac manufacture POD packaging?

Yes. Holidaypac provides custom POD packaging design and manufacturing services. Send your product dimensions, packed weights, quantity, shipping plan and buyer requirements so we can define the packaging scope and quotation.

What footprint should a POD use?

The supplied June 2025 guide specifies a footprint between 46 × 38 inches and 48 × 40 inches, with the 48-inch dimension as the main shopping side. Confirm the applicable requirements for your specific program before production.

Can a POD be wrapped in stretch film?

The June 2025 guide does not permit stretch film around the POD. It calls for a corrugated enclosure, corner reinforcement and plastic banding as applicable; material and assembly choices must suit the load.

Does a good-looking pallet display prove that the POD is ready to ship?

No. Retail appearance does not demonstrate survival under clamping, double-stacking and transport. Assess and validate the complete packed load, including the merchandise and all protective components.

What should I send Holidaypac for a quotation?

Send sell-unit dimensions and weights, desired quantity per layer and POD, destination, buyer guidelines, artwork and order quantity. Include the packing location, required arrival date and any approved test or load-study requirements.

Source note: Technical reference: POD Guidelines — June 2025, Costco Wholesale Corporation, supplied for this article. This is an original explanatory article; the source document is not presented as a Holidaypac publication. Refer to your buyer’s current documents for final program requirements.