Your Packaging Year-in-Review: What Worked in 2025 and What to Fix in 2026
A quick reflection. A clearer roadmap. A stronger packaging year ahead.
Before you sprint into new designs, product launches, and Q1 planning, it helps to look back at how your packaging actually performed in 2025.
Not just what you intended… but what really worked in the wild, with real customers, real carriers, and real deadlines.
Think of this as your friendly year-end debrief with a future-focused twist.
What Worked in 2025 (Celebrate These Wins!)
1. Your unboxing experience stepped up
Maybe you added a thank-you insert, upgraded your tape, refreshed your interior print, or finally made opening the box intuitive instead of a mini puzzle. If customers shared photos, left positive comments, or mentioned the packaging in reviews, that’s proof that your efforts landed. A memorable unboxing isn’t fluff. It’s brand equity.
2. Packaging durability improved
Did fragile products arrive with fewer damages? Did you switch to a stronger mailer or right-size a box? You may have saved yourself countless returns, replacements, and customer frustrations. When damage rates trend down, your packaging is doing exactly what it should.
3. Operations got smoother
Maybe you dialed in your order quantities, avoided stockouts, or built stronger communication with suppliers. Better forecasting, better lead-time management, and fewer emergency rush orders are huge wins that often go unnoticed. If your fulfillment team complained less this year, you did something right.
4. You made meaningful sustainability progress
Whether it was lighter materials, less void fill, more recyclable substrates, or using packaging that ships smaller… your changes mattered. Customers increasingly notice sustainable choices, and so do your margins. Sometimes the most sustainable packaging is simply the most efficient one.
What to Fix for 2026 (Every Brand Has These)
1. Lead times surprised you more than once
Holiday packaging that arrived too late? Summer promos that barely made it? If you spent 2025 reacting instead of planning, don’t repeat the cycle. In 2026: build in buffer and stop assuming timelines won’t shift… they will.
2. Brand consistency slipped somewhere
Maybe your labels didn’t match your mailers. Or your seasonal packaging felt disconnected. Or you ran out of your main packaging and had to mix in backup versions that felt “off.” These moments dilute your brand story, even if customers can’t articulate why.
3. Your packaging was overbuilt (or underbuilt)
Overbuilt = unnecessarily thick boxes, too much void fill, oversized mailers.
Underbuilt = crushed packaging, damaged product, strained customer service.
2026 is the year to right-size everything: functionally and financially.
4. You ignored feedback that could’ve saved you trouble
Maybe your inserts were confusing. Maybe customers said the box was too hard to open. Maybe returns were more difficult than they needed to be. If the same comments came up more than twice, they deserve your attention. Small UX tweaks go a long way.
5. Costs drifted without you noticing
Carrier changes, material shifts, and spec creep (the silent budget killer) all add up. If you didn’t review your packaging costs in 2025, you may be paying more than you should. A quick audit can reveal easy savings.
Your 2026 Packaging Improvement Checklist
Use this as your starting point for a stronger, less stressful packaging year:
☐ Right-size every SKU’s packaging
☐ Reevaluate your unboxing flow for clarity, simplicity, and delight
☐ Audit costs for materials, freight, and fulfillment efficiency
☐ Talk to your suppliers about new materials, pricing options, and innovations
☐ Lock in seasonal packaging deadlines early (whatever you think is early… earlier than that)
☐ Clean up artwork files, dielines, and outdated versions
☐ Test adhesives, tapes, and labels in different temperatures and environments
☐ Set one measurable sustainability goal for 2026
☐ Compile customer feedback and pick 2-3 improvements to act on
☐ Build a reorder calendar so inventory surprises stop ruining your week
Here’s the big-picture takeaway
Your packaging told a story in 2025 about your brand, your operations, and your customer experience. 2026 is your chance to refine it, simplify it, and strengthen it.
If you want help reviewing or upgrading your packaging for the year ahead, we’re here when you’re ready.
