Elegant Hang Tag Elastics for Bottled Food and Beverages

Specialty bottled sauces, beverages, mixes and condiments—particularly those with a local, organic, protein and/or convenience bent—have enjoyed a 21 percent sales increase since 2013! The demand is there, so the real challenge is making your product stand out amongst all its competitors. Aside from touting quality ingredients and overall deliciousness, packaging matters—right down to the hang tag elastic. Here are some options you might consider:

Metallic Elastic Hang Tag Loops

These shiny, eye-catching elastic hang tag loops come in a host of colors we can customize to fit your packaging design. You can order bulk hang tag elastics in different colors if you have several different bottled products to sell. These hang tag elastics are great for holiday packaging and high-end products.

Knotted Hang Tag Elastics

Sometimes you want the hang tag elastics to be almost invisible while the hang tag itself is the main show. In these cases, we recommend simple black or white hang tag elastics that are both elegant and understated. This is a great way to package bottled foods and beverages where local and organic are the main selling points.

Hang Tag Elastics with Ball

If high-end, elegant and swank are the message behind your bottled specialty foods, consider the elegant hang tag elastic with a ball at the end. These work well with thicker bottles and heavier cardstock tags.

Hang Tag Loops with Tassels

These are another elegant hang tag loop option for bottled foods and beverages; they give an extra touch of class to any gourmet bottled product where you want to make the packaging stand out on the shelf.

If you aren’t sure what bulk hang tag elastic would go best with your packaging scheme, feel free to contact Elastic Connections at 847-426-6830 to ask us about the different options we have available. We can customize to your needs and we have many colors, finishes and gauges in stock.

Strong Barbed Elastic Cord for Restaurant Menus

The restaurant industry is exciting! New restaurants themed after clean eating, sustainable food sourcing, international cuisines, and a host of other niche dining experiences spring up daily. And the menu is as much of a centerpiece as the food. Go classy and flexible with menu folders bound with strong barbed elastic bands and cord.

Elastic Menu Cord Keeps Your Menu Flexible

The best reason to create a sturdy menu folder bound with barbed elastic cord is that you can change your offerings whenever you need to without completely discarding the old menu folder. This saves you money and time, whether you’re well established or just starting out. Use plastic pockets inside the menu covers to change up your appetizers, beverage offerings, dishes of the day, etc.

How to Order Bulk Barbed Elastic Loops for Menus

The bulk barbed elastic loops you need to order for your menu design depend largely on size, shape and weight. Once you’ve settled on the size, weight and dimensions of your menu, Elastic Connections can make recommendations on which gauge and length will work best for your menu elastic. Obviously, the heavier the menu, the thicker the elastic cord should be; we carry 5 different diameters from 1 mm all the way up to 2.4mm. The most frequently ordered diameter is 1.2mm.

Customized Barbed Elastic Menu Cord

Of course, the menu is one of the most important aspects of your marketing efforts, so customization is important, right down to the color of elastic menu cord you use. Our menu elastic comes in many different colors; The 1.2mm, 1.7mm widths come in 24 standard colors, but can also be customized to fit your needs. We can also customize colors for the 1mm, 2mm and 2.4mm elastic menu cords

Contact Elastic Connections today with any questions as you design your restaurant menus and need to order bulk elastic menu cord: 847-426-6830.

Stretch Loops for Gift Boxes

There are three key deciding factors for determining the size of gift box stretch loops and bows:

The type of elastic cord or ribbon used (and the amount of stretch it has)
How you plan to wrap the gift box elastic cord around the box: along the width, along the length or around the corners
The size of the boxes

First, we recommend finding the circumference of the cord or ribbon you’ll need by wrapping a piece of regular (non-elastic) string around the box in exactly the way you plan to use the elastic bows. Measure at the point where one end of the string meets the other end.

Now that you have the circumference, you can make some educated choices on your pre-tied elastic gift box bows:

4 Inches or less—For these small boxes (jewelry, bottle necks or other small item boxes), order exactly the circumference you measured.
5 to 15 inches—Subtract one inch from your measured circumference to get stretch loops or bows that hold the gift box together securely.
16 inches or longer—Subtract at least one inch from your measured circumference, otherwise the elastic cord will not hold the gift box securely enough. For instance, a box you measured with an 18-inch circumference will need a stretch loop between 15-17 inches, most likely.

