Times change. Target audiences shift. Consumer priorities don’t exist in stasis.
So, perhaps unsurprisingly, product labels that performed exceptionally well in 2015 may no longer be as effective at capturing customer attention in 2025. Thankfully, you can do something about that.
Whether you’re selling locally brewed craft beers or high-end skincare serums, the look of your packaging—and its alignment with the preferences and interests of your customers—is imperative. This article outlines six different ways to modernise your self-adhesive labels, from simplifying and streamlining to gathering and leveraging data…
1. Prioritising Simplicity and Minimalism
This is a trend so widespread that you’ve probably noticed some of your favourite brands making the necessary adjustments themselves—toning down their bright and busy packaging designs in favour of something simpler. Something sleek, streamlined and ‘minimalist’.
In terms of labelling, simplicity is clarity. It conveys a sense of something valuable, professional and trustworthy. Something that doesn’t need to bombard you with a gimmicky aesthetic to hold interest.
2. Investing in Sustainable Labels
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when designing and envisaging your labels? Failing to look to the future and make decisions in alignment with whatever comes next.
Sustainability and environmental impact become bigger conversations in the packaging industry with every new day. If you want to create a future-proof product, you need to be a part of these conversations, utilising eco-friendly solutions for your labels and your label production process.
3. Playing with Hues and Finishes
According to the well-researched principles of packaging psychology, the right colour or finish on a label can go a long way to creating a particular perception of your brand or product. Metallic gold accents, for instance, are often indicators of luxury and value.
If you don’t think your labels are connecting with your audience anymore, switching up the finish or the palette with an awareness of modern trends and preferences might be a good place to start.
4. Considering the Customer Experience
Put customer experience at the heart of everything you do with your packaging, and let results follow from there.
Enhance the tactile experience with unique textures. Add interactivity and boost engagement with a competition element or a scannable QR code (which would also provide you with an excellent opportunity to direct additional traffic to your digital spaces and encourage brand loyalty).
5. Utilising Competitor Analysis
Researching your close competitor brands provides valuable insights. Not just into what they’re doing now—how they’re designing things, where the gaps are in the market, etc.—but into what they have done, historically.
How have their labels evolved with the passing of time? What have they already done to modernise? And how can you follow in their footsteps with divergence that keeps your brand unique?
6. Leveraging the Latest Label Printing Technology
Things are always evolving in this industry, with new methods, materials and machines being introduced perpetually.
At Kingfisher, we stay up-to-date on these developments to ensure our customers can leverage the latest technology to their advantage—whether it’s tech that increases efficiency and in turn decreases carbon footprint, or tech that allows us to develop fresh application techniques and final looks.
Modernise with Professional Support
‘Modern’ is not a fixed, reachable status that can be attained and never thought about again. It’s a spot on the horizon, always moving further away. The best brands are adaptable, willing to change with their customers and develop according to what best suits them.
This philosophy can apply from top to bottom, right the way to your packaging and labelling choices.
If you’re interested in overhauling your product labels to better align with your customers in 2025, we can help. Reach out for a conversation about your needs.