From ancient amphorae to contemporary compostables, packaging is an essential accompaniment to selling consumer goods – but it hasn’t always garnered the status it deserves. Indeed, when digital began to dominate branding, pack often found itself misused and undervalued – seen as a necessary cost rather a potential opportunity. But as 2026 is declared the year of analogue, and trendsetters celebrate the return to novels, notebooks, vinyl and film (via their social channels, of course), it feels like an ideal time to reflect on how brands should show up in the physical world. And as 81% of young adults dream of disconnecting from their devices, packaging really needs to reclaim its status as a powerful physical presence in your consumers’ rituals and lives.
So as die-hard advocates of the power of packaging, we’re sharing five strategies that pack-savvy brands are using to keep their consumers engaged.
1. INTRIGUING BEAUTY
Unlike any other tool in the marketeer’s kit, packaging has the potential to become a tangible part of your consumer’s lifestyle. Desirable structural design can be an investment, but it can also elevate your brand beyond the competition, transforming your product from an everyday commodity to an object of beauty. ROLLR’s refillable deodorants do exactly that, injecting a daily ritual with a glass and gemstone applicator worthy of a Downton Abbey dressing table. Coupled with its recyclable paper sachets of concentrated pre- and probiotic powder, it effortlessly blends sustainability with a sublime user experience.
2. CONSUMER CONNECTION
ROLLR aside, it’s always tempting to go minimal with display-worthy packaging in order to fit into a broad spectrum of consumers’ interior design. But as more and more homeware brands ape the look of Aesop, it’s refreshing when brands boldly express their purpose and character. Making the choice to genuinely connect with a three-dimensional customer rather than a generic consumer profile can lead to far more pointed and exciting design. EAT DIRT is a wonderful example of a brand that speaks to a real consumer – the woman (or man) who does the laundry, week in and week out, but has no interest in being defined by it. Far removed from the idyllic and fragrant fantasy land of Bold or Lenor, EAT DIRT’s illustrative design brings a Rosie the Riveter vibe to wash day and makes laundry feel like hero’s work.
3. BOLD PERSONALITY
It’s all too common for product packaging to be just that – a carrier and communicator of whatever’s inside, with the brand’s logo plonked on exactly where you’d expect. But branded packaging has the potential to do so much more. As, often, the only tangible expression of a brand that consumers can hold in their hands and place in their homes, it should exude the brand’s entire essence.
PIP & NUT is a great example. A true logo brand, it was created with packaging in mind and its impact from the shelf shouts ‘personality’ rather than ‘peanut butter’. It’s that emphasis on brand that ensures Pip & Nut has one of the most loyal consumer followings of any brand we’ve ever worked with – and has seen them grow from new entrant to the UK’s No.1 in less than a decade.
4. SIMPLE STORYTELLING
Design is communication, and all great packaging tells a story. But good storytelling doesn’t have to mean literal illustration or layers of explanatory copy – it’s about creating an intuitive link between the nature of the product and the feel of the design.
GOOD PHATS does this beautifully – its oversized and curvaceous logotype expresses the beauty and unctuous movement of fat, perfectly echoing the brand name and story. The logo is positioned differently, but harmoniously, across a series of structures thoughtfully chosen for their product purpose, and effortlessly suggesting culinary expertise. The simplicity of the brand and packaging ensures it meets its messaging goals, but the depth behind the simplicity communicates so much more.
5. PURPOSEFUL INTERACTION
Streamlining and simplification are the golden rules of cost efficiency, but when it comes to physical packaging there’s a potential for interaction that shouldn’t be ignored. Nostalgic memories of packaging regularly turn to physical interaction – shaking in the salt from the little blue packet in Salt & Shake crisps or opening a can of corned beef with the key that’s attached to the lid – both more engaging and memorable moments than today’s notion of interaction: scanning a QR code.
When we first designed PEPPERSMITH back in 2009, we were keen to create packaging that felt like an accessory, something useful to put in your pocket like a box of matches or a packet of Rizla. With cardboard engineering, we built a pad of papers into every pack, making it easy to dispose of your gum, and hidden inside the box was a portrait of one of a series of moustache heroes – a collectible set from Tom Selleck to Ming the Merciless. Bringing ritual, anticipation and humour to the pack elevated the product experience from a functional habit to a meaningful emotional moment – a small hit of dopamine from the days before social media.
As the world becomes ever more virtual and AI conspires to steal our souls, there’s a growing appreciation for the emotional power of the physical. Packaging design can unlock this undervalued dimension, combining brand visuals with tangible structure, tactile materials, and moments of genuine interaction. Packaging puts your brand into the hands of your consumers – and it has the potential to be transformative.