Also consider that the type of pre-tied elastic gift bow may also impact the length too. The classic metallic elastic pre-tied bows in 1.2 to 1.7-millimeter gauges stretch a bit more than wider-gauge ribbons. We carry a wide range of colors, styles and elastic loop widths, so we can help you find the type that best fits your boxes.

If you aren’t sure what you need, contact Elastic Connections today and our knowledgeable team will help you get the right elastic gift box cord: 847-426-6830.

Stationery Stretch Loops & Cords

In the mid-90s, talk of the “paperless office”—even a paperless world—led to an explosion of business software and web-based applications that were supposed to make paper obsolete. As stationery converters know, however, the world still needs paper. In the U.S. alone, the consumption of paper products has boomed over 126 percent in the last 20 years. And there’s no end in sight. But what stationery converters are focusing on now is creating home, office and school paper products that are recycled and recyclable, biodegradable, ethically produced and that can be more efficiently used for longer periods of time. Converters are also turning to stationery stretch loops to keep up with demand for these more customizable products:

Notebooks with elastic cord—Paper notebooks enjoy strong demand, but with a few competitive twists. Aside from being made from recycled materials, elastic cord features that help snap notebooks closed when not in use, or to secure pens and pencils on the side can boost that demand.

Notebooks with Stationery Stretch Loop and Elastic Cord

Expandable file folders—Again, made with recycled materials, these can last for years, helping people keep track of other important papers, thumb drives, pens, etc. while on the go. The essential element for these is the elastic cord used to secure the folders shut, either with a button attachment or with barbed elastic cord on the edges.

Office products with elastic cord account for an impressive market share for stationery converters. Although the shift to digital in many areas of the office, school and home has hurt traditional products like greeting cards, demand for smarter notebooks and expandable file folders just keeps growing. In addition to in-office use, many companies are requesting customized elastic-cord enhanced supplies with logos for promotional use in marketing and as trade-show supplies and giveaways.

Contact Elastic Connections today to discuss all of your needs for bulk elastic cord in a wide variety of colors, lengths, widths, whether barbed, balled, looped or pre-tied.

Pre-Tied Elastic Bows for Chocolatiers

7.3 million tons. That’s how much chocolate human beings consumed in the last year—it’s an exciting time for chocolatiers. While makers of fine chocolates have struggled to connect with adult consumers over the years, many boutique and fair-trade chocolatiers are finding success with bold, new gourmet flavors and confections boxed with a variety of pre-tied elastic bows for boxes of chocolates.

The two biggest trends in the chocolate industry are chocolatiers producing fair-trade and organic chocolate confections, and chocolatiers mixing flavors that go way beyond the crisp rice or peanut butter of childhood. Many chocolate makers are using darker chocolate with less sugar to appeal to those who love chocolate, but who also want to eat healthier. (Thank goodness chocolate can now be considered a health food!) The packaging options should also reflect these trends. Pre-tied elastic bows for chocolate boxes could include:

Metallic Pre-Tied Elastic Bows—These are perfect for high-end gourmet chocolates. When packaged in branded boxes and secured with these shiny, easy-to-attach pre-tied elastic bows, they are the perfect gift for any chocolate lover. And if your branding goes beyond just the classic gold or silver metallic bows, we also have metallic pre-tied elastic bows in many different colors and widths that can fit your brand style.

Matte Pre-Tied Elastic Bows—Chocolatiers focusing on confections from fair-trade and organic farming practices show the world that chocolate can be both delicious and ethical. While these chocolatiers are also making chocolates with a wide range of spices, nuts, fruits and flavor combinations, they may want to emphasize the organic/fair-trade angle first. To that end, chocolate boxes can be secured with matte pre-tied elastic bows in a variety of colors.

If you’re a chocolate maker looking for a classy way to package your chocolate artistry, contact Elastic Connections at 847-426-6830 for bulk pre-tied elastic bows in a wide variety of widths, colors and finishes. We can make custom bulk orders to fit your particular branding needs.

