How consumer expectations are rewriting the future of consumer health packaging

The vitamin, mineral, and supplement market is growing fast and getting more competitive by the year.

Brands that treat packaging as a strategic asset are the ones quietly pulling ahead. Here’s what the data says about where consumer health packaging is heading.

The numbers tell a clear story. In Europe, new product launches in the vitamin, mineral, and dietary supplement (VMS) category increased by 16.3% between 2020 and 2024.¹ The European VMS market grew by 4.99% from 2023 to 2024 alone, and that momentum isn’t slowing. ²

But growth data tells only half the story, because those same numbers that signal opportunity also signal something else: intensifying competition. A 16% surge in new product launches doesn’t just mean more choice for consumers; it means more noise for brands to cut through. More shelf pressure. More comparison. More reasons for a shopper to choose someone else.

In a market this crowded, the question stops being “how do we grow?” and becomes “how do we stand out, build trust, and keep customers?”.

Packaging plays a role in the answer.

Packaging sits at the intersection of everything a consumer health brand needs to get right: convenience, innovation, sustainability, and credibility. It’s the first physical touchpoint. The silent salesperson. The thing a consumer picks up, reads, feels, and makes a judgment about before they’ve even experienced the product.

This article examines five consumer and market forces currently reshaping what health packaging needs to do and what that means for brands.

On-the-go lifestyles are changing packaging formats

Stick pack launches in the VMS category rose by 34% between 2020 and 2024.³ That’s not a coincidence, it’s a direct response to how consumers are integrating health products into their lives. Pre-measured, portable, no guesswork: stick packs remove every point of friction.

Beyond supplements, functional beverages and nutraceutical snacks are seeing the same shift. Consumers aren’t just choosing these products for what’s in them, they’re choosing them because of when and where they can use them. Search volumes for “protein drink” and “protein shake” have gone up, reflecting a consumer who makes convenience a non-negotiable part of their health routine.

So, what does this mean for packaging? Single-dose packaging isn’t a niche format anymore. It’s where the growth is going.

When consumers choose “natural”, they’re judging packaging too

The shift toward plant-based and natural supplements is accelerating. More consumers are actively seeking out ingredients they recognize, formulations they understand, and brands that feel aligned with their values. But here’s what often gets overlooked: that expectation doesn’t stop at the ingredient list.⁴

When a consumer picks up a natural health product, they’re making a holistic judgment. The packaging is part of that judgment. And the data suggests that getting this right has a direct commercial payoff.

European consumer research points to paper-based packaging as a particularly strong performer in this space. It consistently ranks among the top purchasing influences across a choice of twelve different packaging claims and has done so since 2022.⁵ The reason isn’t hard to find: consumers understand what paper-based packaging means, they find it credible, and a meaningful proportion say they’re willing to pay more for it.

What has often held brands back from adopting paper-based packaging is that many VMS products require a barrier to moisture or oxygen. Paper, by nature, is porous and does not offer barrier protection. But developments in paper-based packaging have delivered solutions that achieve a high barrier and are recyclable, opening new options for brands that want to make the switch.

E-commerce has changed packaging performance requirements

In physical retail, packaging succeeds by standing out on the shelf. In the online world, visibility isn’t the point of competition anymore. Instead, packaging is judged on its ability to endure complex delivery networks, protect products through unpredictable conditions and convey clear, credible sustainability information through written claims. Consumers assume that what arrives at their door will be safe, intact, and transparently communicated – packaging plays a decisive role in meeting that expectation.

To ensure e-commerce readiness, packaging can be tested against ISTA 6A standards. This series of tests, developed by the International Safe Transit Association and Amazon, simulates the challenges primary packaging might endure on its way from warehouse to doorstep. It helps brands and their packaging partners test for leaks, breakage, or weakness to ensure the consumer is not disappointed at the unboxing moment.

Carbon performance is becoming the new recyclability

Research shows that 47% of European consumers now view climate change as the most urgent environmental challenge, and they’re increasingly evaluating brands based on whether they demonstrate real, measurable progress rather than general sustainability promises.⁶

The expectations for packaging are higher. It’s no longer enough for materials to be recyclable. Brands are expected to reduce their packaging’s total lifecycle impact, from raw material extraction to end-of-life. One strategy is using post-consumer recycled (PCR) material, another is lightweighting packaging and simply using less material overall.

As carbon transparency becomes a standard expectation, the early movers will be the ones consumers trust, regulators recognize, and partners prefer.

New packaging regulations shaping the industry

New requirements under the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) come into force starting August this year, making this an ideal moment for brands selling into European markets to review their packaging.

The PPWR touches almost everything: polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) restrictions, recyclability requirements, mandatory recycled content, and stricter rules around what environmental claims brands can make. The brands currently preparing their packaging aren’t just avoiding risk, they’re reducing future redesign costs, building supply chain resilience and signaling to consumers that their sustainability commitments are real.

The deeper shift: Packaging is now a brand protection asset

Packaging used to be what protected a product. Now it’s what protects a brand.

It shapes the first impression before a single claim is read. It signals values before a consumer knows the story. It builds trust at every point of the purchase journey from shelf to repeat buy.

In the consumer health category, where the purchase proposition is built on wellness, trust and credibility, that signal matters.

The research behind these insights

The packaging trends covered here are drawn from a deeper body of consumer research, regulatory analysis, and strategic thinking compiled into a single resource for consumer health brand leaders. Amcor’s e-book provides a clear overview of the consumer behavior, regulatory timelines, sustainability benchmarks, and practical implications shaping the market – showcasing how to design and position packaging in 2026 and beyond.

Download the full e-book here: Consumer insights that are reshaping consumer health packaging.

References

1. Mintel Database.
2. Euromonitor Database.
3. Mintel Database.
4. Emergen Research.
5. Amcor. The Sustainability Influence, page 7.
6. Amcor. The Sustainability Influence, page 4.