Industry forums take centre stage at Packaging Innovation
Packaging Solutions
Packaging Innovations and Luxury Packaging London 2018 will, for the first time, host six dedicated industry forums – beauty, retail, drinks, luxury, tech and aerosols – when it returns to Olympia London on 12 to 13 September.
James Drake-Brockman, divisional director of the Packaging Innovations Portfolio, commented: ‘Each forum has been specifically designed with a market in mind, allowing packaging professionals to get even more detailed advice and inspiration targeted directly at them. We are thrilled with some of the names we have on board for 2018, and I can’t wait to see how the Forums go down, live on the show floor.’
Beauty
The Beauty Forum, which returns to The Innovation Stage, will provide an in-depth insight into the latest packaging developments within the cosmetics and beauty industry and explore how brands can tackle the issue of sustainability in beauty packaging.
Some of the UK’s biggest names are taking to the stage, including Lee Carpenter, packaging buying lead at Lush, who will be offering his insights into the role eco-packaging has to play in building an eco brand. Building on this theme will be Lia Neophytou, associate analyst at Global Data. Lia will discuss the challenge of balancing sustainability with functionality when targeting today’s ‘green’ consumers.
Lara Morgan, founder of Scentered, will consider the specific sustainability challenges the beauty packaging market faces when facing the ‘practicality versus waste’ dilemma. The Beauty Forum will also feature an interactive questions and answers session, presenting visitors with the unique opportunity to speak directly to some of the leading experts in the beauty field.
The Big Plastics Debate 2.0
The hotly anticipated Big Plastics Debate 2.0 will be making its London debut following a successful launch at the NEC show in March. Run in association with The Foodservice Packaging Association, the debate will bring together experts from all corners of the packaging supply chain to address the issue of plastic waste.
Featuring experts from Coca-Cola, Sainsbury’s, A Plastic Planet, WRAP, Veolia, The Packaging Federation and OPRL, the sessions will focus on responsible plastic use and waste management, as well as presenting some of the most cutting edge plastic alternatives including compostable, seaweed and paper.
Retail
John Lewis, Graze and Hello Fresh are just some of the major UK retailers taking part in The Retail Forum. Kicking the sessions off is Anthony Graze, CEO at Graze, who will offer his expertise on increasing the standout appeal of products in competitive markets, during his talk ‘The Re-Brand’. Caroline James, head of logistics at Feel Unique will then join John Lewis’ Chris May to discuss how brands can design packaging for the world of e-commerce.
Mark Quaradeghini, co-founder of Butterfly Twists and Luke Grob, ex-product and innovation director at HelloFresh UK, will take part in an interactive panel session focussing on the value premium packaging can bring to a business. Regina Maiseviciute Haydon, Global food and drink analyst at Mintel, will then tackle ‘the challenge of sustainability for the retail industry’, whilst Kelly Dawson, head of strategy at Kinneir Dufort will look at how brands can successfully gain Millennial and Gen Z loyalty by enhancing the consumer experience.
Drinks
The Drinks Forum will see a collection of the best and brightest minds from the industry come together to discuss the future of drinks packaging. Steve Honour, design leader at Diageo, will address the importance of packaging as a marketing tool with his talk, ‘Is packaging the silver bullet to address the declining impact of traditional media?’.
Santiago Navarro, chief executive and co-founder of Garcon Wines, will then take to the stage to present its cutting edge solution to making bulky, breakable products more e-commerce friendly when he presents ‘Wines for the Amazon Generation: vino delivered through your letterbox’. Also focussing on the future of packaging for the drinks market, Simon Boas Hoffmeyer, group sustainability director at Carlsberg, will offer his advice on strategically tackling the issue of sustainability for drinks brands.
Luxury
Packaging professionals with a particular focus in the premium and luxury markets will want to see Livia Stefanini, head of Luxhub at Havas, talking about what luxury shoppers expect from product packaging. Mike Bannister, manager director at Hunter Luxury will then explore how luxury brands can bring the power of digital marketing to the physical world with his talk, ‘Smart Luxury Packaging’. The Luxury Forum will also feature advice on combining style and sustainability with David Peter, creative development manager at API’s Design Trends 2019. The forum will be rounded off with a panel on discussing the future of luxury packaging.
Technology
New for 2018, The Tech Forum will explore how the packaging industry can utilise technology to improve both the production of packaging and the end user’s experience. Natalie Matlak, senior brand partner at Blippar, will discuss its recent collaboration with Cadburys for the creation of its interactive Cadbury Heroes Advent Calendar, demonstrating how CPG brands are increasingly using augmented reality to enhance their packaging.
Focussing on SMART packaging for the pharmaceutical industry will be Steven Bagshaw, marketing executive at CPI, who will discuss the common challenges and trends companies face when creating electronic packaging innovations. Finally, Matthew Geeheler, lead quantitative researcher at Linney, will discuss how the packaging industry can utilise technology at the development stage, during his talk ‘Programmatic Packaging Design’.
Aerosol & Dispensing
In association with ADF Paris, the ADF Forum will take a look at the future of aerosol and dispensing. Bernhard Felten, Front end innovation – packaging at Beiersdorf will reveal the current trends in aerosol packaging followed by Moravia Cans who will look at the latest technologies transforming aerosol development.
