Who run the world? Consumers! And not just the female ones (sorry, Beyoncé). If there’s any phenomenon driving innovation in packaging design, it’s beyond doubt the ever-changing consumer landscape and all the trends it yields. Need inspiration for your next innovative packaging design? Look no further! Paying attention to these five consumer trends is bound to give you ideas aplenty.
1. Adopting a healthy lifestyle
Remember when we talked about the clean label trend? Using nothing but natural ingredients pays off! As do food labels that clearly indicate all ingredients used and replace E numbers with their chemical or common name. As consumers are increasingly concerned with their health, printing terms like ‘organic’ and ‘natural’ onto packaging is a sales booster as well.
2. Easy does it
However, consumers moving toward a healthier lifestyle doesn’t mean convenience is no longer important in food packaging, as the number of two-income households continues to increase. The faster and easier healthy products are to prepare and consume, the better they will sell.
3. Shopping online
In the age of online shopping, adapting your packaging design for e-commerce is no longer a luxury. Also, don’t forget to straighten out those labels! Products sold online must have the same label as in stores.
4. Going digital
Can you imagine a world without digitization? Neither can consumers. As a matter of fact, more and more packaging designers are digitizing their designs in the hopes of going viral and are using track-and-trace technology as a means to battle counterfeit products.
5. Small is the new big
There’s no way around urbanization. As homes become smaller and space more precious, small is now the new big. Consumers expect brands not just to offer smaller packaging formats but also to refrain from stuffing excessively large delivery boxes with unnecessary padding material.
Inspired by ABC Packaging Direct