At Packaging Innovations & Empack 2026, the biggest businesses and the brightest minds will deliver imagination and ingenuity that will drive the packaging industry forward towards a brighter and better future.

When the doors open to Packaging Innovations & Empack 2026 on February 11 at the NEC in Birmingham, packaging will take another leap forward in its transformation into a future-forward manufacturing industry. This will be driven by demand for more efficient and sustainable options and fueled by desire within the packaging value chain to deliver functional solutions that support the long-term health of the industry.

To make this a reality, creativity and resourcefulness are at the heart of the packaging industry’s efforts to innovate in a more considered and conscientious way.

A window into the future of packaging

A regular part of the Packaging Innovations & Empack visitor experience is the curated Innovation Gallery.

This selection of products and solutions is handpicked by a panel of experts and presented to attendees in a dedicated area of the show floor as an example of the work being done to innovate with materials, forms, and functions.

The curated examples are selected from hundreds of submissions from exhibitors across the show floor, all of which are available for show attendees to see, touch, and engage with.

This includes: Bluemorph from One.Five (Q152), an ultra-high-barrier paper-based option for pouches and other flexible packaging that features over 90% paper content and is CEPI-certified for recovery and recycling through paper waste streams; FiberWise from HartMann Packaging (C54), which is a moulded fibre alternative to conventional PET and PP trays, with a 90% fibre-based structure that is made from recycled paper; and St. Johns Packaging (P160) and its range of food-safe bags and rollstock manufactured using post-consumer recycled (PCR) content, which is a critical component of the EU’s soon-to-be-enforced Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR).

In all of these examples, the focus is on improving sustainability by replacing more challenging materials with alternatives that improve the environmental credentials of packaging.

In the case of Croxsons (B142), reducing material use is the name of the game through its RightWeight program.

RightWeight is focused on intentional design and focuses on material efficiency that delivers real-world benefits, while maintaining the integrity of the packaging and the product. When a bottle or jar is developed to the Rightweight standard, every aspect of its journey is considered. From how it will be filled, handled and transported; how it performs on automated filling lines; and how effectively it protects the product inside; to how it looks and feels in the consumer’s hand; and how efficiently it uses material without compromising performance.

This helps reduce the challenges caused by removing weight for the sake of it, which can create new issues such as reduced rigidity, increased breakage, or a poorer overall experience.

Croxson’s 330ml & 750ml Mountain bottles are the first product additions to the Rightweight range.
Others are seeking to remove unnecessary elements of packaging in pursuit of improved sustainability.

iLumiFlex from Macsa ID UK (V110) removes the need for consumables when coding and marking flexible packaging and is a direct replacement for Thermal Transfer Overprinting (TTO) technologies. Unlike TTO, iLumiFlex used advanced UV laser technology to mark directly onto films, foils, and recyclable mono-materials, creating clear, abrasion-resistant codes that withstand oils, alcohol, humidity, and transport stress. This is all without the need for printheads, ribbons, or other consumables as necessitated when using TTO.

SharPak Aylesham (F72) has developed SharpTek as a lightweight and fully recyclable mono-material tray for berries and other soft fruits. This pack requires no glued absorbent pad and that reduces the packaging weight by c17%, compared to the current equivalent tray with a paper pad. Moreover, berry packaging moves from a pEPR RAM rating of Amber to Green.

The primary technical challenge in creating SharpTek was crafting a soft base from a fully recyclable material that could protect and cushion delicate berries whilst eradicating the need for a glued pad. This achievement involved significant innovations in tooling design and tray manufacturing processes.

Sleever’s (D132) SEELCAP ONEGO innovation required reformulating the blend of its biopolymer tamper evident seal to improve sustainability and circularity. This has resulted in the integration of the encapsulated enzyme Carbios Active into the biopolymer blend. Thanks to the inclusion of Carbios Active in the material, SEELCAP ONEGO disintegrates completely in composting conditions, even at room temperature, in less than six months (certified by TÜV Austria “OK Compost HOME”).
According to Sleever, SEELCAP ONEGO reduces the carbon footprint by up to 70% compared with conventional shrink capsules and significantly improves the circularity of this type of packaging.

Improved performance

The same can be said of TIPA (E104) and its certified compostable fresh produce labels that meet regulatory requirements without compromising performance.

Developed in collaboration with Bio4Life, these certified home-compostable fruit and vegetable stickers combine high-performance compostable films with certified adhesive that create food-safe stickers that securely adhere and can be composted naturally with organic waste.

While this provides a fully compostable solution that aligns with PPWR and mandatory move to compostable labels on fruits and vegetables , the elasticity of TIPA’s film ensures suitability across various fruit and vegetable skins, including oranges, grapefruits, lemons, bananas, avocados, eggplants, zucchinis, cucumbers, beets, watermelons, apples, pears, and mangoes. The stickers are also suitable for packaging labels (PLUs, ingredients, branding, barcodes) for all types of food, and they can also serve as closures for food and fashion packaging.

Tabulated peel and reveal labels from Harkwell (C106) are designed to meet the growing need for increased on-pack information without increasing label size or compromising shelf impact. By integrating a clearly defined pull-tab into a multi-layer label construction, this solution significantly improves usability and consumer interaction compared with traditional peel-back or booklet labels.

The tabulated design provides a strong visual and tactile cue, clearly indicating where and how to open the label. This makes the label intuitive to use, including for first-time users, elderly consumers, or those with reduced dexterity. The label can be opened and resealed multiple times while maintaining adhesive performance and pack integrity throughout the product lifecycle.

Tabulated peel and reveal labels enable brands to include extensive regulatory information, multilingual text, instructions for use, promotional messaging, and brand storytelling within a compact footprint, while keeping the primary label clean and uncluttered. This is particularly valuable in markets facing increasing legislative and compliance requirements.

Tabulated peel and reveal labels offer reliable performance on high-speed automated application lines and are an effective alternative to secondary packaging, leaflets, or inserts.

Packaging Innovations & Empack 2026 is free to attend and takes place February 11-12, 2026 at the NEC in Birmingham. Register for a complimentary ticket here.