September 29, 2025 – At a time when resonating with consumers emotionally and culturally has been a key tendency, personalized packaging has won over millions with appealing campaigns and actions. Powered by digital printing, the ability to engage with buyers on a scale of this size and pace is priceless. To demonstrate this movement, Innova Market Insights has put together a snapshot of what success looks like in this category and what to expect in the future.
Can Brands Leverage Positive Consumer Buzz to Stay Ahead?
When moments can be shared wide and far through online platforms, brands have ample space to leverage consumer buzz of their products. Trends, mentions, reach, and engagement related to the personalized packaging through digital printing across social media and online platforms have proven largely positive to 53% of those researhed by Innova Market Insights, reflecting current packaging trends. Further proving how solid the basis for the connectivity of brand awareness and consumer buy-in is.
On average, research in this report found that news articles achieved a significant reach of 10 million per mention. Examples of campaigns where this kind of engagement happened involve a well-known cola brand, which relaunched an iconic campaign in the month of March but began to see the results in the following month. The personalized packaging concept, featuring names and relatable phrases, reignited consumer excitement and reinforced emotional engagement with the brand.
Personalized packaging is becoming popular due to its focus on design, sustainable materials, and new packaging styles. As people care more about quality and personal connections, brands are creating gift ready and customized options, especially for smaller products meant for sharing.
How Does Scalable Packaging Personalization Work for Alcoholic Beverages?
Alcoholic beverage brands are using digital tools and artificial intelligence (AI) to create the personalization of packaging. Such innovations as these can help connect with telling stories on a larger scale and make packaging suitable for social media. This represents a move from niche personalization to mainstream use in premium beverages.
One tequila producer recently allowed consumers to personalize bottles in a bid to change up their offering. This option really resonates with consumers who appreciate the local heritage and want to add a bit of their own creativity, especially when giving gifts. They specifically targeted the holiday season, knowing that many people look for special personalized gifts during this time of year.
What About the Emotional Appeal of Personalized Packaging?
An emotional connection can produce results in certain regions. In the Philippines for instance, where there is a strong emphasis on family, friendship, and different forms of relationships, one well-known chocolate producer used this to leverage the reach of their product.
Meanwhile, in another part of the world, well-known Swiss chocolatier, Toblerone, known for its iconic triangular shape, premium chocolate, and customized packaging, marketed itself as “Never Square”, while emphasizing personal connections through creativity and individuality. Their aim was to make the perfect gift, not just for romantic reasons, given the time of launch, but also for the expression of appreciation or affection to people that consumers considered important in their lives. With these special messages, certain brands can target what they call thoughtful gifts by leaning into their unusual size, shape, or taste that is conveyed as being delicious and premium.
Can Packaging with Personality Resonate with Consumers?
Starbucks, a popular coffee chain, has updated its latest collaboration drink in China with a new bold design from the agency Marks. This aims to connect with Generation Z by focusing on individuality and energy. The drink has returned to delight Chinese consumers, helping the brand stand out in the crowded ready-to-drink (RTD) market. The company sees this drink as influential for updating its ready-to-drink (RTD) options to meet the changing preferences of consumers. Young trendsetters, often called ‘life autonomists,’ appreciate individuality, community, and aesthetics as they view these drinks as part of their personal style.
Does Leveraging Smart Packaging Streamline Recycling and Boost Consumer Trust?
To support recycling and build consumer trust, Danone, a major global food and beverage company, introduced smart packaging on its silk cartons. These cartons have QR codes that link to local recycling information. This helps consumers understand better and makes the recycling process easier. This resource provides updated recycling information, reducing confusion about what materials can be recycled, as rules differ across facilities in the United States.
What’s Next for Personalized Packaging Through Digital Printing Globally?
Looking at the future of this packaging trend, the use of personalized packaging through digital printing can almost certainly be used to create a broader appeal to consumers. By mirroring brand identity and connecting with buyer preferences, certain elements can be used to create packaging that stands out and drives engagement. What digital printing can offer is distinctive product labels or cultural references on a significant scale in real-time. Engaging with consumers in this way can further the level of interaction, and that is something increasingly sought after. The process also deepens brand storytelling and supports data-driven innovation.
There is also room for further collaboration with designers, digital print experts, and consumer insight teams. This can empower brands to deliver personalized packaging that resonates emotionally, reflects local culture, and allows quick adaptation to trends. Customized packaging can be timed to fit in with the seasons, festivals, regions, or local languages to reinforce cultural relevance and make the product feel exclusive to the buyer.
This article is based on Innova’s Trending in Personalized Packaging through Digital Printing – Global report. This report is available to purchase or with an Innova Reports subscription. Reach out to find out more