The Pentawards‘ annual competition, dedicated to recognizing global packaging design excellence across all categories, has revealed its 2025 shortlist, reaffirming China as an international design powerhouse.
China showcases a new era of packaging design that’s deeply cultural, richly interactive, and emotionally intelligent. From zodiac-inspired limited editions to biodegradable herbal blocks that sprout seedlings, the standout entries reveal a design philosophy where form follows feeling, and sustainability is both sensory and symbolic.
Cultural revival as contemporary luxury
Chinese designers are transforming ancient aesthetics into modern storytelling tools. The Wonderlab Year of the Snake Gift Box by E2W Studio reimagines zodiac symbolism through ornate structural design, while RuanS Pearls Year of the Snake Fortune Gift Set by Growthink Shanghai fuses Ming Dynasty porcelain cues with modern luxury. Idiom-based branding and Song dynasty–inspired silhouettes turn cultural memory into a sensorial brand asset.
Sustainability with soul
Sustainability is not an add-on but an integrated ritual. The liquor bottle for the Quanxing Sansiwu Maotai-flavored liquor, designed by Shenzhen Duan Gaogeng Design Co, brings Taoist symbolism into sculptural form, creating a collectable object that elevates the ritual of consumption into a display of heritage.
Yuan Qi Zhao Huan Energy Evoker Square Box by Fengmao Holdings are fully biodegradable and intentionally crafted to decompose and nourish seedlings, turning consumption into regeneration.
Tech-driven wellness
Science and sensory storytelling converge across entries in wellness and beauty. NANA Parfum by ZHUFU integrates cryo-sealing technology, sustainability, and Braille, while lnikin Freshly Brewed Tea, designed by Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group features a visible cold-lock freshness cap in a matte-finish bottle. These formats strike a balance between clinical precision and poetic ritual — the aesthetics of care meet performance.
Packaging as play
For younger audiences, packaging is fast becoming a storytelling canvas. Designed by Stora Enso Inpac Packaging, Little Monsters Bloomie Chocolate Packaging offers a character-led, sensory unboxing experience.
FurryTail’s rainbow-toned pet product range by Hangzhou Furrytail Technology Co,. infuses everyday care routines with emotional play and expressive colour, reinforcing the bond between pet and owner. And The Cat Knows, designed by Shenzhen Baixinglong Creative Packaging, a conceptual canned fish design, taps into narrative branding with a humorous, feline twist, proving that even pantry staples can spark a smile.
These entries demonstrate how playful design can create emotionally sticky brand worlds that live far beyond the shelf.
Together, these entries signal a distinct creative movement, where packaging is designed to be experienced, not just observed. China’s most compelling work this year combines cultural fluency, material innovation, and emotional resonance to offer a powerful glimpse into where global design could be headed next.
Head of Pentawards, Adam Ryan, says, “What we’re seeing from China is more than design excellence; it’s cultural storytelling at its most sophisticated. These entries turn heritage, emotion, and utility into a powerful design language that speaks both locally and globally.”
The rest of the shortlist can be found here, with winners being announced at the Pentawards Gala Ceremony, De Kromhouthal, Amsterdam, on 4 October 2025.
