Webinar preview: Top Packaging Trends 2025

Ahead of Packaging Insights’ Top Packaging Trends 2025 webinar on Wednesday next week, we sit down with our expert speakers, Edward Kosior, founder and CEO at Nextek, Tey Bannerman, partner at McKinsey & Company, and Alisa Selezneva, senior market analyst at Innova Market Insights. You can register for the webinar for free here.

Kosior highlights design for AI-powered waste sorting as a key industry development. “One of the fundamental shifts will be a focus on designing packaging with readily recognizable, stereotypical attributes that allow packages to be easily identified by AI sorting systems as recyclable/food-contact/monopolymeric,” he explains. 

Meanwhile, Bannerman says AI is already beginning to reshape packaging waste management and accelerate the development of new materials by allowing researchers to simulate thousands of potential formulations and predict their properties. 

“This [technology] leads to materials specifically designed for easier identification and separation in existing recycling systems.”

“In sorting facilities, AI vision systems are now capable of identifying and separating packaging materials with unprecedented accuracy and can make split-second sorting decisions at industrial scales. The result is higher quality recycled materials that can more readily re-enter the supply chain.”Unlike manual waste sorting, AI vision systems can separate materials with unprecedented accuracy and can make split-second sorting decisions at industrial scales. 

“The most significant impact may come from the future ability to optimize entire systems rather than individual components, creating circular economies that minimize waste at every stage.”

Selezneva says that with the support of AI-powered applications and digital tools, consumers can better understand their role in reducing food waste.

“AI can be utilized to automate waste processes, decrease leftover quantities, and improve both recycling initiatives and consumer awareness regarding responsible consumption.”

Digital packaging enhancements

Smart packaging applications are also expected to proliferate across the industry, with digital product passports gaining increasing support. Kosior says: “Digital product passports for all packaging will continue to evolve ahead of European legislation being progressively implemented, accelerating the use of markers, QR codes, RFID tags, through to augmented reality.”

Packaging will be tagged with a link to a digital passport that specifies all of its key attributes including material type, grade, additives, label/adhesive/ink details, recycling characteristics, unit weight, and any other key points needed in the circular economy. 

“This [passport] will act in combination with AI sorting to give accurate separation into desired fractions and provide final compositions of recycled materials and enhance both the consumer experience and improve supply chain efficiency and transparency,” says Kosior.

Meanwhile, Bannerman highlights the evolution of packaging from a passive container to an active participant in the consumer experience. Brands increasingly use packaging as a canvas for personalization and connection.

“There’s a growing emphasis on packaging that enhances the functional experience — designs that make products easier to use, store, and dispose of properly. This includes innovative dispensing mechanisms, portion control features, and intuitive recycling indicators.”

“Furthermore, more brands use packaging as a canvas for personalization and connection. Limited editions, personalized elements, and designs that create emotional resonance are becoming competitive differentiators.”

“What makes these trends particularly interesting is how they’re being amplified by AI and data, allowing brands to optimize designs based on increasingly sophisticated consumer behavior insights.”

Paperization growth challenges

Innova Market Insights identified the transition to paper-based packaging as a top industry trend this year.

But Kosior says that while we will continue to see a shift toward the “paperfication” of packaging, market expansion will be challenged by oil- and grease resistance and PFAS related issues. 

“Likewise, the use of plastic coatings on paper is hindering, rather than enhancing recycling. The plastics industry needs to boost plastics circularity if we are going to shift from creating packaging waste to recycling valuable materials and reducing packaging’s carbon footprint.”

While fiberization continues to gather pace, material decision-making will increasingly be guided by functional requirements.Bannerman also believes the trend toward paper will continue in appropriate applications but adds: “We’re entering a more mature phase where material choices are guided by functional requirements and system-level sustainability rather than blanket policies.”

“Paper offers clear benefits in certain applications — particularly for dry, non-fragile products with short shelf life requirements. However, there are clear limits to this substitution. For products requiring high barrier properties, extended shelf life, transparency, or structural strength at minimal weight, plastic often remains the more functionally appropriate choice. In these cases, the focus is shifting to designing plastic packaging for improved recyclability.”

Selezneva adds that although the shift toward paper-based packaging is significant, it is essential to balance it with functional needs and recycling potential. 

“Regulations aimed at non-recyclable packaging will provide a necessary push for the industry to consider paper-based alternatives, which are significantly easier to recycle.”

“Although paper packaging may not completely eliminate plastic, it can certainly offer a more sustainable option for companies willing to invest in paper-based packaging and reduce penalties and EPR costs.”

Recyclability, renewable, and reuse

Meanwhile, monomaterial packaging innovation is proliferating to support demand for improved recycling rates.

“Monomaterial flexible film packaging structures based on PET, PE, or PP are being promoted to accelerate mechanical recycling initiatives,” says Kosior.Monomaterial flexible film packaging structures are being promoted to accelerate mechanical recycling initiatives.

Nature-based packaging solutions have also been flagged as a key industry trend for this year. Kosior says that sustainable graphics, inks, and adhesives will be further developed to increase circularity.

“To enable the circular economy to gain momentum with materials being recovered at the end of one life-cycle, we must go beyond our old recycling boundaries to eliminate unintended build-up of package elements that might travel with the plastics during recycling.”

“The impact of labels, adhesives, pigments, and inks will be progressively minimized and scrutinized for impacts on the composition of packaging in the circular economy, focusing on boosting rather than hindering the circular economy.”

Meanwhile, Selezneva says that the growth of bio-based material production is visible across supermarkets.

“Innova Market Insights’ product launch data suggests there has been a 60% growth in the use of bio-based packaging materials for inner or outer packaging between 2020–2024 (CAGR). This [expansion] is particularly relevant for the HORECA industry, as 27% of consumers perceive these materials to be ‘excellent’ for reducing carbon footprint.”

The expansion of reusable packaging models round’s off Innova Market Insights Top Packaging Trends for 2025.

“We will see a greater emphasis on reuse of packaging as well as recycling the more awkward-to-recycle materials such as films and food-grade packaging, both of which are technically demanding to turn back into food-grade resins. We now have the technology to achieve this,” says Kosior. 

Industry experts expect to see a greater emphasis on packaging reuse. What’s next in packaging?

The consumer packaging industry is facing increasing pressure to meet the increasingly demanding environmental sustainability goals, driven by consumer demand and regulatory pressure to meet carbon footprint and waste reductions.

Kosior predicts that the next few years will see significant innovations in materials and design, and closer collaboration between brands, suppliers, and regulators to implement sustainable packaging solutions.

Companies that prioritize innovation, transparency, and adaptability will likely gain a competitive edge as consumers become more discerning about the environmental impact of the products they purchase.

“The implementation of EPR will bring end-of-life responsibility for packaging back to the brand owners and will ensure that the lowest carbon footprint options are selected as well as recyclability. This will eliminate some packaging that may appear sustainable yet actually creates a higher carbon footprint,” he adds.

“In this evolving landscape, digital technologies, from AI to blockchain for supply chain transparency, will play a crucial role in transforming how packaging is produced, managed, and disposed of.”

“The focus should be on waste becoming a thing of the past — everything manufactured should be produced with a sustainable end-of-life at its core. The industry’s response to global plastic waste issues will be a defining feature in the coming years. Packaging will increasingly need to balance sustainability with consumer experience, making it a dynamic area for both innovation and regulation.”