Great design grows. In 2020, a single inclusive packaging pilot won PAC Global’s Best of Show. Today, that seed has grown into a global movement. From tactile markers to accessible QR codes, top brands are proving that universal design drives massive consumer engagement.
Join the evolution—discover how yesterday’s breakthroughs became today’s industry standards.
The New Rules of Engagement
In 2020, a single acorn was planted. When Procter & Gamble’s Herbal Essences tactile packaging received PAC Global’s Best of Show award, it represented more than an innovative package. It proved that inclusive design could move beyond good intentions and become a scalable business reality. Developed to help consumers who are blind or have low vision independently distinguish between products, the initiative combined consumer empathy, manufacturing innovation, affordability, and commercial viability. What began as a pilot project demonstrated that accessibility could enhance the consumer experience without compromising performance, sustainability, or cost.
Materializing Change
That recognition helped illuminate a path forward. From that first breakthrough, the movement gained momentum. PAC Global award winners continued to demonstrate that inclusive design is a powerful driver of innovation, consumer engagement, and business growth.
In 2021, Kellogg’s introduced the world’s first food packaging application of NaviLens technology, enabling visually impaired shoppers to independently locate products. That same year, Hershey’s Brazil expanded the definition of inclusion through its award-winning HerShe campaign. Enabled by HP digital printing technology, Hershey’s transformed its iconic brand name into a celebration of female artists, demonstrating how packaging can amplify underrepresented voices and create cultural relevance.
Disrupting Form & Function
By 2023, the scale of innovation reached new heights. Procter & Gamble’s Ariel ECOCLIC box integrated tactile markers, audio-enabled navigation, sustainability, and child safety into a single packaging platform. Simultaneously, Unilever pioneered the Accessible QR (AQR) code alongside Zappar and CEC. What began as a pilot innovation has since expanded across dozens of brands, 25 markets, and billions of packages worldwide, establishing a new benchmark for accessible packaging at scale. By 2026, Microsoft Surface further demonstrated how universal design principles can transform the entire packaging experience, creating premium, sustainable, and independently accessible product interactions for users of all abilities.
The Innovation Brief
Together, these PAC Global award-winning innovations reveal a powerful pattern. Inclusive and accessible packaging is no longer a niche consideration or limited pilot. It has become a catalyst for innovation, consumer engagement, brand differentiation, and business growth.
PAC Global was the first packaging awards program in the world to recognize and champion inclusive and accessible package design. The journey from acorns to oaks demonstrates the power of recognizing innovation at its earliest stage. By celebrating pioneering ideas before they become industry standards, PAC Global helps nurture the seeds of change that ultimately transform markets, shape consumer expectations, and grow entire categories. Today’s forest began with a few remarkable acorns.
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