ORGANISERS of London Packaging Week have hailed the power of in-person connection after thousands of visitors attended the opening day of the event at Excel London.
London Packaging Week combines four co-located events focused on luxury, drinks, beauty, and FMCG packaging.
Josh Brooks, divisional director – packaging portfolio at organiser Easyfairs, said, “We take our role as a forum for everyone in the supply chain very seriously. We want it to be a place where business can happen, of course, but in doing that we try to create spaces that are inspiring, fun, warm, and welcoming.
“I’m particularly proud of the way the show has platformed and promoted young talent from across the sector. For those looking to discover fresh ideas and forward-thinking perspectives, London Packaging Week has always been the place to do that. But our approach to young talent proves we don’t just talk about the future; we try to make it happen. It’s so gratifying to see the Excel full of people who share that goal with us.”
This year’s theme of Discovery was reflected in the first day’s speaker programme, with one of the highlights addressing a future-focused analysis of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). Esther Carter, chief strategy officer at UK EPR scheme administrator PackUK, returned for a presentation titled ‘Delivering a thriving circular economy’.
“We will soon publish a five-year strategy that lays out our roadmap for delivery,” she revealed. “We now have more data about the packaging that is being put onto the market. Our recyclability assessment methodology uses a simple red, amber, or green traffic light system, where red material is fundamentally incompatible with the recycling system as it exists today, and we see in the latest data that about 20% of packaging on the market is red.
“One in seven producers are exclusively putting red material onto the market, while about 75% are putting in a blend of red, amber, and green. For balance, about 10% of producers are exclusively putting green materials onto the market. This data and evidence will support our roadmap going forwards to drive higher quality recycling outputs.”
The upcoming deposit return scheme (DRS) was also one of the topics debated at the show. Naomi Brandon-Bravo, sustainability policy advisor at the British Retail Consortium, said, “It’s been a massive learning journey to understand the scale and complexity that this scheme brings. It’s a huge operation, but it’s clear retailers are committed to that October 27 deadline, and we are very much in the implementation stage now. In some cases, we’re already seeing these massive reverse vending machines being put in stores.
“There’s still a long way to go, there’s a lot to collaborate on and accelerate. We need to get those final pieces of the scheme in place to make sure we don’t end up with a confused consumer base. Retail needs to rally around logistics, the collections, and how we get materials out of stores.”
Tom Fiennes, sustainability director at Carlsberg Britvic, offered insights into how the DRS rollout would affect one of the largest beverage brands in the world. “We’ve got over a thousand SKUs that are going to be affected by the deposit return scheme,” he said. “It’s very, very big. My assessment is that we’re moving from a ‘will we, won’t we’ situation into operational readiness. Everyone needs to be playing their part in the whole value chain. If any element of that isn’t working, it’s going to cause a problem.
“We have a programme in place with 13 different workstreams, so we know how complicated it is. It’s a sustainability project, but it’s also a huge transformational programme and a once-in-a-lifetime generational opportunity. We shouldn’t lose sight of the benefits deposit returns will bring to our nation, to the quality of recycling, and to the reduction of litter. Despite how complicated it might seem, we are very determined to make sure we deal with those complexities and come up with solutions.”
The 2026 edition of London Packaging Week features several new additions, including a podcast studio for attendees to listen in live on the show floor. One of the sessions was a recording of Future Proof, the marketing podcast from market intelligence expert Kantar. One of the guests on the show was Michelle Atkinson, head of marketing capability at Carlsberg Britvic, who highlighted the importance of inclusive designs.
Day two highlights will include a live edition of the Talking Rubbish podcast, a discussion hosted by OPRL, and the Innovation Awards ceremony.
