Packaging Trends 2023/24: Two Insights to Unwrap
Published 30 August 2023
As the 2025 deadline for sustainable packaging goals draws ever closer, the industry is speeding ahead with the development of reusable, recyclable and compostable packs.
With 139 million tons of single-use plastic waste generated in 2021 alone, and still almost entirely made from fossil-fuel-based ‘virgin’ feedstocks, the call for a post-plastic future has never been louder.
Here, we highlight two key sustainable packaging design insights to unwrap for 2023/24.
The Reductionist Road Map
Despite consumer awareness and industry intention, there is more single-use plastic waste than ever before. In pursuit of less wasteful solutions, astute brands are exploring monomaterials, singular packaging formats and material efficiency.
Simplifying and standardising plastic packaging could help to encourage recycling. For example, the development of monomaterial packs is making material recovery processes more straightforward. One innovation of note is Procter & Gamble’s patented design for a pump dispenser, where the container as well as the durable spring are entirely made of plastics from the same material recycling class.
Elsewhere, engineering innovations in paper focus on the elimination of the plastic laminates and metal coatings that complicate recycling. Take Canadian material science company Cellulotech, which uses a solvent-free “green chemical reaction” called chromatogeny to make paper products hydrophobic without affecting their suitability for repulping. The process, which is currently being piloted for scalability, generates permanent ester bonds across a surface area, avoiding the need for a multimaterial layer.
Eliminating single-use plastic will be an ongoing journey. The pursuit of circular packaging will give rise to an industry that is better connected and united by communal goals which are informed by timely data and life-cycle assessments.
Next-Gen Refillables
Nearly three-quarters of US consumers say they’re interested in buying products in refillable packaging. However, despite bold targets for the adoption of reusable packaging, it’s projected to account for just 5% share of the global packaging ecosystem by 2030. So brands are employing a range of strategies to create more accessible reusable packaging systems, and innovating packaging design to elevate consumer experience.
Next-gen refill stations are emerging as one such route to adoption. Take UK distillery East London Liquor Company, which allows people to bring any empty 70cl bottle to its stores to be refilled with one of the brand’s spirits. Meanwhile, US-French beauty giant Coty has filed a patent for an in-store perfume refill kiosk. The station will blend the perfume as required and will work for a variety of different bottle shapes. In November 2022, Coty launched its first refillable fragrance via French luxury brand Chloé.
Beyond in-store refill stations, brands are reinforcing refillable strategies with keepsake designs to encourage reuse. Jars are being elevated to envy-worthy art status and exclusive flacons are becoming canvases for high-profile collaborations. With the luxury packaging market expected to reach $18bn by 2033, draw inspiration from the beauty industry. New Zealand-based Raaie taps into a natural aesthetic with stonelike refillable glass bottles in organic shapes, as does Japanese cosmetics manufacturer Dō.
In order to bring your consumers along for the reusables ride for the long run, brands like yours must make refill options as cost-effective and convenient and covetable as their disposable counterparts – and ensure that they are marketed as such.
These are just two key sustainable packaging design trends emerging for the next 12 months. As 2025 looms closer, is your business ready to start acting on expert insights like these?
Want to know more?
Unpack more of Stylus’ future-facing insights – download your sample report of Packaging Futures 23/24 today.
This blog post was based on Packaging Futures 23/24, accessible to Stylus members. Not a member yet? Get in touch to find out how your business can harness more insights and trends like these.
