A packaging system and method forms a bundled group of articles in an oriented arrangement, by applying a wrapping material to the articles via the bottoms of the articles while the oriented arrangement of articles is inverted and retained by a pallet. The wrapping material may be a sleeve of shrinkable material applied to the inverted end of the articles and shrunk to conform to the articles and form a base enclosing the bottoms of the articles. The articles are retained by the pallet in the oriented arrangement during the inverting, sleeving and bundling of the group of articles, to provide a bundled group including the articles securely contained by the shrunk wrapping in the oriented arrangement. The bundled group may include more than one type of article. The pallet may be configured to retain a top portion of the article, which may have an irregular or asymmetrical shape.