WITH Halloween just around the corner and – whisper it – Christmas on the horizon, it’s that time of year when festive packaging starts to dominate retailer shelves.
Brands large and small have a long tradition of using seasonal packaging to increase product visibility and drive emotional connections to the items contained within.
Unique presentation cases, holiday colours, and eye-catching packs designed to boost the unboxing experience are all part and parcel – if you excuse the pun – of this time of year.
But with rising costs and increasing demand for sustainable solutions, the challenge of producing striking packs that tick all the boxes has perhaps never been greater.
Packaging Scotland has had a look at just some of the innovations set to make an impact this year.
Sweets giant Haribo has unveiled Halloween-themed share bags including Sour Bats, Bone Shakers, and Starmix Pumpkin Bumper Box. The products feature spooky graphics and all packs carry Haribo’s ‘Halloween Monster Approved’ stamp. Duncan Tyrrell, head of category at Haribo UK, said, “Halloween is one of the biggest seasonal opportunities in the confectionery calendar, bringing increased shopper interest and the potential to drive significant footfall and impulse sales for independent retailers.”
Drinks brand Fanta has introduced a striking ‘Horrorverse’ range for Halloween. Limited edition cans and bottles feature iconic monsters including a vampire, werewolf, scarecrow, and Ghost Face (from the Scream franchise).
Elsewhere, wine specialist Echo Falls has introduced a Sour Apple flavour. The timely new variant pairs a vivid green liquid with a glow-in-the-dark Echo Falls monogram on-pack.
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) is helping retailers gear up for the festive sales opportunity with a new Schweppes campaign in partnership with Netflix’s The Gentlemen. The campaign aims to tap into at-home hosting and festive get-togethers. An on-pack promotion gives shoppers the chance to win a New Year’s Eve party experience at Schweppes Manor, as well as cocktail kits and shopping vouchers. The campaign is running across limited edition 1L bottles, mini-cans, and mini-can 12-packs.
Rob Yeomans, VP of commercial development at CCEP GB, said, “The festive period is a major sales opportunity for adult soft drinks, as shoppers get together more often, entertain at home and look to make those occasions feel special.”
Confectionary giant Mondelēz International has unwrapped its 2026 festive range, which includes the Cadbury Dairy Milk Smash Bauble, which invites shoppers to smash open a Cadbury Dairy Milk bauble to reveal Buttons or Freddo faces inside. Cadbury’s sharing boxes, tins and tubs are described as ‘essential’ for the festive period, and the brand has different sizes and formats to ensure all occasions are catered for, including pouches, cartons, tubs and tins.
The Cadbury Dairy Milk 90g advent calendar for 2026 is said to feature improved packaging with the tray made from 35% recycled plastic.
Biscuit brand Biscoff is adding a seasonal twist to its offering with the launch of three festive designs. Customers can enjoy both original and chocolate coated biscuits in the shape of reindeers, snowmen, and Santas. Each pack will feature the signature Biscoff branding as well as a bespoke Christmas design.
Jo Agnew, marketing director at Biscoff UK, said, “Our new seasonal biscuits are perfect for Christmas parties, family gatherings or simply to provide a pick-me-up on those cold winter days. Adding seasonal excitement to retail shelves, Christmas lines – like our new biscuits – are always popular, especially as the 25th December draws closer and customers become increasingly tempted by a festive treat.”
Crisps favourite Pringles has announced the return of its seasonal mystery flavour. Sold in Christmas-themed packs, the move follows the success of last year’s launch, which was eventually revealed to be Truffle & Butter.
Meanwhile, Nestlé Confectionery’s Christmas 2026 range includes an expansion of KitKat’s festive offering. Fresh from KitKat’s Formula 1 partnership comes the new KitKat F1 Tin – a collectable gifting tin containing 12 chocolate cars.
Divine Chocolate’s Christmas collection includes chocolate coins dressed in shimmering foil pouches. Divine’s explained that the festive chocolate coin category continues to gain momentum, with value sales growing 10% year on year, while dark chocolate coins have delivered ‘standout’ performance, with value sales increasing by 47%.
