Premium luxury packaging: Aligning brand experience, performance and sustainability

Premium luxury packaging is increasingly balancing visual appeal, tactile quality, and functionality while meeting logistical and sustainability requirements.

From e-commerce to festive gifting and F&B launches, we explore how brands use packaging to elevate consumer experience and reinforce premium credentials and environmental responsibility. 

Innova Market Insights data indicates an increase in premium product launches for F&B, with an average annual growth rate of 7% between October 2020 and September 2025. The majority of these launches occurred in the Hot Drinks, Snacks, and Confectionery categories. Meat Substitutes with a premium claim recorded the strongest growth rate over the five-year period. 

The global market researcher identified the top packaging type in the sector to be Flat Pouch, and Plastic was the top packaging material used for launches with premium claims. More than one in three launches had recyclable claims.

“Between July 2022 and June 2024, the top subcategory with a premium claim was Coffee, followed by Seasonings and Sports Powders. Cakes — Pastries & Sweet Goods were showing the highest growth with a CAGR of 107%, whereas Meat Products and Chocolate Pieces — Unwrapped were also demonstrating high growth,” Jiwon Choi, customer success analyst at Innova Market Insights, recently told us.

Festive premium partnership

Full-service packaging supplier Hunter Luxury has partnered with premium spa and skincare brand Espa to create its Limited-Edition Christmas 2025 collection.

Espa’s advent calendar designed by Hunter Luxury features twenty-five drawers, each holding a gift (Image credit: Hunter Luxury).The collaboration spans a festive gifting range, including an advent calendar, rigid gift boxes and accompanying FBB cartons, premium vanity case, cosmetic bags, and retail store bags. Each piece, finished in a deep, rich, regal blue, has been expertly brought to life by Hunter Luxury, capturing Espa’s spa heritage while elevating the unboxing experience for this festive season.

At the heart of the collection is the advent calendar, a rigid format wrapped in dyed-to-Pantone paper with an embossed fine-line texture and chiseled foil numbering. The calendar features twenty-five drawers, each holding a gift designed to harmonize mind, body, and soul.

Olivia Moss, account manager at Hunter Luxury, tells us: “Usually, we’d start with plain white structural samples, but this year, in a bid to reduce timings, we went straight to printed and finished samples. It meant the client could check not only the cavities and closures, but also the textures and colors from the very start.”

The company says that all gift packaging employed the same rigid construction and refined finishes, with a “subtle book-style twist.” Soft-touch velour cosmetic bags for women and textured polyurethane leather washbags for men are crafted with the same attention to detail and feature a branded zip.” 

The velour Vanity Case created for the Espa Experience Collection served as another showpiece of the collection, its exterior wrapped in sumptuous materials, lined with satin, and fitted with a mirror and a removable tray to house multiple gifts. 

The design aims to achieve beauty and functionality, allowing it to be reused as a storage solution after the festive season.

Last month, we examined the differences between e-commerce packaging for premium products and standard packaging. It aims to provide an elevated experience that aligns with luxury brand values and customer expectations, Richard Kretzmann, head of Sales Packaging at Sappi Europe, told Packaging Insights.

The packaging must withstand the logistical challenges of shipping and deliver a memorable, high-quality tactile and visual experience upon arrival. 

“Such a strong and memorable unboxing experience involves using high-end materials that provide exceptional whiteness, brightness, and vibrant color reproduction for brands to achieve a sophisticated look that appeals to consumers’ senses and reinforces brand identity,” said Kretzmann.

Technical problem-solving

Hunter Packaging aimed to maintain Espa’s original visuals and to combine these with its problem-solving technology. The company says that one challenge came from the candle gift: raw white ceramic vessels were prone to rubbing color from the dyed-blue paperboard. 

“We tried different coatings and eventually agreed to apply lamination only on one side of the insert, to protect both the candle and the board while still maintaining recyclability,” says Moss.

A second solution came in the form of a pre-folded tracing paper sheet, attached inside the box lid. “When the candle is packed, the sheet is simply laid over the top. It prevents friction, protects the surface, and doesn’t add any plastic.”

Sustainability was non-negotiable throughout. Every insert was made from stacked corrugate with no plastic. Closure mechanisms avoided magnets and ribbons, relying instead on engineered board solutions. 

Meanwhile, laminations were restricted to a single side where strictly necessary, ensuring that all packaging remained fully recyclable. 

“It’s something the Espa team is really clear on — everything has to be recyclable or reusable as a keepsake. So, every detail, every material choice had to be checked against that standard,” adds Moss.

Meeting customer expectations

Earlier this year, Mondi equipped glassware manufacturer Zwiesel Glas with luxury containerboard packaging.

Lisa Müller, director brand and product management at Zwiesel Glas, said: “Owning one of our handmade pieces is about more than just the glass — it’s about creating memorable moments. Mondi’s thoughtful packaging makes that first interaction truly special, enhancing the connection customers feel from the moment they unbox our product.”

For Hunter, the Espa collection demonstrates the strength of long-term collaboration. 

“We’ve worked with Espa for a number of years, and that comes with both trust and pressure,” says Moss. 

“They [Espa] know we’ll check every detail before samples even reach them. They know they’ll get a full-service partner — in-house design, in-house development — not just a supplier. But that also means we have to keep raising the bar year after year.”

The 2025 range had its own unique complexities, with around 10 different variants spanning rigid boxes, bags, gift with purchases, and folding box board cartons. 

“Other suppliers might excel at a single advent calendar, or a tight five-SKU range. But handling collections at this scale — 15,000 units of one gift, 5,000 of another, all with different structures — is where we thrive. Espa knows we can take that workload on and deliver.”