What 70 Years in Packaging Tells Us About What You’ll Face Next

The packaging industry doesn’t stand still, and neither do the pressures on your business. Supply chains tighten. Consumer expectations shift. Regulations close in. What felt like tomorrow’s problem has a way of arriving on a Tuesday. 

You’ve navigated more change in the last decade than most industries see in a generation. And the next ten years are shaping up to be just as demanding. From Extended Producer Responsibility mandates and supply chain volatility to AI-driven decision-making and new consumer expectations, the pressures shaping packaging are evolving fast. Here’s what the packaging trends shaping the next decade look like from where we sit, and how you can get ahead of them. 

A Decade That Rewrote the Rules 

The 2010s and early 2020s forced packaging teams to think differently. E-commerce meant your packaging had to survive last-mile delivery, perform on a digital shelf, and look good in a social feed, not just on a store shelf. Sustainability went from a nice-to-have to a non-negotiable. Supply disruptions exposed single-source vulnerabilities overnight. 

At the same time, retailers started demanding more. New flavors, new launches, private label growth, club store expansion. The number of SKUs brands are expected to support keeps climbing, and the timelines to deliver them keep compressing. Flexibility and speed became the baseline expectation for staying on shelf. 

You’ve adapted. But the next set of pressures is already forming. If anything, the next ten years may bring more unknowns than the last, which means staying ahead will take even more fluidity and speed to adapt. 

What’s Coming Down the Pike 

The Sustainability Grace Period Is Over 

You know sustainable packaging is the way forward. Your customers know it too. 70% of consumers agree that packaging plays a big role in whether they consider a food product to be environmentally responsible.¹ That perception is shaping purchase decisions, and the regulations are catching up fast. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation is spreading across North America, placing accountability on brand owners for end-of-life packaging outcomes through packaging design-based fees. What has been a voluntary commitment is increasingly becoming a requirement. 

We’re helping brands get ahead of this shift. Our recyclable structures come pre-qualified by How2Recycle, and our recycled content is third-party certified. Our goal is improving your speed to market with vetted solutions, not slowing you down with a redesign process every time a new rule drops. 

The Automated Supply Chain Is Raising the Bar 

Your competitors use data and automation to forecast demand, optimize material usage, and compress lead times. The brands that figure this out first won’t just be more efficient; they’ll be more resilient when the next disruption hits. And for fast-growing brands with inconsistent demand, that resilience is the difference between capitalizing on momentum and missing the window entirely. AI will only accelerate this shift, for better and for worse, and how well you adapt to it will matter as much as the technology itself. 

Automation helps, but it only solves part of the equation. Speed-to-market isn’t just a production line problem. It’s going from a customer idea to a stocked shelf in a timeline that keeps shrinking. Raw material shortages compound the challenge. Planning for demand surges when your growth curve is unpredictable makes it even harder. We’ve built the operational depth to support complex, fast-moving supply chains across every format under one roof. 

Packaging as a Digital Interface 

The package itself is becoming a channel. QR codes connect to dynamic brand experiences. Serialization is used for track-and-trace compliance. And consumers are ready for it. 50% say they’re likely to scan a QR code to learn more about a product, from sourcing details to usage ideas.¹ What used to be a static surface is now interactive, and the brands investing in it are deepening customer relationships in ways traditional marketing can’t match. 

This is happening in market now. The question isn’t whether digital packaging integration will affect your category; it’s when, and whether you’ll be leading or catching up. 

Personalization Without the Cost Penalty 

Mass customization used to be a contradiction in terms. Digital printing technology and flexible manufacturing are changing that, making short-run, personalized packaging economically viable for brands that once required enormous minimums to justify a press run. The demand is there. 56% of consumers buy limited-edition products at least four times per year.² That’s not a niche behavior. It’s a repeating purchase pattern your packaging needs to keep up with. 

Whether it’s regional market variations, limited-edition runs, or retailer-specific SKUs, the ability to localize and personalize packaging without blowing up your cost structure is a real competitive lever. We’re built to support that kind of complexity, because we’ve seen every version of this challenge develop over seventy years of watching the market evolve. 

This isn’t just about switching from flexographic to digital. It’s about having a partner with the range to match the right production method to the right moment. Trade-offs between speed, cost, and quality will come up. The difference is whether you’re making them on your terms or because your options ran out. 

Of course, none of that flexibility matters if the materials themselves can’t keep up. 

Material Innovation Is Accelerating 

Recyclable structures that perform. Barrier technologies that don’t complicate packaging end-of-life. The materials science driving next-generation packaging is advancing faster than most brand teams can track. 

You shouldn’t have to be a materials scientist to make smart packaging decisions. That’s what we do, and we’re here to assist you in the journey. Our team is already working with the structures and substrates that will define the next generation of packaging. High performance. Sustainable. Built for the rules that are coming, not just the ones in place today. 

What 70 Years Actually Means for You 

Our track record isn’t the story here. It’s the proof point. Seventy years means we’ve seen what disrupts brands that aren’t prepared, and what separates the ones that come out ahead. When you bring us a challenge, whether it’s a new sustainability regulation, a tight launch window, or a format you haven’t tried, we’ve likely seen something close to it before. We’re already preparing for what comes next. That’s what lets us take the wheel for you: no matter what changes, what roadblocks appear, or what disrupts the industry as we know it, we’re ready to help steer you through it. 

Your Next Decade Starts Now 

The brands that will lead their categories in 2036 are making decisions today, about partners, infrastructure, and how they approach sustainability, speed, and innovation. The window to get ahead of what’s coming is open, but it won’t stay open indefinitely. AI, automation, and whatever comes after them will keep changing how the industry works, but NOT how we work with you. That still starts with real relationships and real people who care about getting it right. 

Let’s talk about what you see in your business and how we can help you get where you need to go.

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[Sources]

¹ Mintel. “Food Packaging Trends, US – 2025.” Accessed June 16, 2026. https://store.mintel.com/report/us-food-packaging-trends-market-report  

² Packaging Digest. “How Seasonal Packaging Captivates Consumers.” Accessed June 16, 2026. https://www.packagingdigest.com/packaging-design/how-seasonal-packaging-captivates-consumers