Experts from major brands, such as Coca-Cola, Ella’s Kitchen and REN Clean Skincare, will take to the stage as part of the dedicated industry forums for the beauty, food and drink sectors at Packaging Innovations and Luxury Packaging London 2019.

The show, which returns to Olympia on 11 & 12 September, will tackle the key subjects of sustainability, packaging design and branding, during its CPD accredited conference programme, due to take place across both days of the show.

Paul MacDonald, Global Brand Director of Easyfairs’ Packaging Portfolio, comments: “Our conference programme is a key part of the show’s offering. We are thrilled to welcome some of the biggest brands in the world to share specialist insights on the challenges facing the industry. This year, sustainability will be a consistent theme as many speakers share their own perspective on the issue. Branding and design also be high on the agenda. I can’t wait for the doors to open and see the sessions first-hand.”

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Beauty Forum

It has been reported that more than 120 billion units of packaging are produced every year by the cosmetics industry.¹ Increased pressure from consumers for the industry to become more sustainable, means it will be the focus of the Beauty Forum. Caroline Frery, Head of Business Development at TerraCycle Europe and Arnaud Meysselle, CEO at REN Clean Skincare, will start the forum by discussing how brands can come together to eliminate waste by developing circular economy practises.

This session will be followed by Will King, Founder of King of Shaves, who will argue that sustainability is no longer a ‘nice to have’ and must now be front and centre of business and brand purpose.

Rounding off the Beauty Forum will be the founders of BYBI, Dominika Minarovic and Elsie Rutterford, who will offer advice on how an ecommerce business can acquire customers online and build a brand in a crowded market. They will also consider the importance of making sustainable packaging choices available to customers and communicating ethics versus performance.

Drinks Forum

Plastic drinks bottles have come under increased scrutiny for their throw-away nature in recent years and this will be a key topic discussed during the opening panel of the Drinks Forum. Joining the discussion will be Nick Brown, Head of Sustainability at Coca-Cola European Partners Great Britain, Trewin Restorick, Founder & CEO at Hubbub UK and Santiago Navarro, CEO & Co-Founder of Garçon Wines. They will each discuss their brand’s take on plastic drinks packaging and the sustainability measures they have put in place.

Jonathan Pearson, drinks sector specialist and New Business Development Manager at Charpak Limited, will also be addressing the plastic waste challenge. He will share the latest design-led packaging inserts which protect products, deliver a consistent brand experience, maximise supply chain efficiencies and reduce environmental impact.

Branding will also be a key topic discussed on the forum as James O'Connor, Innovation Marketing Manager at William Grant & Sons, explains the process of redesigning the world’s most awarded Scotch whisky – Glenfiddich. Further to this, David Gates, MD at Brewdog, and Dave Palmer, Founder & Executive Creative Director at LOVE design agency, will discuss how their unique partnership has delivered an instantly recognisable brand personality.

Food Forum

Striking a balance between offering sustainable packaging and providing a product experience to be proud of is a continuous challenge for the food industry. Addressing this issue, Jenny Cairns, Innovation Manager at Butterfly Cannon and Andy Sweetman, Chairman at BBIA, will discuss the ways the companies have raised the bar and made significant improvements to sustainability throughout the supply chain in the confectionery industry.

Creating environmentally friendly, food-safe packaging is not always an easy task. Paul Brown, Founder of BOL Foods, will discuss the strides the company has made to reduce its dependence on plastic and its development plans for the future.

Emma Cook, Senior Technical Manager at Ella’s Kitchen, will also explore the challenges of creating sustainable packaging. Emma will discuss the brand’s journey in developing an effective strategy for flexible packaging, as well as offering insight into several innovative solutions created by the company.

The BIG Plastics Debate

Alongside the dedicated industry forums, the Main Stage will host the return of the Big Plastics Debate. The highly anticipated debate will welcome experts from leading brands including Carlsberg, LUSH Cosmetics and Just Eat as they put plastic alternatives under the microscope and assess each material’s environmental impact.

For further information, please visit the Packaging Innovations and Luxury Packaging London websites or contact the show team on +44 (0)20 8843 8800 or PackagingUK@easyfairs.com.

^1. As reported by Zero Waste Week