Custom Medicine Boxes

Medicine Box Styles We Offer

We manufacture custom medicine boxes across a range of formats to suit different medicine types and regulatory categories. All styles are available with the precise print specifications required for scheduled medicine labelling.

Schedule 2 Medicine Boxes

Packaging for pharmacy medicines available without prescription – Schedule 2 products such as low-dose analgesics, some antihistamines, and certain topical preparations. Schedule 2 packaging must carry the “Pharmacy Medicine” scheduling statement and meet the labelling requirements of TGO 92 for non-prescription medicines.

Available as secondary cartons for bottles, blister packs, tubes, and other primary containers. The front panel design must balance mandatory regulatory information with brand communication in a retail pharmacy environment where Schedule 2 products are often displayed in a general retail area alongside non-scheduled products.

Schedule 3 Medicine Boxes

Packaging for pharmacist-only medicines – Schedule 3 products that require a pharmacist to be involved in the sale, such as emergency contraception, some codeine-containing products, and certain topical treatments. Schedule 3 packaging must carry the “Pharmacist Only Medicine” scheduling statement in the required terms and location.

The Schedule 3 retail context is different to Schedule 2 – these products are often kept behind the pharmacy counter and presented by the pharmacist rather than self-selected by the consumer. The packaging design needs to work in both the pharmacist’s consultation context and the consumer’s subsequent handling of the product.

Over-the-Counter Analgesic and Pain Relief Boxes

A format for the most purchased medicine category in Australian retail – analgesics including paracetamol, ibuprofen, and aspirin, along with combination pain relief products. The analgesic category is one of the most competitive in pharmacy retail, with multiple brands competing on the same shelf at similar price points.

The analgesic packaging brief is primarily one of differentiation in a commodity category. The active ingredient, the dose, and the indication are often identical across competing products – the brand, the quality communication, and the design are the primary differentiators. For premium analgesic brands competing against generic alternatives, the packaging quality communicates the quality difference that the formulation alone may not.

Cold, Flu, and Allergy Medicine Boxes

A format for cold and flu treatments, antihistamines, decongestants, and allergy management products – categories that are purchased most heavily during illness peaks and seasonal allergy seasons. Cold and flu packaging needs to communicate symptom relief quickly and clearly, in a context where the consumer is often unwell and making a fast decision.

Symptom icon systems – visual representations of the specific symptoms the product addresses – are common in this category because they communicate faster than text to a consumer who is tired, sick, or distracted. The packaging design should support fast, accurate product selection in the specific symptom context.

Generic Medicine Boxes

Packaging for generic medicine products – products that contain the same active ingredients as brand-name medicines and meet bioequivalence requirements. Generic medicine packaging must communicate clearly that the product contains the same active ingredients as the reference brand, must carry all mandatory scheduling and labelling information, and must comply with the specific requirements for generic medicine labelling under Australian regulations.

For generic medicine brands competing primarily on price, the packaging needs to communicate clinical equivalence clearly and credibly – a consumer who is uncertain whether a generic is truly equivalent will choose the brand name product, even at a higher price.

Choosing the Right Medicine Box Configuration

Scheduling status determines mandatory labelling content before any design decisions are made. The scheduling statement – “Pharmacy Medicine,” “Pharmacist Only Medicine,” “Prescription Only Medicine” – must appear on the label in the specific terms required by the Therapeutic Goods Regulations. The statement must be in a minimum specified size, in a prominent location on the label, and must not be obscured or minimised by other design elements. For any medicine packaging brief, confirming the scheduling status and the required scheduling statement with a TGA regulatory professional is the starting point, not a step that can be deferred to after the design is developed.

The active ingredient declaration is mandatory on the front panel. TGO 92 requires that the active ingredient or ingredients appear on the front panel of a non-prescription medicine label. The active ingredient must be the approved name (the International Non-proprietary Name or Australian Approved Name), not a brand name or descriptor. For medicines with multiple active ingredients, all active ingredients must be declared. The active ingredient declaration must be in a minimum specified type size. This is a design constraint that affects the front panel layout – the active ingredient declaration occupies prominent front panel space, and the design must accommodate it without minimising it.

Tamper evidence is mandatory and must be genuinely effective. Medicine packaging in Australia must have tamper-evident features that allow a consumer to determine whether the product has been accessed before purchase. Perforated glued flaps, shrink sleeves, inner seals, and tamper-evident closures are all common approaches. The tamper evidence feature must be genuinely effective – a flap that can be resealed without visible evidence of opening is not adequate tamper evidence. The tamper evidence specification should be part of the initial packaging brief and should be tested before finalising the production specification.

Pack size may be restricted for scheduled medicines. Certain scheduled medicines have maximum pack size restrictions – the maximum number of doses or tablets that can be sold in a single pack is specified in the scheduling entry. For medicines with pack size restrictions, the packaging dimensions and the declared quantity must be within the permitted limits. This affects both the primary container specification and the secondary carton dimensions.

