This month’s issue of BOLT! features an article I had written for the Toy Book’s BIG February 2025 Toy Fair issue, which I feel will benefit our subscribers, since it identifies trends in toy packaging for 2025.
As an expert in package design for the toy and entertainment industries, I have an opportunity to observe on an ongoing basis how the role of packaging is transforming. Today’s toy packaging is a strategic asset that enhances the brand experience at retail by engaging consumers on an emotional level. Heading into 2025, the industry is embracing innovation to meet evolving consumer expectations as well as addressing the needs of popular products in a variety of categories. By focusing on emerging trends in both structural and graphic design, brand owners and marketers can leverage their brands’ packaging as a tool to capture consumer attention and drive brand loyalty.
Let’s take a look at the innovation and emerging trends that are shaping the look of today’s toy packaging, and determine where things are heading this year.
Sustainability is still taking center stage
Consumers’ eco-consciousness is pushing toy brands to adopt innovative sustainable packaging solutions. Sustainability isn’t just an industry buzzword; it has become a core principal for all of us involved in the design of packaging for toy brands. This shift has led to innovations in external packaging materials as well as those that we don’t see until we purchase the product.
For example, LEGO is currently in the process of transitioning away from single-use plastic to a paper-based substrate for its pre-packed bags that are numbered according to the step-by-step assembly instructions. The company’s website says that an unintended benefit to the use of paper is that it’s more fun to unwrap, and that kids enjoyed the added suspense of opening the bags during the building process. Following LEGO’s lead, look for more toy brands to move away from traditional packaging materials in favor of recycled cardboard, paper-based alternatives and biodegradable substrates.
Sustainability is no longer just about using recyclable materials – it’s also about rethinking the structure and design of toy packaging entirely. Packaging that remains a part of the toy rather than needing to be discarded is increasingly more common. Fisher Price’s Mega Bloks Big Builder Bags packaging – which are essentially beautifully-designed, soft window boxes – double as zippable storage containers that make clean up and portability easy. Expect to see more structural innovations that integrate packaging as part of the product and play pattern.
The continuing rise of interactive packaging and the unboxing experience
Most of us think of interactive packaging as those that include QR codes or utilize AR features. Although these interactive features are becoming more prevalent, and they do a great job of bridging the gap between the actual, physical toy and digital engagement, creating a multi-dimensional experience for users, I’m actually more excited to see an increase in structural innovations that elevate the unboxing experience by adding layers of storytelling.
Mattel’s Monster High Skulltimate Secrets Monster Mysteries fashion dolls unboxing requires a key to “unlock” the plastic inner packaging structure to “release” the doll, revealing new accessories from different chambers along the way. The final step literally elevates the doll above the structure, which ultimately becomes her display stand.
Zuru Toys has also taken interactive packaging and the blind box unboxing experience to another level with the Smashers Dino Island Gold Treasure Hunt “Gold Skull.” The structure is a gold plastic skull with a mini dinosaur popping out at the top. The skull’s interactive eyeball changes colors and says different phrases when you press it. The outer packaging is a shrink-wrapped label that tells you all about what the skull contains. Once the shrink wrap is removed, you break the seals under the base, then “smash” the sides of the skull to break it open and spill all of the goodies and surprises inside. That’s when the fun begins. You follow the treasure map to unbag sand, slime and tons of other treasure, including a shark and dinosaur that you build and battle.
Toy brands are clearly putting the unboxing experience at the forefront of consumer engagement, so I would expect to see more interactive structures in a variety of materials that take consumers on a journey full of surprises as they discover what’s inside.
Structural “environments” enhance storytelling
As toy package designers, we’re continually evolving our strategies to engage consumers at retail among the visual chaos of retailers’ toy aisles. We all know the power of storytelling as a means to make an emotional connection with consumers and generate desire to motivate their purchase decisions. A storytelling trend that seems to be emerging is the treatment of package structure as an immersive, illustrated environment for the product.
Moose Toys’ Little Live Pets Jungle Series Java the Tiger packaging creates a jungle-themed cradle for the interactive baby tiger. Java looks right at home, swaddled in her bold yellow cradle, which is lined with lush foliage with a built-in foliage handle. Spin Master’s Paw Patrol Rubble & Crew Mix’s Mixing Truck packaging puts consumers right on the construction site. The open platform box structure is shaped and illustrated to look like the scoop of a front loader. The bold orange and black palette trims the entire structure, framing an illustrated scene of dirt hills, a crane, and orange construction cones to tell an exciting construction adventure story.
Turn Packaging Trends into Retail Advantage
Sustainability. Interactivity. Immersive storytelling. These trends aren’t just creative ideas. They’re strategic opportunities. The brands that win at retail in 2025 will be the ones that translate these shifts into packaging that works structurally, graphically, and emotionally.
Great toy packaging doesn’t happen by reacting to trends. It happens by designing with intention and by building well-conceived and executed package design systems that engage consumers from six feet away and reward them up close.
If you’re evaluating how your brand shows up on shelf this year, we can help. Explore how our expertise in package design can transform emerging trends into a new look for your brand that’s sure to capture attention, support your product strategy, and drive stronger retail performance.
