LONDON PACKAGING WEEK 2026 TO SHOWCASE THE FUTURE OF PACKAGING

London Packaging Week 2026 will bring together more than 5,700 packaging professionals, 220 exhibitors and 90 expert speakers at Excel London on 16 and 17 September. With regulation, sustainability, artificial intelligence and materials innovation reshaping the industry, the event aims to foster collaboration, showcase emerging ideas and influence the future of packaging.

With just one month to go, London Packaging Week 2026 is preparing to bring the global packaging industry together at Excel London on 16 and 17 September, at a time when the sector is undergoing rapid transformation driven by sustainability, regulation, artificial intelligence and materials innovation.

More than 5,700 packaging professionals, 220 exhibitors and over 90 expert speakers are expected to attend, representing almost every part of the packaging value chain. Global brands including Amazon, Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Diageo, L’Oréal, Charlotte Tilbury, Disney, Harrods, Jo Malone London, Molton Brown, Waitrose, PepsiCo, William Grant & Sons, Müller and Selfridges will be represented alongside suppliers, designers, creative agencies, manufacturers and material innovators.

The event has evolved beyond the traditional trade exhibition to become a meeting point for businesses seeking practical responses to some of the industry’s most pressing challenges. From finding new suppliers and discovering emerging materials to understanding regulatory developments and identifying creative opportunities, the focus is firmly on ideas that can translate into action.

Josh Brooks, Divisional Director – Packaging Portfolio at Easyfairs, said the pace of change meant that businesses could no longer innovate in isolation. London Packaging Week, he said, provides an opportunity for conversations that would normally take place across separate boardrooms, studios and factories to happen under one roof.

Collaboration will be a major theme of this year’s event, with organisations including WRAP, PackUK, the British Retail Consortium, Food and Drink Federation, INCPEN, British Beauty Council, British Plastics Federation, Walpole, RECOUP and Products of Change contributing to the programme.

Across three conference stages, speakers from organisations such as Diageo, Coca-Cola, Selfridges, PackUK, the British Retail Consortium, Ipsos, The Future Laboratory, Molton Brown, Dolce & Gabbana and PZ Cussons will examine the commercial, creative and regulatory forces shaping packaging. Topics will range from circularity and AI to consumer behaviour, luxury branding, material innovation and future regulation.

The exhibition floor will also feature the Design Hub powered by Pentawards, Innovation Gallery, Discovery Theatre, Podcast Studio, Start-Up Zone and an interactive Secrets Trail. Together, these initiatives are designed to encourage visitors to explore new ideas and make connections beyond conventional exhibition experiences.

Networking will remain central to the event, with the WRAP Breakfast, Women in Packaging Breakfast, First Timers Drinks, Happy Hours, Design Networking Drinks and Inner Circle Bar providing opportunities for industry professionals to exchange ideas. An exclusive premiere of The Last Mill Standing by James Cropper will add another dimension to the programme.

The London Packaging Week Innovation Awards, sponsored by Nuon, will celebrate achievements across luxury, beauty, premium drinks, FMCG and sustainable packaging, recognising projects that demonstrate how packaging is becoming an increasingly important part of brand strategy and business competitiveness.

As packaging moves from being a functional necessity to a strategic asset, the conversations at London Packaging Week are likely to extend far beyond the two-day event. The partnerships formed, technologies discovered and ideas exchanged in London could help determine how brands respond to the next phase of change across the global packaging landscape.