At some point, most brands will need to update their identity and packaging to maintain relevance, so we see a lot of them over the course of a year. Unlike most years, 2025’s crop of refreshes was notable for the best ones not coming from big, global brands.

Which isn’t to say you won’t find any global and national brands in our year-end roundup of the best redesigns, but if I’m being truthful, most of these brands were new to me. I like seeing lesser-known brands taking the opportunity to really shine and go hard on a makeover. 

All that said, the most talked-about brand refresh of the year was undoubtedly Cracker Barrel. The fabricated right-wing outrage over a middling logo change reached far beyond the usual circle of brand refresh discussion, and is perhaps the first time I’ve noticed a logo change being described as “woke.”