Sustainability, minimal packaging and inclusivity will reign supreme among CPG brands this year. Read on to check out what our team found when we looked at top trends in the beverage and supplement markets for 2023, and the brands out there that we think are best exemplifying these trends.
Sustainability Sells
Young consumers continue to drive brands to invest in sustainability efforts. According to Forbes, 75% of Gen Z consumers state that sustainability is more important to them than brand name when making purchase decisions. Across generations, 73% combined feel that sustainable packaging is very or somewhat important today. Consumers expect CPG brands to make the environment priority and many brands are taking note, introducing a variety of initiatives – from regenerative agriculture to sustainable ingredient sourcing and environmentally-friendly packaging.
One example of a brand making sustainability a key part of their brand is Uncle Matt’s Organic. This juice brand has multiple sustainability initiatives – such as the use of recyclable BPA free bottles and carbon neutral shipping. Garden of Life, a supplement company, also has many environmental policies in place, in order to keep their products safe. Along with a carbon neutrality initiative, they also have a traceability promise – saying that they know where each ingredient for all of their products comes from – ensuring that fruits and vegetables in their supplements are grown with no harmful chemicals.
Keep it Simple
According to Mintel’s Food and Drink report, “it’s increasingly important for on-pack messaging to be as clear and concise as possible” to help consumers “escape information overload.” There are already so many options on any given shelf for consumers to choose from. It’s crucial to have good packaging design, but companies should steer clear of including too much information on the package – stick to top product benefits instead.
Our team took a look at some of the beverage brands out there and here are a few whose clean, simple packaging stood out to us on the shelf. Cure Hydration caught our eye with bright, clean packaging. This electrolyte hydration brand sells stick packs that consumers then mix with water. Each package includes a picture of the fruit indicating what flavor the stick packs are – simple, refreshing, and easy to understand.
Another brand that is using fruit illustrations in their packaging designs is Sanzo, an Asian inspired sparkling water. This brand also uses bright colors and very little text on their cans, drawing in consumers instead with their unique fonts and illustrations.
One last brand whose packaging has caught our attention this month is Better Booch. This kombucha brand uses intentional lines and white space to create a packaging design for their cans that’s simple, yet still makes a statement.
The Importance of Inclusivity
The consumer pool is widely diverse, each person with their own needs and concerns. Brands in the CPG space – especially in the supplement and beauty industries – have been making a greater effort in recent years to make sure all of their consumers can find the product that serves them best. Whether that means personalized supplement quizzes to see what their consumers need most in their day-to-day routine, or skin care brands expanding their range of skin tones for makeup to ensure every customer feels seen, this push for inclusivity is extremely important.
Gaia Herbs is an example of a supplement company that provides their customers with a quiz to get a better sense of each customer’s daily routine and then make recommendations of the types of supplements they should be taking.
Dr. Botanicals – a LGBTQ+ owned skincare company – is making sure that their LGBTQ+ consumers feel supported, with the launch of pride-edition skin care products. According to their website “We want every person that loves our products to feel good about themselves, and feel part of our family.”
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