London Packaging Week will present packaging innovations such as deltaH Innovation’s self-cooling beverage can, panels covering the UK’s upcoming deposit return scheme, a packaging brief tackled live on stage, and more.
Over 5,700 packaging professionals representing 2,600+ brands will attend the event – joined by 220+ suppliers and more than 90 speakers. Thousands of packaging solutions for the luxury, beauty, premium drinks, FMCG, design, materials and manufacturing industries will be showcased across the show floor.
London Packaging Week will feature 18 dedicated experiences, including 10 new inventions to help visitors find emerging ideas, technologies and people.
PackUK, the official scheme administrator for the UK’s packaging EPR programme, and the recently appointed UK Packaging PRO will address the progress, priorities, and implications of the incoming deposit return scheme.
Another headline session will count down to the scheme. Industry voices such as Julian Hunt, non-executive director of Exchange for Change, and Andy Bagnall, director general of the British Soft Drinks Association, will discuss the system’s practical realities.
One of the innovations on display is deltaH Innovations’ commercialized and shelf-ready Cool>Can, which uses a push-button-activated reaction between water and a patented salt-based coolant to chill a room-temperature beverage. It is designed to produce a temperature drop of around 10–15°C, depending on the starting temperature – all without compromising recyclability.
Francisco Nogueira of Coca-Cola R&D EMEA will join Sam Lucking of inclusive design specialist Unhidden to showcase the Schweppes Skittle Evolution Bottle. This format aims to improve packaging performance with a lighter structure and paper label while delivering stronger brand expression.
Nogueira and Lucking will discuss the process of redesigning the signature Schweppes bottle while preserving its brand heritage, and how collaboration, technical innovation and design expertise contributed to the new bottle’s creation.
On the FMCG Stage (Wednesday 16 September, 11:05 BST), Aura Global will respond to a packaging brief live on stage. The audience will be invited to raise real-world packaging challenges and watch Aura Global solve the problems in real time.
James Cropper will premiere the trailer for The Last Mill Standing, which will shine a spotlight on a pack’s manufacturing heritage, including the craft and specialist knowledge behind its materials.
The expanded Innovation Gallery will present 26 innovations from different sectors. These include Blue Ocean Closures’ fibre-based NutraCap, ZEROBOX’s reusable modular delivery system, William Croxson & Son’s English-made Sovereign Bottle, MonoBox’s patent-pending single-material gift box, and Fuji Seal’s carbon-neutral shrink tunnel.
The Discovery Theatre will host start-ups, SMEs and suppliers to showcase emerging technologies and ideas. A dedicated Podcast Studio will platform conversations between designers, innovators and decisionmakers.
The Start-Up Zone aims to bring together businesses and disruptive thinking. Pentawards will power the Design Hub, which seeks to bring together a creative community for packaging.
The new Discovery Trail will also lead attendees to innovations, exhibitors and features across the show floor – eventually leading to a complimentary refreshment at the Inner Circle Bar.
“Discovery has been the idea behind London Packaging Week 2026 from the beginning, but what makes that particularly exciting now we are just days away is how many genuine firsts visitors will experience,” says Josh Brooks, divisional director – Packaging Portfolio at Easyfairs.
“They can see a technology move from prototype to commercial reality, witness a UK premiere, help shape a packaging brief that will be tackled live on stage and hear directly from the organisations responsible for some of the biggest changes facing packaging.
“You might arrive looking for a supplier, an answer to a regulatory question or simply some inspiration. The ambition is that everyone leaves having discovered something they didn’t know, seen something they hadn’t seen or met someone they didn’t know before they walked through the doors.”
London Packaging Week will take place on 16 – 17 September at Excel London. Registration is free for industry professionals and includes access to the exhibition, conference programme, Innovation Gallery, and feature areas.
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