9 Food Packaging Trends for 2024 You Should Check Out

Food packaging trends are ever-changing and undergo so much innovation. However, as technology evolves, so do customer demands.

Today, many people are now keen to connect with specific brands with the use of effective marketing and branding.

Consumer packaged goods come with various styles, packaging, and various aesthetics to connect and engage with their customers. After all, the packaging is always what entices us first.

That is why various forms of packaging have emerged today to advance and stand out among competing brands and better connect with their target market.

So what are these food packaging trends for 2024?

Nine food packaging trends for 2024

1. Technology-enabled solutions

Smart packaging solutions are one of the trends in food packaging this year.

Moreover, it is also one of the best strategies used today to present and add value to your food packaging.

Not only are they a trend today, but technology-enabled solutions that can be accessed using smartphone gadgets, such as QR codes, leverage the experience of the end-user with the product.

Why? Because it has the ability to interact with the customer and provide them with more information about the product and connect them online.

The BlackPink Oreo QR code campaign is one of the best examples of this feature.

The world-renowned K-pop girl group and the popular cookie brand successfully boost their engagement by adding QR codes on their packaging.

QR codes are generated using a QR code generator online, and it has many QR solutions or types that you can use to incorporate in your packaging, depending on the information that you want to present.

For example, you can print a video QR code along with your packaging that will show them a video about the manufacturing story of your product.

Or a website QR code that will redirect them to your website or company to better understand your business.

There are many specific QR code solutions for your need using such flexible technology.

2. Sustainable and environmental-friendly product-driven packaging

You can utilize your food packaging to promote sustainability in the long run and, at the same time, help the environment.

The sustainable food packaging trend requires less use of natural resources which allows companies to them to continue manufacturing food product packaging with less cost and improve its overall sustainability in the long run.

The Global Sustainability Index Institute reported that 400 of the world’s most prominent business companies found that sustainability goals had more than doubled.

Furthermore, by using QR codes, companies, and enterprises can create innovation opportunities in their food packaging while being sustainable at the same time.

For instance, CPG brands can ditch the food packaging’s manual or instructional guides and switch to a PDF QR code.

Using this, food manufacturing companies and other business-related industries can directly present the information to the end-user through their smartphone gadgets by scanning it.

A PDF QR code can be printed along with the food packaging, a small-size leaflet that will allow many companies to save their expenses from printing a thousand pages which is costly and environmentally hazardous.

A PDF QR code is cost-efficient, more environmentally friendly, and innovative at the same time.

3. Story-driven food packaging trend

Customers want to hear your brand’s personal story. And it couldn’t get any more convenient and easy if they can access that with just a scan of their smartphone devices.

With the QR code element, you can generate a video QR code or an image gallery QR code and incorporate that in your food packaging to make an interactive food packaging trend and entertain your customers all at the same time.

For example, the beverage brand, Pepsi, will debut special packaging for their product with the use of NFC tags and QR codes!

The limited-edition bottles and cans, available at retailers now, are printed with a QR code that directs shoppers to PepsiHalftime.com.

This new site contains behind-the-scenes footage and an augmented reality filter.

Not only are they useful for food packaging, but they're also a smart tool for kitchenware manufacturing companies. QR codes for kitchenwares allow them to provide a comprehensive guide to product usage.

4. The minimalist food packaging trend

Some of the packaging industry has drifted away from extravagant and cluttered designs and have embraced simplicity with clear labeling and packaging approach.

Minimalism and simplicity in packaging design are here to stay and in the future. As they say, less is always more.

Furthermore, it helps highlight the product’s value and does not overpower customers with flamboyant graphics and artwork.

Consumers are already overwhelmed and used to extravagant and colorful design packaging, and that’s why giving them a minimalist look is a breath of fresh air.

Keeping the design simple and minimal not only makes the packaging look clean, elegant, simple, and refreshing in the eyesight. But it also reduces the cost of your manufacturing process.

5. Customized packaging

One of the leading trends in food packaging is the demand for a personalized style.

The future of food packaging design and development promises more customized design packaging to bridge the gap and connect consumer needs and product reality.

With the increase in production speeds, food packaging personalization is now becoming a trendsetter.

Consumers want their food and snacks to meet their unique and ever-changing needs, and innovative packaging design with a touch of personal element can help brands meet the challenge.

The global personalized packaging market has witnessed an up surging growth over the years due to the increasing trend of luxury packaging among many international and even local brands.

The increasing customization in food packaging across the globe has given a major boost to the personalized packaging market.

Although the trend for personalized food packaging in the industry is yet to be affordable to smaller food businesses, there are still varying ways you can customize your packaging.

Personalization in food packaging can include the use of customized bags, boxes, stickers, or even gift tags to increase brand recall and appeal.

6. Food packaging that drives offline e-commerce to online

Supermarket news reported that the growth for online grocery surged amidst the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic. Studies show that 43% do online grocery shopping compared in the last six months versus 24% two years ago.

With the world going contactless, grocery stores can use in-store QR codes as a contactless way to shop.

For example, Tesco, a popular grocery store with many branches international market, virtually created a market based on a lifestyle in the country of South Korea.

A QR code is attached to food packaging items that, when scanned, will display the products on the user's smartphone screen and place their orders even as they wait for their trains or buses.

7. A food packaging design trend that can collect feedback

Product reviews and collecting feedbacks are important. Feedback from your customers enables and accelerates the company for growth.

Feedback provides a sense of interactivity between your product and the end-user and lets them know what they need to do to reach a higher level.

Using the QR innovation, CPG brands can switch to a more seamless and contactless way of gathering feedback using such a digital tool.

Many companies and businesses, such as AirVote and even the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), have decided to allocate QR codes in public toilets for feedback from users.

8. Retro and Vintage packaging + modern packaging

The Retro and Vintage packaging will never go out of style; however, you can always experiment with new ways to leverage and innovate the experience of your customers, and one way to add modernity to that is by using QR codes that will lead them to the online dimension.

You can always make your food packaging design remarkable and unique for them, which can be achieved in ways including the packaging design’s structure and functional features.

9. The anti-counterfeit packaging design trend

Counterfeit products are not only common in the apparel industry, but the counterfeiting issue in the food sector has also been infiltrating everywhere, and food manufacturing industries are still battling this continuing problem.

To help combat this problem, QR codes on food products can be used to track and identify counterfeit food items. 

Food Packaging Trends in 2024 + technology = A digital success for CPG brands

With new trends in food packaging popping up all the time, you can always try out new ways to make your product packaging interesting and fun for your target market.

With that being said, whatever type of innovative packaging you can come up with, you can always use QR codes to connect your offline customers to online and make your overall product marketing alleviate customer experience and have retention to your brand.

For more QR code questions, you can contact us today.