Medicine-Specific Considerations

The Consumer Medicine Information document is a regulatory requirement for some medicines. Certain medicines are required to be supplied with a Consumer Medicine Information (CMI) leaflet that provides detailed information about the medicine in consumer-friendly language. The CMI is a separate document to the label but must be supplied with the medicine at the point of dispensing or sale. For medicines that require a CMI, the packaging may need to accommodate the CMI document, or the CMI may be provided by the pharmacist separately. The packaging design should account for the CMI requirement where applicable.

Warning statements must appear in specified terms and cannot be modified. TGO 92 specifies mandatory warning statements for certain medicine categories – statements about keeping out of reach of children, not exceeding the recommended dose, seeking medical advice if symptoms persist, and product-specific warnings for particular active ingredients. These statements must appear in the specified terms – they cannot be paraphrased, summarised, or presented in a way that reduces their prominence or legibility. The design must accommodate all applicable warning statements at the required minimum text size.

Brand vs generic competition is fought primarily on packaging quality perception. In therapeutic categories where brand-name and generic alternatives are pharmacologically equivalent, the consumer’s choice is often determined by which product appears more professional, more trustworthy, and more carefully produced. For brand-name medicine companies competing against generic entrants, the packaging quality – the print accuracy, the material quality, the finish, and the overall professional standard of the carton – is a front-line competitive asset. A brand-name medicine in a visibly superior carton communicates a quality difference that the consumer can see and feel, even when the pharmacological difference is minimal.

Lot number and expiry date placement must be designated on the label. Medicine packaging must designate a location on the label for the lot number and expiry date to be applied at the time of manufacture. These are typically designated as “Lot No:” and “Exp:” with space for the variable data to be printed or stamped during production. The designation must be on the label – not handwritten, not applied as a sticker, and not placed in a location that obscures mandatory label information. The packaging design must include these designated spaces in a practical and compliant location.

Pharmacist-supplied product information supplements the packaging. For Schedule 3 and Schedule 4 medicines, the pharmacist plays a role in the information provided to the consumer – explaining usage, contraindications, and interactions at the point of dispensing. This means that the packaging for prescription and pharmacist-only medicines doesn’t need to carry the full consumer education burden that an OTC product does – the pharmacist fills that role. The packaging for prescription medicines needs to communicate unambiguously to the pharmacist and the patient in a clinical context, rather than to a self-selecting retail consumer.

Print & Finishing for Medicine Boxes

Medicine packaging has the most precisely specified design requirements of any consumer product category, but within those requirements there is still significant room for brand differentiation.

OTC pharmacy medicine packaging must communicate the active ingredient, the scheduling statement, the indication, and the key warnings clearly and legibly in a retail self-selection context. Full colour printing is standard, with the design organised around a clear information hierarchy: the brand name, the active ingredient, the indication, the dose format and quantity, and the mandatory warnings and scheduling statement. The design should facilitate fast and accurate product selection in a competitive pharmacy shelf environment.

Analgesic and pain relief packaging competes in one of the most visually competitive pharmaceutical retail environments. Strong brand identity, clear active ingredient communication, and a design that communicates fast-acting efficacy and clinical reliability are the commercial design priorities. For premium brands competing against lower-price generics, the finish – matte laminate, foil detail on the brand mark, premium board weight – communicates quality at the point of comparison.

Cold and flu and allergy packaging needs to communicate symptom specificity clearly and quickly. Symptom icon systems, bold product name communication, and a colour or visual system that distinguishes between different symptom formulations within a range are all important design elements. The consumer who’s standing in a pharmacy with a blocked nose and a headache needs to find the right product fast – the design should enable that.

Generic medicine packaging communicates equivalence and reliability rather than brand heritage. Clean, professional design that emphasises the active ingredient, the dose, and the clinical specifications communicates that the product is a credible therapeutic equivalent. For generic brands that compete primarily on price, the packaging should communicate professional quality without the premium positioning signals that would create a price expectation that generic pricing can’t meet.

All boxes are printed using full colour printing in CMYK with the precision required for regulatory labelling applications. Files should be supplied as Adobe Illustrator (.ai) or high-resolution print-ready PDF, with fonts outlined and graphics embedded. Free design support is included – we’ll produce a free 3D mockup for your approval before production begins, and handle minor artwork adjustments at no extra charge. Free dieline templates are available if you’re building your artwork from scratch.

Materials & Specifications

We manufacture medicine boxes in a full range of cardboard and paperboard materials appropriate for pharmaceutical secondary packaging applications. All materials meet the requirements for pharmaceutical packaging, with tamper-evident construction options available. Eco friendly and recyclable options are available across the range.

• Single copper paper
• White kraft
• Brown kraft
• Black kraft
• Gold foil paper
• Silver foil paper
• Corrugated board

Minimum order quantity is 1,000 units. Air freight runs approximately 3 – 4 weeks from production sign-off; sea freight is approximately 8 weeks. We supply pharmaceutical businesses across Australia including Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. For more detail on the full order process, regulatory labelling requirements, and lead times, get in touch and we’ll walk you through it.