Cool trends for 2018 in the packaging industry

2018 found packaging sector right there, in the middle of post-modernism and vintage style, between the same old challenges and new opportunities, automation and preservation in the production process, between boundaries and innovation, sustainability requirements and creativity explosion, aesthetics and functionality with a common denominator among all those aspects: prosperity!

While up to less than 20 years ago consumers still thought packaging as unnecessary or even as just waste to be disposed of, today packaging industry is a billionaire business, with a market value forecast at $998 million in 2020 and a continuously growing expansion both in First and Third World economy, with a 64% of consumers declaring they often buy a product without prior knowledge of it and that it takes them just 7 seconds to take their final decision since they see the packaging for the first time.
Hence, far from being considered a relatively “low-value good” with a limited radius up to which it can be profitably transported to customers, packaging is now playing a pivotal role in modern economy, with nearly infinite growth potentiality.
But what makes the difference nowadays? What customers look for in a package? Why some brands are able to create tendencies and turn a simple box into a must-have or a collector’s item?

Well, keeping us entertained is the key! Consumers are creatures of sensation and they are constantly looking for something that engages at least 2 out of our 5 senses: sight & touch. Designers and technology are the perfect binomial and brands know this can influence consumers behaviors.

The designers of Method products understand the power of design and have used it to fuel sales of their wildly successful brand.

If it’s true, as the Brand Value study of the Flexible Packaging Association asserts, that “80% of brand owners agree that packaging influences brand value”, we are faced with a renaissance in packaging design, which gives creatives the freedom to push their imaginations way ahead in packaging sector, with an eye on some specific trends which, according to experts and reports, mustn’t be ignored.

Sustainability:
Is not always true that buyers look for the best price. Today consumer became more and more sophisticated and discerning. As a result, the trend in packaging design is toward meeting their demands for better designed and environmentally responsible products. The designers of this concept for a Coca-Cola packaging combined innovative design and responsible materials, as the bottles are made from renewable sugar cane. The rectangular shape increases shipping and shelving capacity while reducing the carbon footprint.

Essentialism:
As consumers become more and more aware and frustrated by the amount of packaging they discard daily, package designers started to minimize packages, and it worked! Innovative shaped packages solve problems and appeal to the consumer that’s looking for something a little different. Processes like shrink sleeves, as an example, create an impact on the shelf with the use of 360-degree graphics.
About the food markets, pouches and bags will continue to take market share from rigid packaging applications through 2019, fueled by inherent advantages of flexible products such as lightweight and space savings. Moreover, 32% of consumers associate flexible packaging with being modern, and this is why flexibles experienced a 56% growth rate in the launch of consumer packaged goods

Minimalism:
Designers followed the essentialism path and now, although it can sometimes seem abstract and primitive, keeping it simple plays an important role in helping us access our intuitive side. “Clients prefer it short” is the message emerging from Mintel, the world’s leading market intelligence agency, “Brands who adopt clear and succinct package messaging will be rewarded as consumers prefer brands that embrace minimalism”. An overload of information leaves shoppers more confused than informed: what’s essential for consumers to make an enlightened and confident purchasing decision is just provenance, authenticity, and transparency. To do that, one has to take into consideration the research for the most effective symbols and signs, as once you got them, the message explains itself, often with few-to-no words.

Big Words:

But those few words should be big! If you want to send a clear and loud message about what your product is all about, then big words might be what you’re looking for, as a clear message will work as long as it’s in a bold and easy-to-read font, combined with a wise choice of colors.

Pastels:
In 2018 pastels are seeing a resurgence. They speak to our softer side; they are perceived like a natural reaction to the hyper-stimulating and explosive colors we’ve been experiencing until now; they give products a candid and warm aura, which is translated into a pleasant and welcoming message for the potential customer. And is not a “rush-to-buy” message. Is more something related to experience the touch, the smell, the taste, the light and the gentle energy of the product.

Vintage:

The past is ingrained in our current collective reality. It gives us something that we always have the impression of have left behind: an essential part of our culture or memories, something belonging to our past but that we don’t want to lose. Vintage tells us a story of tradition, identity, respect and passion, elements that remain alive and make a brand reliable. Also, it demonstrates dedication to a certain kind of work, a work made in the name of quality, unaltered since the inception of the product, decades back.

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Doodles and Post
Everybody loves them, from 9-year-olds to 90-year-olds. Adults relate to this kind of drawings because it reminds us of the happy kids that we all were once. Doodles have a wonderful way of describing what’s inside the box. Posters transport you with a narrative that becomes intimately connected to the product itself creating a strong sense of identity.

There are uncountable reasons why packaging is so important it can influence the customers behaviors and influence the marketing: a good package can turn a frown upside down any given day, can turn a product into a fun universe, in to something that is able to make us smile before we even know what it contains.