Elastic Cord with Barbed Ends for Event Planners

Event planners have one of the coolest jobs ever—throwing huge parties for corporations, organizations and families! But the stress can be huge; the tiniest details matter. This is one of the reasons event organizers need to keep elastic cord with barbed ends on hand.

Hanging Décor and Signage—No matter where you’re event is being held, you will need to hang decorations and signage. One of the most versatile and seamless ways to hang things is to use barbed elastic cord. We carry a wide range of lengths and colors, and we can create custom orders to fit exactly what you need to hang decorations and signage securely, beautifully and easily.

Event Folders—Producing event folders and packets is particularly essential for corporate and organizational events. Make sure that your event packets are secured with barbed elastic cord so that all materials stay in place. You can also use barbed elastic to create secure attachments on folders where attendees can affix their pens.

Masks & Party Hats—If you’re planning an event on the festive side, you may need bulk barbed elastic for party hats or masks. One activity that’s gained popularity at many large events is the group photo where friends and colleagues put on masks and funny hats for a picture that can then immediately be posted to social media. Activities with accessories like these are great for icebreakers, as well as publicity for your event planning services!

Name Tags—Big events usually also need ways to get around the social awkwardness of people not knowing each other. One easy ice breaker is providing simple elastic lanyards with fun, interactive, conversation-starter name tags that help people get to know one another quickly.

If you’re an event planner in need of bulk barbed elastic for any of these (or more) reasons, contact Elastic Connections today at 847-426-6830 to discuss your needs and get quick turnaround on an order for your next big event!

Elastic Lanyards for Name Badges

Name badges are a uniform essential for a wide variety of organizations, particularly large organizations where hundreds or thousands of people work each day, interacting with customers, patients and co-workers. Pinned-on name badges can snag and cause holes in clothing, so many large organizations are going with the cost-effective barbed elastic neck lanyards for name badges held in plastic sleeves. And they’re including all kinds of new features on the badges as well:

Transportation Perks—Some organizations are including special electronic tags in their name badges that employees can swipe to use public transportation for free or for a lower price. This boosts the company’s eco efforts, saves employees money getting to work and reduces their carbon footprint.

Lunch Perks—Another morale booster is the barbed elastic neck lanyards carrying name tag pouches with QR codes or coupons for discounts to local cafes and restaurants where employees frequently head for lunch. It’s also a way for local businesses to support each other.

Personalization—Today’s organizations are celebrating the individuality of their employees. Barbed elastic neck lanyard name tags can have the standard name, photo badge and department design on them, but they’re certainly big enough to include an employee’s favorite quote, hobby or something that would help co-workers, patients or customers remember and connect with them faster.

Easily Updatable—A large-scale logo upgrade, a big set of new hires or a company merger can wreak havoc on the seemingly smallest items in a company, including the name badges. One of the reasons barbed elastic lanyard name badges are so cost-effective is that the cards within the pouches can easily be changed if necessary, for whatever reason.

Contact Elastic Connections today at 847-426-6830 to order bulk barbed elastic neck lanyards for your organizations name badges today. Contact us to find out about different options for your order and to discuss any other needs you have for barbed elastic for signage, promotions and other projects.

Barbed Elastic String for Party Hats and Costume Masks

Whether it’s a kids’ birthday party or an adult cocktail party, the popularity of party hats and masks is skyrocketing. What with the Cosplay craze and the “Chewbacca Mom” phenomenon, marketers must step up their game and order plenty of barbed elastic string for manufacturing party hats and masks to keep up with the demand. The latest trends include:

Fascinators and Classic Hats—Party goers are hailing back to a bygone age of elegant hats, particularly for adult parties and holiday parties. Fascinators are particularly popular for the ladies and manufacturers need barbed elastic to attach fascinators securely to a wide variety of heads and hairdos. Inexpensive versions of top hats, fedoras, bowlers and other classic hat styles are also making their way to the party hat scene.

Beyond Cone Hats—For the kids and the adults, cone-shaped hats are still an essential party favor, but the designs are more varied. Instead of just the typical colored balloon or flowered cone patterns you see on mass-produced party hats with barbed elastic, many party hats now have designs from favorite movies or have a more art deco look to them. Some look like mini-Mad Hatter hats. There are also lots of crowns and tiaras.

