Healthcare Packaging Trends 2025

Looking at 2025 Healthcare Packaging Trends in the Rear View Mirror

Heading into 2025, the healthcare packaging industry had many big plans. Smart technology was set to transform tracking and safety, sustainability looked ready to go mainstream, and regulators were expected to provide clearer standards.

The Hits of 2025

Smart Packaging in Action

QR codes, serialization features, and digital links moved beyond pilots and appeared more consistently on secondary packaging—including folding cartons, outer cases, and multi-product kits. These tools strengthened supply chain confidence, enabled DSCSA compliance, and began supporting patient communication for OTC and consumer healthcare products.

Sustainability Becomes Mandatory

Across folding cartons, shipping cases, and paper-based instructions for use (IFUs), brands prioritized lighter designs, mono-material structures, and recycled content. While not yet mandated globally, these changes became commercially essential for meeting sustainability goals and reducing material costs. Sustainable Packaging is expected to continue growing at an annual rate of 15% through 2034.

DSCSA Goes Live: Full Compliance Requirements Now in Effect for Pharma

After a decade of phased implementation, the DSCSA reached full enforcement in 2025, requiring complete unit-level serialization, interoperable data exchange, and end-to-end traceability across the entire U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain.

What Didn’t Take Off?

Active Sensors Still Not in Widespread Use

Temperature and stability-monitoring sensors remained largely confined to cold-chain logistics and specialty drugs. Integrating these sensors into secondary packaging—like outer cartons or distribution cases—proved too costly for broad adoption so far.

Biodegradables Faced Challenges

Compostable and biodegradable formats remained niche. Performance trade-offs paired with limited recycling and composting options slowed progress in the US.

Fragmented Regulatory Alignment Remains

Smart technology adoption was held back by inconsistent regulatory and industry standards across regions, making global deployment complex for solutions such as RFID and QR codes.

What’s on the Horizon for 2026

While plenty of innovative strides were made in healthcare packaging in 2025, next year promises to move the industry forward in new ways, including:

The Convergence of Smart & Sustainable

Brands will explore combining smart features—like serialized QR codes or NFC tags—with more sustainable secondary packaging formats. Examples include tamper-evident cartons using FSC-certified board and offering digital authentication features.

Better Compliance Readiness Speeding Market Adoption

As regulators establish clearer protocols for smart and sustainable packaging, the path to compliance is becoming more standardized and straightforward. Brands that prepare early will integrate new technologies faster, prevent costly redesigns, and gain a competitive edge.

Enhanced Patient Engagement

QR codes and digital links are continually transforming healthcare packaging into highly effective communication tools. By providing resources in both print and digital formats instantly, patients of all types feel confident and supported in understanding their treatments.