With more shoppers out and about than any other time of year, standing out on the shelves is most important during the holiday season. While you may have packaging that looks amazing online, it’s essential to consider your full IRL product experience when creating your products and packaging, too. Here’s a round-up of our holiday standouts to consider when you plan your assortment for next year. (PS, it’s not too early!) 

Giftable PackagingBoth at holiday time and year round (people are more likely than ever to gift for non-traditional reasons anytime), giftable packaging can be the extra push that consumers need to convert. Not only does giftable packaging capture attention on the shelves, it also saves your customers another shopping trip, cuts back on waste, and offers an extra-thoughtful element to the gift itself.

Secondary Packaging with a Punch In today’s world of endless options, a traditional box and bottle model isn’t the most memorable thing you can offer. Instead, you can leverage technology to create fully-customized packaging that not only stands out, but also enhances the function of the product. Win-win.

Put the Fun in Functional In the past few years, we’ve seen a shift toward functional, minimalist packaging. And while functionality is key, there’s no reason not to bring bold, bright elements into play. Consumers are looking for positive, inspiring brand experiences, so clean dyes can help bring the color while staying true to clean values.

Create an IllusionInspired by the Op Art movement of the 1960s and 1980s, optical print packaging is making a huge comeback—and for good reasons. Optical print packaging helps create movement and draws the eye in, which helps packaging stand out on the shelf, and encourages consumers to reach for your product in their medicine cabinet time and time again.

Shape the ExperienceThis year, we’ve seen the emergence of a few shape-inspired trends we love: Squircular forms that create rounded edges for more traditional shapes, like Laneige’s new Cushion Matte Foundation, and bold geometric shapes that offers added functionality, like the space-shaving stackability of Cadence Capsule’s mini pots.

Feel the FrostWhile clinical, science-backed formulas are more popular than ever, their packaging can often come off as harsh and sterile. Frosted finishes offer a level of softness to technologically forward formulas, while encouraging touchability on the shelf. While all the inspiration we’ve covered above is designed to stand out on the shelf, it’s important to create scroll-stopping products, too. We recommend creating a unique and engaging unboxing experience that offers a level of luxury when the customer chooses to shop online instead of in a shop. 

While all the inspiration we’ve covered above is designed to stand out on the shelf, it’s important to create scroll-stopping products, too. We recommend creating a unique and engaging unboxing experience that offers a level of luxury when the customer chooses to shop online instead of in a shop.  We know your team is busy executing this current holiday season, but now is the best time to start thinking about next year. By getting started now, you can think bigger, execute better, and stand out when it comes time for shoppers to get gifting. Reach out today for a consultation on your holiday 2024 product strategy. We can’t wait to get started.