Top Packaging Design Trends from New Hope Natural Media, Sterling-Rice Group

Sterling-Rice Group (SRG) and New Hope Natural Media, a division of Penton, have identified six top packaging design trends that are shaping the future and changing consumers' relationships with products. Sterling-Rice Group and New Hope Natural Media's Nutrition Business Journal teamed up for a joint venture called "NEXT: The Natural Products Industry Forecast 2014," a report that shares trends in food, packaging design, beauty products, and more.

Here is a look at six of the top trends in design:

  • Moving Beyond the Mascot: Characters get a life. Brands are creating dimensionalized characters with rich online worlds, social media, games, blogs, videos and more.
  • Naturally White: A color once reserved for generic and tech products, white infiltrates food and beverage packaging providing a clean, upscale look without distraction.
  • Fantastic Forms: Breakthrough package design comes from advancement in technology and innovative packaging materials. Unique forms now solve problems, serve consumers' needs and add a new level of appeal to differentiate themselves on shelves.
  • Kid Focused, Adult Friendly: Packages keep kids interested and please adults by communicating company values, creating parent communities, and using innovative forms to help engage kids in new ways and enhance the overall product experience.
  • Sustainable = Endurance: Sustainability has been elevated with packaging that is entirely eco-conscious with zero waste and materials that are completely compostable and even digestible.
  • Cleaning Catches Up: Method was the trailblazer in this category and now others are catching up with high-style packaging for cleaning products that look as good as they clean.

For more detail and examples of these design trends, visit www.srg.com.

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