Written by Mitha Shameer
Content Specialist, Esko
Packaging used to be the slowest part of launching a CPG product. Now, it’s quietly becoming one of the smartest.
In 2025, AI goes beyond making packaging look good or speeding up print runs. It’s reshaping how brands think about packaging, from the way teams collaborate to how compliance gets done and how fast products hit the shelf.
The fact is, AI handles the drudgery that slows everything down: the proofreading loops, the version confusion, and the last-minute regulatory edits, while you stay focused on the creative work.
Let’s unpack (sorry) how that’s playing out.
1. Design Workflows Finally Stopped Feeling like Déjà Vu
For years, packaging design meant endless repetition: resizing artwork for 14 SKUs, adjusting a font by 0.5pt, and making the same round of edits with a slightly different shade of green.
Now, AI design tools remember context. They don’t just automate, they learn.
Feed them your brand guidelines, historical artworks, and visual constraints, and they’ll start proposing layouts that already look like your brand.
CPG companies are starting to treat AI as more than a time-saver. It’s a way to do things that were basically impossible before. Take Cadbury Silk, for instance. They used generative AI to turn consumer-submitted moments into over 500,000 unique animated videos for a Valentine’s Day campaign. That’s half a million personalized stories, produced at a speed and scale that would have made a traditional production team weep into their coffee.
The result: less time briefing, fewer iterations, and designers who can finally stop being “the people who fix kerning.”
2. Proofing Became a Detective, Not a Bottleneck
Ask anyone in a packaging team what kills momentum. They’ll tell you: “review cycles.”
Every new product launch becomes a marathon of manual checks: spellings, claims, barcodes, and regulatory fine print. AI tools are changing that, turning what used to be human endurance tests into instant comparisons.
Text recognition models now flag inconsistencies between artwork versions, detect missing allergen statements, and even cross-check artwork content against regional compliance databases like FSSAI or FDA.
You don’t lose control; you just lose tedium.
3. Compliance Is No Longer an Afterthought
Many compliance teams know the frustration of catching a labeling error late in the process. Today, AI is changing that by embedding checks directly into the design workflow.
Systems can now run automated label validation against changing regulatory frameworks. When a new FOPL (front-of-pack labeling) rule is announced, the AI doesn’t wait for your next project; it flags existing SKUs that might be affected.
For global brands juggling dozens of markets, that’s no small feat. The risk of a recall drops, and so does the caffeine intake of every regulatory manager.
4. Packaging Lines Started Predicting Their Own Problems
Let’s move from laptops to factory floors.
Once the artwork is approved, production has its own chaos, from color drift and label misalignment to batch code errors. Sometimes, you only spot them once a few thousand packs are already wasted.
AI-driven vision inspection systems now detect those errors in real time. Cameras on the line catch the subtlest deviation in print density or alignment and trigger instant corrections.
It’s the same principle powering Tesla’s manufacturing quality checks, now showing up in your local snack bar production line.
Prototypes by Esko, like “Reprint a Pack,” show how AI can replicate packages from physical samples with improved color accuracy, essentially letting converters fix issues before they ever hit the line.
5. Forecasting Finally Caught Up With Reality
CPG demand forecasting has always been part science, part superstition.
But with AI models ingesting everything from sales velocity to weather data and social chatter, brands can now forecast demand for packaging materials with uncanny precision.
That means fewer stockouts, fewer piles of obsolete seasonal sleeves, and less over-ordering of that “limited edition” that wasn’t as limited as expected.
6. Packaging Became a Medium, Not Just a Container
Something unexpected happened once packaging went digital. QR codes, NFC tags, and invisible watermarks turned every pack into a data point, and a storytelling channel.
Scan a bottle, and you see where its ingredients were sourced.
Scan a pack of snacks, and you unlock a recycling reward.
AI helps personalize these experiences. The same SKU can serve up different content in Mumbai vs. Manchester, or during winter vs. summer. It’s packaging as a live interface, and yes, it’s as weird (and fascinating) as it sounds.
A notable Indian company, Fitsol, is taking this a step further. It uses AI-driven packaging optimization to help other brands adopt sustainable and smart packaging by mapping carbon footprints and connecting them to eco-friendly packaging solutions.
7. The Role of Humans Didn’t Disappear, It Just Evolved
There’s a narrative that AI will “replace” designers, project managers, or compliance teams. But if you’ve actually worked in packaging, you know better.
What AI removes are the friction points (the hundreds of micro-decisions that slow down launches). The work still needs humans; it just needs them focused on higher-order problems such as strategic alignment, sustainability, and creative differentiation.
You’re still the one deciding what the packaging should say. AI just makes sure you’re not buried in PDFs while saying it.
8. Security and Data Governance Can’t Be Ignored
AI relies on data, and data has to be treated carefully. Ransomware attacks, leaks of intellectual property, or mismanaged access can halt production and cost brands millions.
Forward-looking companies are encrypting data in transit and at rest, controlling access rigorously, and building workflows that keep proprietary designs safe. It’s not glamorous, but without it, all the AI efficiency in the world can be wiped out in one cyberattack.
The Real Story Here
AI in CPG packaging isn’t about disruption, but clarity.
It helps you see errors earlier, design smarter, collaborate faster, and make compliance less of a ticking time bomb.
The brands getting ahead in 2025 are the ones quietly using it to untangle workflows, de-risk launches, and move faster without cutting corners.
Because at the end of the day, consumers don’t care how your packaging got made, only that it looks great, says the right thing, and arrives on time.
AI helps you deliver exactly that.
Want to Go Deeper?
At Re:Pack Mumbai 2025, we’re bringing together packaging and regulatory leaders from top CPG brands to talk about exactly this — how technology and AI are reshaping packaging operations.
It’s a conversation about the systems, people, and ideas redefining how products reach the market.
If you’re building the future of packaging, you’ll want a seat at that table.
