Personal Care Leader Reduces Tariff Risks via Dual-Sourcing Strategy | CPG
9/16/2026
RRD Asia identifies, qualifies alternative production source for global care brand’s giveaway bags
CHALLENGE
A global personal care brand had paper giveaway bags manufactured in China for several years. Escalating trade tensions, however, brought increased tariff risks, rising procurement costs, and an increasingly unpredictable supply chain. Potential anti-dumping duties on imported paper bags further complicated sourcing decisions.
The company sought a secondary manufacturing source in Southeast Asia for their paper bag program, one located outside of China. The additional source would enable production to shift between China and Southeast Asia as needed, based on tariff impact, capacity, and business needs.
SOLUTION
RRD Asia, the company’s existing supply chain and manufacturing partner, was entrusted to develop an alternative paper bag sourcing strategy. The ultimate strategy comprised four primary steps:
- Rapid supplier qualification: RRD Asia’s supply chain team, utilizing their strong sourcing capabilities and extensive paper bag manufacturing expertise, quickly identified and qualified an alternative production partner. RRD conducted supplier audits along with capability assessments to pinpoint an optimal Southeast Asia-based supplier.
- Seamless execution: RRD coordinated supplier qualification, sample development, and customer approvals, in addition to sourcing strategy development and production planning. Throughout the project, the emphasis was on flexibility and scalability.
- Cost optimization: RRD continued to support the program through ongoing manufacturing and process optimization initiatives. These served to improve production efficiency, material utilization, and overall cost competitiveness while maintaining high quality standards.
- Accelerated timeline: RRD completed material confirmation, sample development, client approval, and production readiness within a compressed timeframe to keep the project on schedule.
RESULTS
RRD Asia successfully delivered a dual-sourcing solution for the company’s paper giveaway bags, including a supplier audit, sample development, and customer approval. Key results included:
- Established sourcing flexibility in response to changing tariff conditions
- Significantly minimized tariff and regulatory risk, ensuring long-term cost stability and budget predictability
- Maintained production continuity and strict product quality consistency throughout the transition, all on an accelerated timeline driven by the transition
- Strengthened the long-term partnership between the client and RRD