The UK’s top packaging event – Packaging Innovations (Inc. Ecopack and Contract Pack), Label&Print and Empack 2017 – returns to NEC, Birmingham on 1 & 2 March, with an impressive five shows under one roof, over 350 exhibitors, masses of show features and 30 hours of free educational content.
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
A big draw to this year’s show is the number of interactive features and educational sessions on offer. Indeed, the 2017 show welcomes several new additions such as the Inclusivity Feature, which will be hosted by David Wiggins of DRW Packaging Consultants. It will examine how packaging can be more inclusive at the design stage, a key consideration for brands trying to maximise appeal and improve user experience when serving a diverse population. There will also be a series of interactive sensory experiments designed to test show visitors’ motor skills and vision.
Also launching this year is The Ideas Factory where visitors can find inspiration from leading experts from non-packaging based companies. This feature encourages the cross-pollination of skills and experience across sectors, as the newest techniques and knowledge from companies in other industries, such as British Gas, Jaguar Land Rover and Mintel, are applied to the packaging sector.
There will also be a number of features returning to this year’s show including, the Ecopack Challenge which will showcase the latest packaging developments designed to help companies reach their sustainability targets. This Dragons’ Den style session will feature four short-listed companies demonstrating their environmentally responsible packaging idea to a panel of experts and show visitors. The winner will have the opportunity to develop their idea with Marks & Spencer.
Another highlight of the 2017 show is the Packaging Consultancy Clinic. Here visitors can get one-to-one personalised advice on any aspect of their packaging from leading experts from the Packaging Society
If you are interested in the value of innovation in packaging, then make sure you get involved in the Great Innovation Debate, hosted by Nestlé. There will also be a panel of experts from leading organisations who will tackle the big issues facing the print industry during The Big Print Debate.
Educational Seminars
In addition to these features, the show will host five seminar theatres packed with over 30 hours of free-to-attend educational content. The sessions are being delivered by a who’s who of packaging industry leaders and big brands, from companies such as Amazon, Co-Op, Innocent Drinks, Lucozade Ribena Suntory and Coca-Cola.
The sessions include 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, who will give visitors an insight into the best-in-class solutions when designing packaging for e-commerce. Plus, Innocent Drinks 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.
Packed Exhibition Hall
While education is a key focus, leading suppliers and innovative products are at the heart of the show and this year the show floor will be busier than ever before, with over 350 international suppliers signed up, many of whom are using the event as the global launch for new products and services.