Described as a ‘festive tradition in its own right’, the Walker’s Shortbread advent calendar returns this year. A sell-out for the past three years, the calendar offers a different all-butter treat each day. Designed to open like a book, this year’s edition features Santa dressed in his own Walker’s tartan suit.
Bryony Walker, commercial director, Walker’s Shortbread, said, “We wanted to bring a fresh touch of festive magic to this year’s calendar with our updated design. It offers a truly special way to count down to Christmas Day. Sharing a piece of our 128-year-old family tradition is incredibly important to us, and we love knowing that our shortbread provides a daily moment of delight throughout December.”
With seasonal projects placing significant pressure on brands, with challenges including high volumes, compressed timescales and multi-component packaging requirements, Emma Verkaik, CEO of the BCMPA, told Packaging Scotland that experienced contract manufacturers and co-packers are ‘pivotal’ to brands and retailers looking to take advantage of seasonal opportunities.
“Third-party manufacturing partners provide the people, facilities, equipment and expertise needed to scale production quickly, without brands having to invest in permanent capacity,” Emma said.
“But their value goes beyond simply providing additional resource. Experienced co-packers are highly focused on productivity, efficiency and output. With one-off or seasonal products, there is only one opportunity to get production right. There is no extended production cycle in which to recover from a slow or inefficient start.”
Emma added that agility remains one of the sector’s greatest strengths, with contract packers able to flex labour, production schedules and warehouse capacity quickly when forecasts change or unexpected demand arises.
“Ultimately, gift packing is about production efficiency and handling volume reliably. The right partner combines speed and scalability with attention to detail, ensuring thousands of seasonal packs reach the market on time, in the right condition and without disrupting a brand’s core operation.”
Victoria Pittman, head of client services and business development at BCMPA member company Granby Marketing, agrees. She explained that seasonal projects often involve increased volumes, shorter lead times, and greater complexity than brands’ day-to-day operations are designed to accommodate.
“Seasonal projects often involve multiple suppliers, packaging components, printed materials and tight production schedules,” Victoria said. “When stock delays, supply issues or last-minute changes occur, an experienced partner can coordinate suppliers, adjust production plans and help mitigate disruption to keep projects on track. Perhaps most importantly, outsourcing seasonal packaging allows brands to focus on what they do best: developing great products, creating engaging packaging designs and growing demand.
“By leveraging the expertise, buying power and operational efficiencies of a specialist partner, brands can often achieve a more cost-effective outcome while reducing risk and ensuring products reach the market on time.
“Creative teams are incredibly talented at developing eye-catching packaging concepts and consumer experiences, but understandably their focus is not always on the operational realities of how those concepts will be produced, assembled, packed, distributed and scaled. This is where a specialist contract packing partner can help.”
Sarah Coles, head of sales at Steller Packing, another BCMPA member, said seasonal promotions, limited editions and festive gift packs create significant spikes in demand that can be challenging for brands to manage. She highlighted the importance of early engagement with a contract packing partner to increase the opportunity to add value.
“Ideally, conversations should begin several months ahead of a seasonal launch, particularly where bespoke packaging components, complex assembly processes or retailer-specific requirements are involved,” she explained.
“Early engagement allows time to review pack designs for efficiency, assess production requirements, forecast labour needs, secure warehouse capacity and identify any potential supply chain risks. It also ensures all stakeholders are aligned on volumes, timelines and quality expectations, helping projects run smoothly from start to finish. In our experience, the most successful festive projects are those where the brand and packing partner work collaboratively from the planning stage, rather than treating packing as the final step in the process. However, we are uniquely placed to react at short notice when emergencies arise – especially in instances where quality inspections might be required, or where something else has gone wrong in our clients’ supply chain.”
Sarah added that, in many cases, provided materials are available, the business can react within days rather than weeks.
“For brands navigating seasonal peaks, having a packing partner that can rapidly adapt to changing requirements can make the difference between missing an opportunity and maximising sales,” she concluded.
