What a year! We don't know about you, but we can't believe it's December already - time flies when you're having fun! As we start to think about the holiday season and the start of a new year, we wanted to share some of the themes expect to see as the top 2020 packaging trends...here they are:

Sustainability to take center stage once again

As we saw in 2019, next year will see sustainability take center stage in the packaging industry, and we expect to see most major players in supply chain will be focusing on making a shift towards eco-friendly packaging materials if they haven’t already done so. With many brands having set public and ambitious targets to reduce plastic packaging by 2025, 2020 will be the year where we see these brands really start to implement changes, or take the first significant steps in this process.

Where we expect to see a change from 2019 and previous years, is that more players will step forward together to work on sustainability. In the past, the sustainability was perhaps addressed with a little bit more of an ‘each to their own’ mindset, each brand, supplier or producer focusing on carving out their unique approach.

In 2020 however, we expect to see much more collaboration and partnership, even – to a certain degree – amongst competitors. We particularly expect to see this if companies come across issues they need to overcome to achieve their goals as part of the bigger picture. For example if countries need better recycling infrastructure, we expect to see brands, suppliers and various members of the supply chain join forces in an bid to be leverage more support from authorities and national bodies to get the tools in place required to ensure real progress within the space.  

Thinking outside the box

Another of the top 2020 packaging trends we’re expecting to take shape is a slight shift in approach to how companies tackle opportunity – and yes, we do believe there is opportunity to be had in 2020!

Increasingly we are seeing the packaging industry ‘think differently’ as they go about creating and pursuing opportunity. This is to say they are being bolder in exploring new markets, connecting with different partners and engaging in new dialogue within the wider industry.

Building transparency and trust

Another trend we expect to see carried on from 2019 is the continued focus on building transparency and trust in the packaging industry. It’s important to note that these elements are not missing, only that it is increasingly common for end-consumers or other partners in the supply chain to require greater technical information and details about the elements that go into packaging.

In 2020, we expect to companies in the packaging industry make more information about their products available in an accessible and understandable way so that the general public can make more informed decisions about the packaging choices they support, and they can fully trust the brands they are loyal to.