This year’s gallery featured many calming and minimalist aesthetics, signifying a consumer looking for relief at home and work—outside of the clinical setting.
Trends on the shelves
While perhaps not pandemic-related (with formulation, package design and commercialization often taking years), there was a notable increase in stress-fighting, anti-anxiety, and calming products, even for children.
Blues, greens, and serene imagery were featured more prominently than last year.
The minimalist trend continued with whitespace on labels and cartons, and casual, quippy copy directed at consumer.
Larger mainstream brands used nature-inspired images and touted few ingredients or “what’s absent” from the product.
More recyclable packaging and instructions featured.
Garden of Life Kids Stress Relief
Pros
A shrink sleeve makes the most of the real estate, offering founder’s story, icons for expected effects, and symbols for gluten-free, recyclability, renewable energy use, and more
Calming sea and cloud images; suggested use lets parents know daily dosage
Square jar stands out on shelf; wide mouth child-resistant (CR) lid was easy to open
Notes
The sleeve was a bit curved on the bottom of two panels, which caused copy to distort slightly but it remained legible
Customers would presumably need to remove the sleeve before recycling
Olly Goodbye Stress Gummies
Pros
Bright standup recloseable pouch features serene blue and turquoise hues
Servings per package are clear; touts “Jet Set Friendly” size
Matte pouch with spot gloss/foil on front and back gives high-end look; notches for easy opening
Usage, warnings, and symbols on back are spaced well
Notes
Disposalinstructionsnot specified
La Mend Inc. The Good Patch
Pros
Matte baby blue recloseable pouch with dreamy icons and whitespace (which is easier when Drug Facts are not required)
Back panel is well-organized with lines separating ingredients, directions, warnings, a link to a “surprise,” and more
PACK EXPO Las Vegas and Healthcare Packaging EXPO (Sept. 27-29, Las Vegas Convention Center) will reunite the packaging and processing community, offering new products, technologies, and solutions, while implementing up-to-date protocols for a safe and successful in-person event. Attendee registration is now open.
Editors report on distinguishing characteristics that define each new product and collected video demonstrating the equipment or materials as displayed at the show. This topical report, winnowed from nearly 300 PACK EXPO collective booth visits, represents a categorized, organized account of individual items that were selected based on whether they were deemed to be both new, and truly innovative, based on decades of combined editorial experience in experiencing and evaluating PACK EXPO products.
What's in store for CPGs in 2025 and beyond? Packaging World editors explore the survey responses from 118 brand owners, CPG, and FMCG Packaging World readers for its new Annual Outlook Report.
