Industry Trends

Gorilla Glue vs Gorilla Print: Don't Confuse Your Custom Packaging Vendor with Your Adhesive

Let's clear this up right now: we are not the glue company.

I'm a procurement manager. I've managed a packaging budget for a mid-sized e-commerce company (about $180k annually) for the past six years. Every quarter, I'm comparing quotes for boxes, labels, and promotional materials. And every quarter, I get emails from colleagues or new vendors asking, "Are you the same as Gorilla Glue?"

Short answer: no. Long answer: it's a surprisingly common point of confusion, and it matters when you're sourcing custom packaging or print.

Let me break this down by scenario, because the fix depends on who you are in this equation.

Scenario A: You're a business that needs custom labels or packaging and stumbled onto us searching for "Gorilla"

This happens a lot. Someone searches "Gorilla packaging" or "Gorilla labels" because they're looking for durable materials. They land on our site thinking we're the adhesive company with a secondary packaging line. We're not.

What you need to know: Gorilla Print & Packaging (that's us) is a commercial printing and packaging vendor. We do:

• Custom labels and stickers (from standard to heavy-duty outdoor-grade)
• Flexible packaging (like printed stand-up pouches)
• Corrugated boxes with custom print
• Retail packaging, hang tags, and promotional print

What we don't do: Sell glue, epoxy, or tape in the construction sense. If you called us looking for wood adhesive, you'd get a polite correction and, honestly, a recommendation for the actual Gorilla Glue Company.

Why this confusion costs you time and money: In my first year, I made the classic mistake of sending a complex label spec to a vendor I thought was a one-stop-shop for "durable" and "adhesive-backed." It was the right company for my problem, but the wrong 'Gorilla.' Ended up losing a week in re-routing the RFQ. Like most beginners, I assumed 'Gorilla' meant one thing. Learned that lesson the hard way.

Scenario B: You're a loyal Gorilla Glue user and you're wondering if you can just order custom boxes from them

Short answer again: no. The Gorilla Glue Company doesn't do custom packaging or printing at scale. It's not their business. You might find some promotional merch, but for production runs of 500+ custom-printed boxes? That's not in their lane.

Where this leads to a pitfall: I've seen project managers assume a 'trusted brand' (like Gorilla Glue) extends into other product categories. It's a cognitive shortcut. They skip the due diligence of vetting a dedicated packaging printer, thinking, "Well, the glue is great, their boxes must be too."

The result? Mismatched expectations on material grade, turnaround times, and volume pricing. A glue company's merch supplier won't have the same capabilities as a dedicated packaging printer who runs 10,000 boxes a day.

Better approach: Treat the search for a packaging vendor like you would for any other strategic procurement. Evaluate them on their core competency, not your past experience with their brand's other products.

Scenario C: You're a procurement pro who needs to audit your vendor list for risks related to brand confusion

This is a more nuanced scenario. I've seen it happen when a company is growing fast and their marketing team makes a badge or patch that says "Gorilla" or uses similar branding elements for a product line. The risk is creating confusion in your own supply chain.

The real-world business risk:

• Internal miscommunication: Your logistics team calls "Gorilla" for tape, but procurement calls "Gorilla" for boxes. Different companies, different invoices.
• Legal gray area: If a vendor name closely resembles a trademarked brand (like Gorilla Glue) in your industry, you're opening yourself up to potential cease-and-desist letters or, worse, payment holds if invoices get routed incorrectly.
• Due diligence failure: A vendor that trades on a name similar to a market leader may not have the same quality or service standards. I'm not saying that's the case here, but it's a flag you should check.

What I'd recommend as a process: When I audit vendor names, I now run a quick trademark check on any vendor whose name includes a known consumer brand. It takes 10 minutes. It's saved us from one near-miss where a similar situation would have tied up $4,200 in inventory.

How to tell the difference instantly (and avoid the confusion)

Here's a quick checklist I use when a vendor lands on my desk with a familiar-sounding name:

1. Check the website's URL extension and business line: A .com name alone isn't enough. Look for explicit product categories. If the site sells adhesives, tapes, and patch repair kits, they're probably not the right vendor for your custom corrugated boxes.
2. Look for 'Printing' or 'Packaging' in their business name. Gorilla Print & Packaging says it in the name. If the business just calls itself "Gorilla" with no descriptor, ask directly: "What is your primary business line?"
3. Ask about their setup fees and minimums. A real commercial printer will talk in terms of die cuts, plate charges, and pallet quantities. A consumer goods company will talk about retail SKUs.
4. Request a facility tour (virtual or video). A packaging vendor will have a production floor with presses and cutting equipment. A glue company has a factory for making glue. The difference is obvious.

My rule of thumb: "If they can't answer a basic question about material GSM or ink opacity, they're not a commercial printer."

I've seen this confusion cost a client a full week and a $1,200 re-do because they sent a label order to a company that doesn't run printing presses. Don't be that buyer.

Bottom line

The confusion around "Gorilla" is real, and it's not going away. But for anyone in procurement or marketing who needs custom packaging, the solution is straightforward: verify the vendor's core business. If they print, they're your vendor. If they glue, they're not.

From my perspective, I'd rather spend 10 minutes confirming a vendor's capabilities than a week cleaning up a misdirected order. It's basically a trade-off between ten minutes of research and a significant headache.