Masks and Eye Patches—From superheroes, video game characters and wizards to stormtroopers, animals and pirates, kids are wearing these for dress up play as much as they are doing it for Halloween. We have comfortable, durable barbed elastic that doesn’t tug on the hair or skin so these masks can be worn again and again.

Fancy masks—Sophisticated party goers are wearing beautiful filigreed, bejeweled and feathered party masks to cocktail parties and other soirees more and more as well.

If you need bulk barbed elastic for party hat or costume mask manufacturing, contact Elastic Connections today at 847-426-6830 to order. We have a wide variety of colors and widths of barbed elastic for you to choose from!

Point of Purchase Materials

Retail merchandisers are constantly looking for ways to “wow” the consumer, and trends are very fluid at the moment. One aspect of POP signage that remains stable is the need for flexible, movable, customizable signage secured with barbed elastic cord. These Point of Purchase materials can be used just about anywhere, in a variety of retail environments, and are also easy to change up to keep the look fresh. As you design your next POP signage campaign, consider incorporating these trends and tips, and stock up on the barbed elastic cord:

Interactivity—Even a mere store aisle sign hanging with barbed elastic cord can be interactive. Grocery stores can incorporate QR codes and other mobile-device friendly aspects on signage to show their customers exactly where they can find a certain item, what other items in the store would go well with what they’re looking for, provide easy recipes, special sale information, etc. This strategy works well with clothing stores as well.

Surprise them—POP signage that moves, is incorporated with clever mannequin displays and that pops up in different areas of the store on different days keeps customers on their toes, wondering what to expect next. The great thing about using barbed elastic cord for these POP displays is that they can easily be moved anywhere in the store and provide both flexibility and stability to keep the signage in place wherever you decide to put it up. This gives retailers the option to customize based on needs in their location.

Show, don’t tell—The most effective POP signage uses visuals to show customers how a variety of products work together to create the complete “lifestyle experience” that your products can provide, whether it’s outdoor gear, food, clothing, tech, or all of those things mixed together.

Elastic Connections has a wide variety of barbed elastic cords especially designed for retail POP signage. Contact us today at 847-426-6830 to discuss your needs with us!

Apparel Elastic for Hair Accessories

Last fall, the big fashion houses unleashed a barrage of hair accessories on the world—this spring, the latest hair accessory trend is only getting bigger, wilder and more blingy. Hair accessory manufacturers will need even more bulk apparel elastic to keep up with the new coif décor demands:

Tiaras and Headbands—Fashionistas will be going big on these in the upcoming season. But gone are the minimalist stretchy headbands of last year; this year, the headbands are wider and more elaborate, meaning stretchy satin or rayon cord and apparel elastic in abundance, depending on the design. Floral, bejeweled, shiny and wide are simply IT right now.

Head Wraps—Exotic is the name of the game this year. If a mere floral headband isn’t enough, entire head wraps are bringing a boho-hippy-exotic shout to coifs around the world. But a lot of women don’t have time to learn the complicated wrapping techniques, so for Prêt-à-Porter chic, we recommend stretchy pieces made with elastic apparel thread that can be slipped on easily over the hair. Sparkly, bejeweled, bold-patterned and multi-textured head wraps are especially in.

Sui Generis—In other words, unique. There have been a lot of hair pieces on the runways that simply do not fit into any category. Some combine wraps with actual earrings, some are nearly entire bouquets of sparkly flowers cascading asymmetrically over the wearer’s head. Some are babushka-style headscarves with extra bling attached. Manufacturers of this season’s hair accessories are thrilled that the sky’s the limit as long as they’ve got enough elastic thread on hand.

Hair accessory manufacturers and designers should contact Elastic Connections today at 847-426-6830 to put in their orders for bulk elastic apparel thread and spooled elastic thread. We have gauges from 0.5 mm to 2.4 mm and even wider. We also have stretch rayon cord and stretchy satin in a wide range of colors ready to manufacture the most amazing hair accessories.