As the tangible representation of a brand’s identity, packaging bridges the gap between digital impressions and real-world experience, influencing consumer trust, perceived quality and buying behaviour. Packaging sales are predicted to reach 4.2 trillion units in 2025, and are forecast a stable 1.3% CAGR over 2026-2028, according to Euromonitor International’s Packaging system. With its ability to convey authenticity, sustainability and brand values, effective packaging design is a strategic marketing tool that drives consumer engagement and loyalty. With its capacity to deepen engagement and foster brand loyalty, packaging has the potential to evolve beyond functionality to deliver unique experiential value.
Packaging as the first physical touchpoint for brands
Packaging firms have been innovating to convey value through pack redesign and right sizing, as well as scaling up sustainability designs, despite elevated costs and intensifying regulatory pressures. Packaging plays a key role in brand association and quality perception, facilitating decision-making at the point of sale. Indeed, product label and information on packaging is perceived as one of the most trustworthy sources of information, ranking just behind word-of-mouth amongst consumers globally in 2025, according to Euromonitor International’s Voice of the Consumer: Lifestyles survey.
While packaging serves as a critical bridge between digital branding and the physical touch-and-feel of a product, its strategic importance becomes even more pronounced for brands operating in distribution channels in which direct access to consumers is limited, particularly in food and beverage.
Opportunity lies in a digitalised post-scan experience
By viewing packaging as an opportunity for purposeful dialogue with consumers, companies can develop strategies that turn transactional moments into emotional bonds. Interactive technologies like QR codes and NFC chips offer a cost-effective loyalty solution, but most brands underutilise them by linking only to basic product information. The real opportunity lies in crafting unique post-scan experiences that deliver exclusive content, turning each scan into a branded moment that deepens relationships. In fact, consumers are likely to grow into brand ambassadors through positive technology experiences.
Increased brand confidence, more frequent purchases and giving word-of-mouth recommendations are top responses amongst global respondents to positive technology experiences
Source: Euromonitor International’s Voice of the Consumer: Loyalty Survey, fielded March to April 2025 (n=7,507)
1. Offering gamification
For F&B brands, especially where purchase frequency is high but differentiation is low, gamification provides crucial ongoing engagement between purchases. For example, British yoghurt brand Frubes’ 2025 relaunch tailored value to both decision makers and end-users through new packaging conveying nutritional information which reassures health-conscious parents, while a QR code unlocks interactive games and rewards for children aged 7-13 years. Gamification turns passive consumers into active players, increasing engagement touchpoints and time spent with brands beyond purchase and consumption. Sales of digital video games are predicted to reach USD176 billion by 2028, having grown at a 3.8% CAGR between 2026 and 2028, according to Euromonitor International’s Toy and Games system 2025 edition, showcasing the potential of games and their horizontal application to build additional touchpoints for brand loyalty.
2. Digitalising for traceability and personalisation
Traceability builds trust via product journey visibility, while personalisation empowers customers. Together, they drive reciprocity, as transparency meets recognition, boosting repeat purchases. 54% of global respondents in Euromonitor International’s Voice of the Consumer: Loyalty survey, 2024, only buy from brands and companies they trust completely. Japan’s Dassai Inc, for example, launched “SHIMENAWA” NFC tags for its premium DASSAI sake in November 2024, combining blockchain and IoT for bottle-opening detection, authenticity checks and full production traceability. The multilingual digital experience educates buyers about traditional brewing, while building post-purchase trust with high-end consumers through personalised engagement. In crowded markets where consumers switch brands due to lack of transparency, visibility regarding production and recognition as a consumer, this transforms transactional purchases into emotional connections that withstand competition.
When physical interactions are limited by channel distribution constraints, these digital engagement layers become vital for maintaining top-of-mind awareness and brand affinity beyond the shelf.
Learn more about innovative approaches to packaging in our report, Top Four Trends in Packaging, and evolving loyalty concepts in our report, New Concepts in Loyalty.