Packaging trends evolve with consumer’s wants and needs and sometimes they can become a primary factor in whether or not your packaging will succeed. It’s hard to assess each individual importance but it’s critical to manage for your overall packaging success.

Here is the 1st of 10 packaging trends (in no particular order) that you cannot overlook for 2010.

1. Big Brother Is Watching You (shades of George Orwell)

Everyone will be watching what you do with your product packaging. Increasing scrutiny will come from regulatory agencies such as the FDA and FTC, International agencies and watchdog groups such as the Copenhagen accord and even consumers. They want to tell you to what you can or cannot say on your packaging, what materials it should be made of, how much you can use and how you should dispose of it.

Everyone has an opinion whether it’s valid or not on what the package should represent. Look for more mandated regulations from everyone and standards set throughout the globe. Look for fines and stern warning letters if your packaging doesn’t comply. Everyone wants a piece of this action.

Recent Packaging Examples

One campaign against so called “Smart Choices” lead to all the packaging being changes after consumer objected to what they considered good food choices.

Eat this and become heart healthy? The FDA weighed in on this one and said no!

Packaging Phrases To Watch For In 2010:

International Standards Organization’s (ISO) Technical Committee 122,

Food and Drug Administration

Federal Trade Commission

European Organization for Packaging and the Environment (EUROPEN)

INCPEN – The Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment

Environmental Protection Agency

Packaging Bans and Mandates