Packaging Innovations & Empack 2027 opens registration with focus on turning innovation into action

Packaging Solutions

The UK packaging and processing community will return to the NEC Birmingham on 24 and 25 February, with a renewed focus on helping brands and manufacturers turn promising ideas into practical, scalable solutions.

Registration has opened: Packaging Innovations & Empack 2027

Building on the 2026 event, which attracted 8021 e visitors, more than 500 exhibitors and representatives from over 3000 brands, the event promises a packed programme of discovery, debate, live demonstrations and business opportunities.

As the industry faces more regulation, more material choices, more technology and growing pressure to improve sustainability and productivity, making the right decisions is becoming harder. The challenge is separating promising ideas from practical solutions that can deliver in the real world and at scale.

That is where Packaging Innovations & Empack 2027 comes in. Under the theme ‘Innovation in Practice’, the event will connect the industry's biggest questions with the people, technologies and expertise capable of answering them.

Uniting brands, suppliers, designers, manufacturers, machinery specialists, co-packers, regulators and other experts, the event will examine how advances in packaging and production translate into practical, commercially viable solutions. The aim is to help businesses validate ideas, navigate complexity and make more confident decisions about what comes next.

Sema Tezel Basbug, head of marketing at Packaging Innovations & Empack, said: ‘The packaging industry is not short of ideas. The challenge is working out which ideas can make a meaningful difference and how to put them into practice.

‘Can a new material run on existing machinery? Can an innovation improve performance as well as sustainability? Can it meet regulatory requirements? Can it be produced at the right cost and at the scale a business needs?

‘Those are the questions behind Innovation in Practice. We want to create an environment where people can interrogate innovation, learn from those already implementing it and leave with greater confidence about what could work within their own business.’

The first confirmed speakers offer an early indication of the 2027 programme's calibre and breadth, spanning global brands, engineering, technology, healthcare and entrepreneurship. They include Youssef Riad, senior engineering product manager at Mars; Jane Skelton, Head of packaging innovation and creative at Nichols; Toby Horne, vice president at Siemens; Vinicius Sales, global design leader at PepsiCo; Emil Stickland, co-founder of Kocktail; Michael Privette, chief development officer at the Arthritis Foundation; and Raj Kumar, global packaging lead at HelloFresh.

The exhibition floor will be equally compelling, with leading names including Amcor, Mondi, Aptar, Coppice Alupack and Smith Anderson among those exhibiting. They will be joined by a host of first time exhibitors, including Pirlo, PackLab, Novatec, Eurofilm Mantzaris and TemperPack Technologies, bringing fresh perspectives and new opportunities for discovery.

Across the exhibition floor, a series of new and expanded experiences will bring Innovation in Practice to life, giving visitors more opportunities to explore ideas, question experts and see solutions in action.

The new Advice Clinic will offer one to one access to industry experts, giving visitors a dedicated space to discuss specific challenges, explore potential solutions and identify their next steps.

Regulation in Practice will bring together Pack UK, UK Packaging PRO and industry experts to examine what evolving policy and compliance requirements mean for packaging design, sourcing and production.

Expert led Discovery Tours will help first time visitors and SMEs navigate the event and identify relevant innovations and suppliers, while an enhanced Exhibitor Innovation Gallery will showcase standout materials, technologies and packaging developments through displays and guided tours.

The Empack Tour 2.0 will bring visitors closer to machinery, automation and production technology, demonstrating how solutions can address real manufacturing challenges. From improving efficiency to reducing implementation risk, the tours will help manufacturers benchmark technologies and assess their potential within their own operations.

The refreshed Production Line Stage, formerly the Supply Chain Stage, will examine smarter manufacturing, automation, and operational performance, while the Smart Packaging Zone will explore opportunities emerging from connected, intelligent, data-led packaging.

The Future Trailblazer Awards will return to celebrate emerging industry talent, with a new Mentor of the Year category recognising those supporting the next generation. Pitch the Co-Packers, delivered in partnership with the BCMPA, will also return, connecting ambitious start ups with the co-packing expertise needed to scale.

Sema added, ‘Bringing the whole packaging journey together matters. Packaging Innovations explores what is possible, Empack focuses on how it can be delivered, and Contract Pack & Fulfilment helps businesses understand how they can scale.

‘Our ambition for 2027 is simple: come with a question, a problem or an idea and leave closer to an answer.’

Packaging Innovations & Empack 2027 takes place at the NEC Birmingham on 24 and 25 February 2027. Registration is now open!