Trending Products 2018 – Where to Invest – LA NPDT

The current trends in product development show that it evolves continuously. It’s not only about innovating but also standing out from the crowd. Now more than ever, Trending Products 2018 are changing everything.

Today’s products have gone far than being basic. They now incorporate electronics, and Artificial Intelligence elements also. Even basic home appliances now are also smart, and this will only continue to grow.

From the smallest inventions like smart switches to smart homes, smart products are also becoming famous. They also provide viable and easy solutions to our everyday problems. Just take an example of cell phones.

Only in the last decade, they have changed our idea of a phone. Smart watches are also another marvel. You can easily communicate with your smartwatch.

And also keep a track of your health and even listen to music. Now isn’t that amazing? Smart products are increasingly becoming famous.

Also, their prices have dropped down over the years. They are now in reach of almost everybody.

This trend also means that hunting, fishing, health, fitness equipment and household products will continue to get smarter as Trending Products 2018. Not sure what smarter means? Think Alexa, Google home or the Fitbit.

You must have also heard about “The Internet of Things”. This is the ability to remotely control products. It is one major opportunity that Trending Products 2018 have created. A lot of new products today are developed with connectivity. Which fills the gap between developers and buyers. And this also brings us to the next massive trend…

Servitization is a new concept. It is a transformation. Where firms go an extra mile, to provide extra services for their products.

A perfect example would be to buy insurance with a new car. Product developers need to add service lifecycles into the product design for this to work. The big and established multinationals will benefit more from this Trending Products 2018.

So you need to keep up your pace with latest developments. So that you are not left behind. Also, keep an open-minded approach. And add value to your product.

Over the years, consumer behavior has changed. Consumers are now also demanding responsibility in product design. Millennials are stepping up their game as the agents of product development change.

They have taken product design approach beyond the basic question of “what problem do we need to solve”. They have gone a step further to ask “how it will positively impact the society”? and also what social responsibility can be taken on by the product’s functionality.

This trend isn’t going away anytime soon. For a product design to be considered, certain social principles have to be met.

Earlier, 3D prototypes of a product were not very common because it was costly. Today, the 3d printing process is used for almost every internal product design. The 3d printing process has also revolutionized the product design industry.

And with the continuous growth and improvement of the 3D printers, the possibilities are endless. A detailed study of the product design and development process shows several ways the 3d printing process can be used by manufacturers to improve performance, innovation, and growth.

This trend has been growing rapidly and we can even expect it to also completely revolutionize the Trending Products 2018.

Outsourcing is also a term that is not very well understood by all. When most people hear “outsourcing”, shoddy work, missed deadlines and also lack of responsibility often comes to mind. But this isn’t always this case.

Companies have also realized now that outsourcing is also a crucial part of product development. Especially if they also aim to remain competitive in their industry. This will also lead to the induction of modern trends in product design.

Because they are also able to explore diverse opinions and ideas. Outsourcing different stages of the product development to trustworthy individuals is also crucial for the creation of a viable product.

So these are some of the trending products 2018. Keep your pace up with these trends. For more information, keep reading. You can also check other posts on our blogs.

Stay tuned to learn about marketing the existing product tips!

Trending product categories for 2018 include smart products, which integrate electronics and AI into devices like home appliances and wearables. Products with enhanced connectivity, often referred to as 'The Internet of Things,' are also significant. Additionally, product development trends emphasize servitization, sustainability, and the use of 3D printing processes.

Smart products are evolving by incorporating electronics and Artificial Intelligence elements. Even basic home appliances are becoming smart. This trend extends to various sectors, including hunting, fishing, health, fitness equipment, and household products. Examples include devices like Alexa, Google Home, and Fitbit, indicating an increasing integration of smart technology into daily life.

Servitization is a concept where firms provide extra services for their products beyond the basic offering. An example is buying insurance with a new car. For this to work, product developers need to integrate service lifecycles into the product design. This trend is expected to benefit large multinational companies by adding value to their products.

Sustainability influences product design by demanding social responsibility from product developers. Consumers are now asking how a product will positively impact society and what social responsibility its functionality can undertake. This trend requires product designs to meet certain social principles, moving beyond just solving a problem to considering broader societal impacts.

The 3D printing process has revolutionized the product design industry. While previously costly, it is now commonly used for internal product design and prototyping. Its continuous growth and improvement offer endless possibilities for manufacturers. A detailed study shows 3D printing can improve performance, innovation, and growth in product design and development.

Packaging stopped being an afterthought once e-commerce became the default channel. A box designed for a retail shelf performs badly in a parcel network, and one designed only for parcel looks weak in a store. The current direction is toward material reduction, ship-in-own-container formats and packaging validated by drop and vibration testing rather than appearance alone.

Whatever the format, validate it: ISTA parcel test protocols are inexpensive relative to the damage rate they prevent, and damaged arrivals are one of the most expensive failure modes in direct-to-consumer sales.

Packaging has moved from a late-stage cost line to an early design constraint. Retail buyers, e-commerce carriers, and extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes now all price packaging decisions, which means a format chosen at concept stage can lock in years of per-unit fees. The trends below are the ones that consistently change tooling, unit cost, or listing eligibility for the hardware and consumer goods programs we run.

Most recycling failures are not caused by the wrong plastic; they are caused by mixing materials that cannot be separated at speed. A PET bottle with a PVC sleeve and an aluminum-lined closure is three streams pretending to be one package.

Converting to a single polymer family, printing directly instead of sleeving, and choosing a closure liner in the same resin usually keeps the pack recyclable without changing the filling line.

Test the change against drop, top-load, and barrier requirements before committing tooling, because mono-material films often trade oxygen barrier for recyclability.

If a meaningful share of volume ships direct, the pack must survive an unattended parcel network, not a pallet.

That means qualifying against ISTA 6 or the marketplace equivalent rather than ISTA 1A alone, eliminating overbox entirely where possible, and designing an opening experience that does not require a knife near the product.

A pack that passes drop testing but requires two people to open generates returns and negative reviews, both of which cost more than the corrugate saved.

Treated this way, packaging stops being a downstream expense and becomes one of the few levers that improves margin, compliance, and customer experience at the same time.