Brands across the consumer goods market are treating their bottles, boxes and outer packaging as integral to their product experiences, with Instagram-worthy keepsakes and magical unboxing for luxuries and necessities alike. Elsewhere, packaging transforms into games or handy stands as examples of dual use, cross-category designs provide unexpected surprises, and sloganed surfaces deliver important statements. 

Wonderfully playful, colourful and tactile packaging celebrates true branding and design creativity, with ultra-nostalgic hues, fonts and patterns revived for a modern audience, psychedelic cues for gender-neutral products and multi-sensory experiences elevating everyday items.

Innovation in user-experience-driven design spotlights convenient on-the-go and pre-portioned packs, while smart labelling delivers helpful reminders and easy access to usage and sustainability information. Addressing the needs of consumers with disabilities for handling everyday items also continues to improve. 

This direction’s palette is fun and dynamic, and versatile in its uses and mixes, reflecting the wide range of applications and aesthetics of experimental packaging with vibrancy, colour and surprise at its core. This is led by a trio of punchy brights in Galactic, Hot Pink and Glow, and rounded by nostalgic saturated tones of Clover and Caribbean Sea. The interest here is in the contrasting tones – warm and cool, and bright and muted – there are lots of combinations to create and play with.