2025
Consumer Trends
A Look Ahead at the Year's Top Consumer Trends.
Berlin Packaging tracks consumer insights, product trends, and packaging innovation throughout the year to understand what is happening in the market so we can best help our customers succeed. In 2024, we saw people reigning in their household budgets and deciding when to splurge and when to save. Amidst economic pressures, consumers reigned in their spending. Technology played an increasingly significant role in everyday lives, driving people to seek human connection and engagement. And sustainability continued to be a priority.
To start 2025, Berlin Packaging is looking at the most recent trends that will influence consumer routines and behaviors in the year ahead. People are living healthier, living longer, and viewing aging in a new light. Continued economic concerns are driving more strategic spending, with consumers redefining what value means to them. Changing demographics and evolving lifestyles are influencing how consumers view the home. And sustainability is still important, but consumers want it to be intentional and meaningful.
This report features our four key consumer trends for 2025:
- Lively Longevity: Consumers are redefining what it means to age, prioritizing health, wellness, and longevity with a focus on prevention, personalization, and science backed solutions.
- Strategic Spending: Consumers are balancing cautious spending with a willingness to splurge, prioritizing all-around value and strategic purchase decisions that deliver longterm benefits.
- Simplified Decisions: In an overwhelming world of endless choices and information, consumers crave clarity, transparency, and simplicity to streamline their decision-making and shopping experiences.
- Sensible Sustainability: Consumers remain committed to sustainability but are taking a more practical approach, prioritizing meaningful, transparent claims and tangible environmental impacts that align with a brand’s value proposition.
Studio One Eleven® created packaging for Onnit Labs Alpha Brain Black label, with a premium custom secondary package design and graphics that clearly communicate the product’s benefits of mental acuity and focus.
Lively Longevity
Today’s consumers are living longer, and attitudes toward aging are evolving. This is driven by health consciousness, growing access to information around health and wellness, and technological advancements. People don’t just want to live longer; they want to live healthier and feel better longer. Mintel data shows an increase in North American product launches that promote “well-ageing,” signaling a shift away from anti-aging messaging and mindsets. Consumers are changing their behaviors and focusing more on prevention vs treatment, total body management, and products targeted to different life stages. The growing popularity of functional food & beverages, targeted vitamins and supplements, fitness tracking technology, and self-care routines align with this desire to live healthier and longer.
Euromonitor says, “As people are looking for preventative solutions and products that target specific concerns, brands should focus on creating practical, targeted solutions for specific audience segments.” Brands targeting women’s health and menopause concerns, aging skin and hair, and personalized supplements are on the rise. Science-backed ingredients and claims are also gaining traction as consumers seek products with proven efficacy and transparency.
More than 60% of consumers surveyed consider it “very” or “extremely” important to purchase products or services that help with healthy aging and longevity. (McKinsey)
Strategic Spending
Optimism in the US economy is on the rise, resulting in a greater willingness to spend. However, people remain prudent, with McKinsey noting “a cautiousness toward spending and a simultaneous willingness to splurge.” This is leading to more strategic spending. Consumers are not always choosing the cheapest option but the one with the best all-around value. According to Euromonitor’s 2025 Consumer Trends report, “Consumers are not just chasing the best deals for instant gratification anymore. Purchase decisions are strategic and intentional. Consumers are focused on all-around value and expect brands to deliver meaningful incentives with long-term impact.”
Products with added value are becoming the new standard. Brands can add value by providing convenience, adding multi-functionality, incorporating time-saving features, prioritizing sustainability, promising high quality, and implementing robust loyalty programs. It’s important to note that consumer priorities change by category. For example, premium quality is especially valued in personal and beauty care categories, while convenience is essential in home care. Understanding and addressing what your consumers value most is key to driving purchase decisions and strengthening brand loyalty.
57% of consumers extensively research the products and services they consume (Euromonitor)
Fig.1 uses Berlin Packaging’s exclusive Airglass Refill system for their premium sustainable skincare line. When customers run out of their favorite products, they can easily order a refillable cartridge and keep their beautiful glass bottle, pump, and cap.
Studio One Eleven developed a custom bottle for Nature Nate’s premium honey that stands out on the shelf and differentiates from the competition. The brand added a label with a bold, simple statement that quickly communicates the product proposition.
Simplified Decisions
People are being bombarded with an overabundance of products & information and want to simplify their lifestyles and streamline the discovery and decision-making process. With AI-generated content on the rise, understanding what is real and what is fake is challenging, driving the desire for transparency and simplification. Euromonitor listed “Filtered Focus” as a global consumer trend for 2025, saying, “Brands are in a race for consumer attention, and clear communication and optimized user experiences should be strategic priorities to stand out in a crowded marketplace.”
People don’t necessarily want fewer options but easier ways to determine the best product for their needs. Brands should improve how they deliver information to simplify the shopping and selection experience for consumers. This can be done through simplified packaging, clear and concise messaging on pack and across all touchpoints, optimized shopping experiences, personalized product recommendations, exceptional customer service, and more. Read more about minimalist design in our report, “Minimalism: Design Considerations to Ensure Less Is More.”
67% of consumers looked for ways to simplify
their lives in 2024. (Euromonitor)
Sensible Sustainability
Sustainability continues to be a priority for consumers. However, they are adopting a more practical approach to their views on eco-friendly products and attributes. Brands need to be strategic when choosing green features and making sustainability claims. These choices should strengthen and reinforce the overall value proposition and positioning
of a brand.
According to Euromonitor, “As the market becomes increasingly saturated, brands need to align the right sustainability claims with the right products for the right audience in order to effectively encourage consumers to choose eco-friendly options and drive ROI.” This can vary by consumer group and product category.
PwC suggests to “forge bonds with eco-conscious consumers by connecting their intentions to positive environmental impacts.” Brands should incorporate sustainability attributes that are familiar to consumers, meaningful to the brand, and have tangible environmental impacts. Berlin Packaging’s global sustainability team helps customers with sustainability strategies, packaging solutions, messaging, and more that connect with consumers.
Consumers are seeking products that support and elevate their lives on a functional level, more than vague corporate social responsibility claims that don’t translate to solutions (Mintel).
Berlin Packaging developed a custom refill bottle for Amika. The bright colors and flower design align with the brand’s feel-good personality and vibrant aesthetic. The eco-friendly bottles are made with impact-resistant, dishwasher-safe, BPA-free, and EA-free Eastman Tritan™ plastic so they will last forever and can be reused endlessly. Using the refillable bottle in partnership with Amika’s refill pouches reduces environmental impact by 98%.
Ready to get started?
The brands mentioned in this report are trademarks of their respective owners. Inclusion of these brands in this report is not meant to imply an association with or endorsement from the respective trademark owners.