Part one of a two-part article exploring how packaging and production teams can stay agile during the holiday season through strategic planning and practical insights into the immediate and long-term benefits of in-house label and packaging printing.
The Strategic Imperative of Seasonal and Holiday Labels and Packaging
As packagers and production managers across sectors from pharmaceuticals to motor vehicle components prepare for the autumn uptick and holiday surge, staying nimble is essential. Seasonal positioning hinges on well-planned, forward-thinking label and packaging strategies, and companies experienced in product presentation recognize a crucial truth: flexibility drives profitability.
Fall & Q4: Triggers That Resonate
Fall triggers, including Halloween, Thanksgiving, and back-to-school (already underway since July 4th), lead into the full-scale fourth-quarter holidays. But success rests on more than just timely product release. Labels and packaging must support those launches to capitalize on seasonal excitement in the consumer journey.
Apparel brands shift to autumn color palettes and gift-ready messaging. Food and beverage companies roll out seasonal flavors with themed wrappers and labels. Medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers may highlight cold and flu season readiness or run region-specific awareness initiatives. In each case, packaging does more than protect the product. Labels do more than inform. They frame the product. They give voice to the brand. They create and further amplify seasonal appeal. They deliver the visual and emotional cues that drive action.
Online Shopping & Shelf Appeal
Even in an increasingly digital world, product packaging remains central to how buyers evaluate and engage with products. Global online holiday sales reached $1.2 trillion in 2024, with mobile purchases accounting for $842 billion.
Both the product packaging shown in promotional imagery and the unboxing experience remain key components of perceived value for online buyers. For in-store shoppers, shelf impact still plays a powerful role: nearly 60% of product decisions are made at the shelf, according to recent reports. Whether customers are scrolling online or browsing in person, the seasonal relevance of your label and packaging design matters. That’s often more than we think.
Holiday Timing: Increasing Urgency
With the holiday shopping season creeping up earlier every year, the urgency around product, packaging, marketing, and distribution planning only increases. In 2024, 8% of consumers began their holiday shopping in September, 19% in October, and the majority in November. Discounting and promotions now start as early as mid-October, with Cyber Week capping off November activity.
That means seasonal packaging must hit the market by early October to meet demand, and production teams must finalize design, labeling, and packaging strategies weeks before that. The runway is short, and the margin for error is even shorter.
This condensed calendar intensifies the pressure for packaging and production teams to align promotional timelines across product lines, ensure packaging is complete well before Cyber Week, and avoid disruptions caused by supplier delays or inventory gaps. These challenges are especially acute for industries with complex regulatory labeling, high-volume fulfillment, or frequent SKU updates.
A Strategy for Success
In-house printing of labels and packaging emerges as a strategic advantage. AstroNova’s experience with manufacturers across sectors shows that bringing new designs to production in days (instead of weeks), testing seasonal SKUs or regional promotions, and eliminating preprinted overages can provide meaningful benefits during seasonal campaigns.
This agility is especially valuable when packaging must respond to multilingual regulations, short-run retail promotions, or customer-specific branding, many of which are amplified during the holidays. Bottom line: In-house printing is an increasingly viable option for companies seeking to reduce external dependencies and stay responsive to fast-changing market needs.
A Foundation for Part 2
What kinds of operations benefit most from in-house printing? How can companies scale systems across multiple product lines or facilities? How and when can a smaller business take the first step? What infrastructure or training will ensure success?
In Part 2, we’ll explore these questions, build the operational case for in-house label and packaging printing, and offer a framework for evaluating readiness for the 2025 holiday season.
