ORGANISERS of London Packaging Week have unveiled the first wave of speakers for its 2026 conference programme.
Taking place on 16 & 17 September at Excel London, the event is expected to welcome more than 5,700 visitors, 220 exhibitors, and 90 speakers across three conference stages.
The first wave of speakers include Esther Carter, chief strategy officer at PackUK, who will bring a national perspective on packaging reform and system alignment. Her keynote, Next steps for industry in the evolution of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), will explore the UK EPR scheme’s journey to date and highlight key innovations being implemented across industry and local authorities.
Joining her is Alex Center, founder and designer at CENTER, whose career spans nearly a decade shaping iconic brands at The Coca-Cola Company, including vitaminwater and smartwater, before going on to build brands including Liquid Death, Kin Euphorics, Apple, and New Balance. At London Packaging Week, Center will take audiences behind the creation of Tom Holland’s premium non-alcoholic beer brand BERO, exploring how packaging, storytelling, and visual identity can transform products into cultural brands.
The programme will also feature Piera Toniolo, global head of influencer marketing at Dolce & Gabbana, who brings more than a decade of experience spanning luxury fashion, beauty, and global marketing. Her keynote will explore how brands preserve heritage and authenticity while remaining culturally relevant to new generations.
Also confirmed is Jeremy Lindley, global design director at Diageo, who joins Ico Hernandez, creative director at Bulletproof, in a session exploring how global brands show up on the world’s biggest cultural stage through the FIFA World Cup. The discussion will examine how Diageo activates across its portfolio through limited-edition packaging and how these moments become powerful vehicles for cultural expression on a global scale.
“The strength of this year’s line-up reflects how far packaging has evolved as a discipline and how central it has become to the way modern businesses operate,” said Casey McHugh, conference & community manager at Easyfairs. “These are no longer niche or technical conversations taking place at the edges of industry; they are about cultural relevance.
“What makes this programme so compelling is the way it brings together voices from across that spectrum — from global brands and retailers to sustainability organisations, creative studios and design leaders — all grappling with the same fundamental question: How packaging can deliver meaningful commercial, environmental, and consumer impact in a rapidly changing world.”
