Five packaging trends set to impact global markets in 2017

Mintel’s Global Packaging Team has devised five emerging, morphing and mainstreaming packaging trends it sees as affecting brands, consumers, retailers and packaging converters in 2017. This cross-category and pan-regional report includes data that supports the emergence and impact of these trends, as well as examples that highlight the best consumer packaged goods producers are delivering to shelves around the world. These trends are designed to inspire new ideas and provide insight and recommendations brands can put into practice in the coming weeks, months and years.

The (Re) Union of Packaging Structure and Branding
Clean label messaging continues to trend around the world. But with one third of US adults noting that high-quality food packaging is an indicator of product quality, and three in five UK consumers saying they pay attention to beverage packaging formats, the time is now for brands to roll out unique packaging structures that not only differentiate on shelf, but also help form and support brand identity. The bottom line: good packaging protects your product. Great packaging protects your brand.

The Face and Role of Packaging Online
While shoppers are embracing e-commerce for everything from convenience to luxury, the majority of grocery brands have yet to capitalize on the role of packaging in the e-commerce shopper moment. What this means for packaging is less clear in the short-term, but, currently, brands are failing to impress with the delivery of their online packaging experience. Looking ahead, brands must explore both the opportunities and threats that online shopping can bring, while considering the implications for packaging to remain an integral piece of the purchasing decision.

Packaging Gets Smart, Active and Intelligent
Increasing demands for food safety, waste reduction, patient compliance, and the removal of consumers’ exposure to hazardous or fraudulent products — these are just a few of the core drivers now propelling the rapidly emerging genre of smart, active, and intelligent technologies for packaging. While there is a lack of standardised definitions for smart, active, intelligent, and even mobile-enabled packaging, there are still clear and measurable connections with consumers and in some cases it is even saving lives. Mintel’s Global Packaging Team sees current opportunities for brands to engage, entertain, and educate consumers in real time.

The Experience of Packaging
Packaging design has become dominated by the need for brand recognition and variant identification and information. Consumers are increasingly looking for brands to entertain and engage them. A monotonous retail experience driven by globalization and the need for speed and efficiency, has led to a sea of packaging that all looks the same and suffers from information overload. The next generation of branded products, particularly those aimed at difficult-to engage younger consumers, or the more cynical, such as the aging hipsters of Gen X, are looking at design as a bigger part of the brand, not just to create connections, but to drive experiences.

Extend My Brand
Price is a key factor in consumers’ purchasing decisions, but brand trust also plays a pivotal role. According to Mintel Purchase Intelligence, in the US when reacting to new product launches, brand trust can reach as high as 94% and brands can leverage familiarity to create loyalty and extend a product portfolio well beyond traditional categories. In the coming year, Mintel’s Global Packaging Team sees packaging performing a more pivotal role in helping brands gain entry into, and acceptance in, new categories.

Mintel’s full 2017 Packaging Trends Report, with examples that highlight the best consumer packaged goods producers are delivering to shelves around the world, is available to download at http://www.mintel.com/global-packaging-trends

Mintel is the world's leading market intelligence agency. Their global team of packaging analysts identify and monitor packaging, product, consumer and market data, and alert clients to issues and opportunities that create consumer engagement and build brand value.