Today’s packaging design trends emphasize user experience

With improved customer experience in mind, packaging designers today are focusing on functionality in a variety of product categories. Packaging design trends and new technologies for foods, beverages and cannabis were the top articles on PackagingDigest.com in April 2018 based on page views by our global audience.

In reverse order, here are the five articles you found most relevant of the two dozen we posted last month:

5. 4 daring packaging designs that create magic moments

“Pick me up. Touch me. Enjoy the experience!” Packages that go beyond product protection and delivery, that inspire through ingenious and daring designs, command customer loyalty and ownership like no other.

Author Ted Mininni, president of leading package and licensing program design consultancy Design Force Inc., says a large number of consumer product brands, regardless of category, can and should elevate their visual design assets to create magic for two important reasons:

1. Remember that consumers in general and millennials in particular seek experiences more than they look to acquire things. If consumers encounter magical experiences in their interactions with packaging, this will go a long way to cementing their relationships to specific brands.

2. Secondly, adults, like children, are highly responsive to a bit of magic in their time-starved, responsibility-driven lives.

Mininni then shares four sensational examples of products with elevated packaging that makes marketing magic:

• Method Home gel hand soaps;

• Magnum premium ice cream (pints);

• L.O.L Surprise! Doll from MGA Entertainment (see photo above);

• Mattel’s Barbie and Ken Moschino Gift Set.

NEXT: Chill-Can presents a new twist in on-demand cold beverages

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Production efficiencies, ecommerce challenges, sustainability trends, new bioplastic technologies and more are among the topics on the agenda at the new Packaging Education Hub at EastPack 2018 (June 12-14; NYC). This free educational program will have more than 15 hours of can’t-miss presentations, demonstrations and hands-on activities. Register to attend for free today!

4. Chill-Can presents a new twist in on-demand cold beverages

Developers of the self-chilling Chill-Can have continued to optimize the technology to broaden its appeal for beverages or other liquids in today’s on-demand consumer market. This latest iteration simplifies the activation process—from the previous push button to a twist—and changes to a safer activation ingredient. The new two-piece aluminum Chill-Can from The Joseph Co. now uses liquefied CO2 as the active coolant.

In this quick-reading Q&A, Mitchell Joseph, chairman/CEO of The Joseph Co. Intl. and West Coast Chill, talks about the trends driving the need for a next-generation self-chilling package, and also describes the technology and its manufacturing.

NEXT: 5 top trends in cannabis branding and packaging

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Production efficiencies, ecommerce challenges, sustainability trends, new bioplastic technologies and more are among the topics on the agenda at the new Packaging Education Hub at EastPack 2018 (June 12-14; NYC). This free educational program will have more than 15 hours of can’t-miss presentations, demonstrations and hands-on activities. Register to attend for free today!

3. 5 top trends in cannabis branding and packaging

As more states legalize marijuana for recreational use, the number of companies entering this fast-growing market continues to bloom. Anyone designing brands and/or packaging for cannabis products needs to know what today’s more-sophisticated user responds to and expects.

Pamela Webber, chief marketing officer at 99designs, identifies these five cannabis branding and packaging trends:

1. Leafy imagery

2. Green in color and in ethos

3. A focus on health

4. Minimalism

5. Playing with stereotypes

NEXT: 4 sustainable truths impacting food packaging today

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Production efficiencies, ecommerce challenges, sustainability trends, new bioplastic technologies and more are among the topics on the agenda at the new Packaging Education Hub at EastPack 2018 (June 12-14; NYC). This free educational program will have more than 15 hours of can’t-miss presentations, demonstrations and hands-on activities. Register to attend for free today!

2. 4 sustainable truths impacting food packaging today

How is sustainability shifting in the food market and what does that mean for manufacturers?

AuthorJörg Sabo, marketing director at Greiner Packaging, explains that sustainable packaging used to mean recyclable, reusable or compostable packaging. But in 2018, manufacturers should focus on packaging technologies and trends that reduce waste and provide a safer product while enhancing the brand’s message.

His four points to follow are:

1. The reduction of food waste is a priority.

2. Food safety must be taken seriously.

3. Sustainability will become part of the brand message.

4. Sustainability is an investment worth making in 2018.

NEXT: Packaging trends on fire this year

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Production efficiencies, ecommerce challenges, sustainability trends, new bioplastic technologies and more are among the topics on the agenda at the new Packaging Education Hub at EastPack 2018 (June 12-14; NYC). This free educational program will have more than 15 hours of can’t-miss presentations, demonstrations and hands-on activities. Register to attend for free today!

1. Packaging trends on fire this year

Looking back at the top articles from March, we noticed recurring themes of sustainability, ecommerce, flexible packaging, and plastic packaging advancements and waste challenges. Identifying these burning issues of 2018 gained a lot of attention from our audience, vaulting this previous monthly review to the top of our April list.

The five popular articles from March that highlight current packaging trends are:

Packaging revelations from Frito-Lay, Campbell Soup and more

How sustainable are biodegradable and plant-based plastics?

10 impactful and efficient flexible packages win gold awards

How packaging recyclability can shift sustainability expectations for startup beauty brands

5 packaging design trends on the way out in 2018

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Production efficiencies, ecommerce challenges, sustainability trends, new bioplastic technologies and more are among the topics on the agenda at the new Packaging Education Hub at EastPack 2018 (June 12-14; NYC). This free educational program will have more than 15 hours of can’t-miss presentations, demonstrations and hands-on activities. Register to attend for free today!