7 lucky new packages of 2016

From packaging designers and developers to engineers and executives, everyone involved in packaging likes to see the final product of their peers. Which new commercial packages gained the most interest of—and perhaps the respect of—our packaging community this year?

We continue our year-end review of top articles, based on page views at PackagingDigest.com, with a seven-step buildup of lucky new package launches to get to our No.1 packaging design of 2016.

7. Diageo’s Cannonball-themed package is the bomb

Drink up, me hearties! Pirate or not, any rum drinker will appreciate the intricate detail in Diageo’s Captain Morgan Cannon Blast package, from the round cannonball-shaped container and the textured shrink label that feels like an authentic rough cannonball to a red closure that mimics a blast cap and a hidden skeleton revealed under ultraviolet light. The consumer’s experience with the package touches multiple senses.

NEXT: Libby’s vegetables grow sales in stand-up pouches

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Learn what it takes to innovate in the packaging space at WestPack 2017 (Feb. 7-9; Anaheim, CA). Register today!

6. Libby’s vegetables grow sales in stand-up pouches

Can you have canned vegetables without the can? Libby’s says, “Sure!” with its unique stand-up pouch that is shelf stable (portable) and microwavable (convenient). The veggies can be heated and served hot—safely courtesy of a cool-touch area on both sides of the pouch—or cold for use in salads, other meals and appetizers.

Brand owner Seneca Foods touts this package format as a time saver, by making it fast and easy to add a healthy side dish to the dinner table and preserving precious family time.

NEXT: Campbell Soup creates pouch-bowl for Ready Meals

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Learn what it takes to innovate in the packaging space at WestPack 2017 (Feb. 7-9; Anaheim, CA). Register today!

5. Campbell Soup creates pouch-bowl for Ready Meals

Campbell Soup Co. invents another convenient flexible package for microwave heating. Not only does the stand-up pouch for Pace brand Ready Meals self-vent, it also converts into an eat-from bowl so clean-up is a breeze, with no dish to wash. What’s different in the pouch design to make it easy to use as a serving vessel too? It’s wider, with an extra deep gusset and, when the top of the pouch is removed, it opens wide into an oval or almost round shape, like a bowl.

NEXT: Del Monte’s “adult” fruit cups leave the kiddie packs behind

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4. Del Monte’s “adult” fruit cups leave the kiddie packs behind

Big kids (a.k.a. adults) want quick and healthy snacks and Del Monte had an idea on how to deliver.

Still convenient and portable, the packaging for Del Monte’s new Fruit Refreshers line breaks from the traditional fruit cup design to signal that they are something different. With more adventurous flavors, the products come in larger cups to better satisfy adults looking for a convenient, fresh, healthy and tasty snack. Another difference: These products are sold in a 2-pack multipack instead of the usual 4-pack, and the graphics use black and bold colors.

NEXT: Clear packaging showcases decadent dessert

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Learn what it takes to innovate in the packaging space at WestPack 2017 (Feb. 7-9; Anaheim, CA). Register today!

3. Clear packaging showcases decadent dessert

Reusable glass cups in a clear clamshell present a delicious look at Delici, an imported Belgian dessert sold at the upscale warehouse club Costco. The glass cups add weight to the multipack, which translates to consumers as a premium package.

Justin Johnson, principal of packaging design firm More Branding, explains, “The transparency [allows] the beauty of the product to be on display, it [protects] the desserts and it [fits] with the other handmade products in the Costco deli section.”

NEXT: Easy-open food can contains and protects cannabis

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Learn what it takes to innovate in the packaging space at WestPack 2017 (Feb. 7-9; Anaheim, CA). Register today!

2. Easy-open food can contains and protects cannabis

The only non-food/beverage package to make it into our 2016 top packaging design list is for the booming cannabis market. As we reported back in 2014, marijuana packaging has definitely moved beyond the baggie.

But the new package for Honest Marijuana’s cannabis connects to the food industry by using the familiar metal can, similar to a tuna can.

The opaque can, an unusual one for cannabis, protects the marijuana buds from getting crushed and defends against the deleterious effects of light and moisture. The hermetically sealed packaging also protects the product from oxygen; the filled cans are flushed with nitrogen prior to lidding.

NEXT: Our No.1 new package of the year (will you be surprised that it’s a beer package?)

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Learn what it takes to innovate in the packaging space at WestPack 2017 (Feb. 7-9; Anaheim, CA). Register today!

1. Packaging upgrade for Oculto beer lights up fans

In mid-December 2015, Anheuser-Busch improved on its successful March 2015 launch of Oculto beer by adding smart packaging features to the fan-favorite brew to increase their interaction with the brand. Even though our follow-up article was posted late last year, it registered so many page views in the following months that it vaulted to the top of our 2016 list.

What’s so cool about the packaging?

The updated, limited-edition bottle lights up with two LEDs, powered by a printed paper battery. A pressure switch is placed where the thumb naturally falls while holding a beer bottle and, when pressed, the LED lights shine through the eyes of the mask on the front of the bottle for several seconds.

And, for the first time, A-B added another interactive aspect that leverages the Internet of Things (IoT). Through geo-targeted prompts, adults 21 and over can scan the Oculto mask from their bottle and uploading their image to participate in the “Relics of the Night” promotion. This lets them digitally “spin the bottle” and win prizes from car service credits and t-shirts to sporting event tickets or VIP tables at local nightclubs.

As Mallika Monteiro, A-B’s senior brand director for Oculto, says, “Adding Relics of the Night activation, the experience drinkers have with the Oculto bottle transitions from a purely physical interaction to a digital one, further highlighting the social nature of the brand.”

This concludes our list of 7 lucky new packages of 2016. Hope you enjoyed it. Cheers!

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Learn what it takes to innovate in the packaging space at WestPack 2017 (Feb. 7-9; Anaheim, CA). Register today!