Packaging Innovations (inc. Ecopack and Contract Pack), Empack and Label&Print 2017 provides the perfect platform for buyers to stay ahead of the latest industry trends, issues and solutions. The show returns to Birmingham’s NEC next week (1 & 2 March 2017), with over 350 international suppliers, four new show initiatives and over 30 hours of practical content that covers the whole packaging supply chain.

Packaging Innovations combines the latest products and developments in the primary and secondary packaging markets. This part of the show has a dedicated area for contract packers and manufacturers, Contract Pack, and sustainable packaging solutions, Ecopack.

Label&Print is the UK’s fastest growing packaging print and label exhibition in the UK, no surprise given the impact the latest print and labelling technologies have had on consumers and brands. The event features all the leading suppliers and their latest techniques and finishes.

As investment in packaging machinery and technology continues to grow, companies are increasingly looking for ways to reduce costs, increase efficiency and improve productivity. With this in mind, Empack 2017 provides a hub for packaging professionals and machinery and equipment suppliers to meet.

Show Features

There will be a full programme of interactive features at the 2017 show, all of which aim to support visitors in their daily roles. In addition to returning favourites, the show will launch a number of new features, including The Inclusivity Feature, hosted by David Wiggins of DRW Packaging Consultants. This session will take visitors on a journey through inclusive design, enabling them to experience the issues faced by consumers when handling packaging. They will be shown how to measure the impact design decisions have on consumer’s ability to interact with products and how to develop a business case for implementing improvements.

Also new for 2017 is The Ideas Factory, which will see leading experts from non-packaging based companies, including Jaguar Land Rover, Mintel and Blippar, form a cross-sector Packaging Innovations, Empack and Label&Print information sharing portal. This will allow the newest techniques and knowledge from other industries to be applied to the packaging sector.

Campden BRI, the UK’s largest independent food and drink research body, will be at the show for the first time, running a number of sessions focusing on openability. It will also host a series of interactive ‘spot the defect’ and ‘identify the foreign body’ workshops.

The final new addition for 2017 is The Pentawards Display, which will see the 2016 Diamond, Platinum and Gold Pentawards winners showcased live on the showfloor. The display will be made up from the awards’ five main categories - beverages, body, food, luxury and other markets – and will include packaging from brands such as Domino’s, Marc Jacobs and Sony.

Visitors will be provided with the unique opportunity to get one-to- one expert advice on any packaging challenges they might be facing at The Packaging Consultancy Clinic, which is being hosted by the Packaging Society.

The show also welcomes back established favourites, including The Drinks Symposium and Pharmaceutical Symposium, The Great Innovation Debate, The Packaging Consultancy Clinic and The BIG Print Debate.

Global Brands Take to the Stage

Amazon, Innocent Drinks, Jaguar Land Rover, 2 Sisters Food Group, Mondelēz International, Lucozade Ribena Suntory, and Marks & Spencer are just some of the major brands taking to the stage. The UK’s leading packaging event will host over 30 hours of educational and practical content across five theatres.

The age of e-commerce has added another level of complexity to the packaging process as organisations must find ways to reduce waste, minimise damage whilst pleasing customers throughout the journey of the package. With this in mind, two of the world’s leading exponents of e-commerce packaging, Amazon’s Brent Nelson, Senior Manager of WW Packaging, Sustainability, and Justine Mahler, Manager of WW Packaging, Sustainability, will give visitors an insight into the best-in- class solutions when designing packaging for e- commerce.

Sustainability is arguably one of the hottest topics in packaging at the moment, with forecasts predicating that the global sustainable packaging market will be reach $303.60 Billion by 2020. Innocent Drinks has always had sustainability at its heart, with this in mind, its Sustainability Manager, Simon Reid, will present ‘Leaving things better than we find them’. During his talk, Simon will look at how Innocent ensures its supply chain meets not only environmental and social minimum standards, but how it is constantly striving to reduce waste and the amount of energy and water it uses. He will also explore Innocent’s historical work on pushing the boundaries for packaging, as well as its plans for the next few years.

Launching and maintaining manufacturing operations abroad is a challenging task in so many ways. With this in mind, Theodoros Striftompolas, International Packaging Engineer at Jaguar Land Rover, will present ‘High performance packaging behind the high performance cars’. He will detail how the JLR International Packaging team oversees the design, development and management of the packaging of parts, which are to be fitted in the firm’s international plants, and the challenges faced and the opportunities that arise during this process.

Iain Ferguson, Environment Manager at Co-Op is exploring the circular economy and what it means for packaging. As part of this he will explain Co-Op’s approach to improving packaging recyclability.

Anyone looking to add value and increase brand loyalty through functionality will not want to miss the talk by Steven Hind, Head of Marketing at Lucozade Sport & Lucozade Ribena Suntory, and Heidi Maxwell, Managing Director of Touch Pack Design. The presentation will explore Lucozade’s desire to entice more people to buy its sports drink by designing a revolutionary drinks bottle, pinpointing the consumer’s need for a lightweight yet strong bottle, addressing three key barriers to purchase; efficacy, value and relevance.

Exhibitors

In addition to a wealth of educational content, the show will welcome over 350 leading international suppliers, many of whom will be using the show to launch new products and services to the market.

Registration is now open. To register for free, please visit www.easyfairs.com/PIUK, www.easyfairs.com/EmpackUK and www.easyfairs.com/Label&PrintUK or via the show team on +44 (0)20 8843 8800 or PackagingUK@easyfairs.com.