Packaging Innovations and Luxury Packaging London 2015 packed out
Packaging Innovations and Luxury Packaging London 2015, which took place at its new home at London Olympia on September 16-17, 2015, enjoyed further growth, with final visitor numbers reaching just over 4,000, meaning that it has doubled in size since its launch six years ago.
The organisers have reported that it was a sell-out year.
The two-day show included a Learnshops seminar, with speakers from Müller, Webb deVlam London, Marks & Spencer, Liberty, and Brand on Shelf.
London is renowned as a retail centre, so appropriately the first day of talks included ‘How to use your packaging brand to make an impact on the high street whilst retaining costs’ by Atty Hussein, operations director at Liberty. Hussein remarked: “Packaging is essential to a brand identity. It should provide the customer with a sense of pleasure – whether they are buying a Valentino dress or a box of biscuits.”
The Luxury Packaging Conference, which gave visitors access to the latest creative thinking for premium brands, included speakers from Diageo, Harrods, P&G Prestige and LUSH.
Kicking off day two was Kate Stone, managing director of Novalia, whose vision is to bring print to life. She commented: “We’re pushing the boundaries by combining conventional printing with electronics and touch software to create a magical experience for the end user. The Luxury Packaging conference is a perfect platform to showcase a glimpse of the possibilities that interactive paper can offer companies.”
The show was inundated with exhibitor launches. Schur Star Systems debuted its Schur Jar, a flexible stand-up bag, shaped like a jar. Global Vision gave attendees a sneak peek at the new release of Proofware, the world’s first all-in-one web-based packaging inspection suite. While Graphics Packaging International was handing out free beer samples!
Commenting on the success of the show was exhibitor Richard Fishwick, sales director at Smurfit Kappa, who remarked: “What a fantastic show 2015 was! Packaging Innovations produced some brilliant conversations with brand managers and packaging partners alike. What a great opportunity to showcase the best from Smurfit Kappa’s speciality sites.”
Newly appointed event director for the Easyfairs’ Packaging Portfolio, Gerry Sherwood, added: “We couldn’t be more delighted with the attendance figures and how this year’s show turned out. The new venue has been well received and there was a great buzz live on the showfloor.
“We received really positive feedback from both visitors, who found new inspiration and packaging solutions, and exhibitors who expect to achieve significant ROI from the show. This fantastic response is demonstrated in the fact that 76 per cent of the exhibitors have already booked for next year’s show.”
The next Easyfairs UK packaging events will be Packaging Innovations, Empack and Label&Print, taking place at Birmingham’s NEC on February 24-25, 2016. Packaging Innovations and Luxury Packaging London will return on September 14-15, 2016 at Olympia London.