Retail is nothing without consumers but how should you maintain and improve this relationship? Naomi Stewart, Marketing Manager at Easyfairs UK, explains why Packaging Innovations & Empack 2025 is the perfect place to start.

Retail has been part of the human experience for thousands of years, with trading and bartering eventually replaced by more formal retail environments for selling and buying goods, which have evolved into the physical and digital retail environments we see and know today.

For much of this time, packaging and labelling has played a critical role, from identifying, preserving and protecting products, to the present day where it is a key marketing tool leveraged by brands and retailers to draw consumers in, drive purchases, create awareness and build brand loyalty, and ensure repeat business.

Over the last couple of decades, there has been a noticeable ramping up of innovation in packaging to fulfil this modern-day role. Mass customisation and personalisation are widely spoken about in industry circles, although consumers are likely more aware of the growth in e-commerce packaging and its impact on their lives.

These examples and others have helped brands and retailers try and maintain their precious relationship with consumers. Where else might retail seek to innovate?

Convenience is an important consideration, particularly since the onset of the global Covid-19 health crisis, which forced much of society into hibernation and hit in-store retail hard. Pre-pandemic retail innovations like concept stores and smart mirrors have been victims of the fall in footfall. To tempt consumers back, a seamless interaction between the physical and digital worlds has been sought. In some cases, physical retail environments have become glorified showrooms and dressing rooms, such as the now-defunct Amazon 4-Star store concept. In others, the simplicity and efficiency of online has been made a reality, as is the case with the expanding Amazon Go.

Consumers have also evolved. As well as seamless experiences, the rise of the individual has meant personalised interactions that resonate directly with our individual wants and desires have been prioritised. This has played into the hands of the digital world, as access to data has become one of the most important ways to deliver bespoke messaging that speaks directly to consumers.

Despite being physical and tangible, packaging can help deliver retail environments deliver personalised experiences. In fact, it is the very nature of being physical and tangible that allows this. We see with our eyes, touch with our hands, smell with our noses and hear with our ears. Only through the presence of physical items can we truly benefit from these senses. That is where packaging steps in to create a one-to-one relationship with a consumer that no amount of data mining, retargeting and tracking online can ever hope to replicate.

The role of packaging that works in a brand’s favour is the main reason innovation must be accessible to all and adopted as widely as possible. Formats and designs of wooden boxes that wow and drive home a premium appearance, foils and finishes that heighten the tactile and aesthetic appeal of labels and cartons, paper-based bags and bottles that are designed to be recycled, and scented inks and varnishes that attract attention. These are each an example of where innovation in the packaging supply chain is already taking place. Each presents an opportunity to innovate the retail experience and ensure an ongoing and evolving relationship with consumers.

At the recent London Packaging Week 2024, examples of such innovations were rife, with designers, brands and retailers flocking to the event to hear about cutting-edge developments and spot trends that will shape the coming years. Paper-based bottles are one example, with Diageo going great guns to demonstrate their suitability to increase the sustainability of beverage packaging and innovate in a sector where incumbent glass bottles and tin cans maintain a dominant position. Eviosys similarly has aspirations to make metal packaging a suitable and more widely accepted packaging option for a diverse range of products and end uses. As a “permanent material” – one which can be infinitely recycled and create a virtuous circular loop – metal has a privileged position in the pantheon of packaging. Eviosys is leaning into this and innovating with structures, closures and decoration techniques to maximise the material’s packaging market penetration.

London Packaging Week’s renowned Innovation Gallery shines a spotlight on projects that promise to transform the packaging landscape. Of the 10 curated entries selected for display as part of the 2024 Innovation Gallery, Swedish technology start-up Meadow was awarded “Best Product” for its groundbreaking Daisy Top Refill System, which repurposes the world’s most optimised circular packaging material – the aluminium beverage can – into an intuitive, scalable and infinitely recyclable refill solution. This innovation enables brands to transition from single-use packaging to an alternative designed with sustainability in mind, leveraging established recycling infrastructures to drive packaging circularity on a global scale.

2024’s inaugural London Packaging Week Innovation Awards provided another glimpse into the future for packaging. For example, Altra's The Altra Box is constructed from a single sheet of 100% recycled UK paper, replacing traditional packaging methods with a biodegradable, sturdy alternative. The design of the box, which won in the Beauty, Cosmetics and Perfume Category, features a pentagonal outer sleeve with specialised compartments for an empty glass flacon and a perfume refill, promoting sustainable home refills. This design encourages consumers to opt for refills rather than discarding entire packs, significantly reducing waste and supporting a circular economy.

Packaging Innovations & Empack 2025, taking place at the NEC in Birmingham, UK across 12 & 13 February, is to continue this story. Positioned as a festival of innovation, new products, materials and market trends are complemented by the integration of more of the supply chain into the show floor. This allows the entire packaging value chain to connect, collaborate and define their collective future direction.

Having access to a robust network of partners and suppliers ensures brands and retailers won’t have to wonder what the future holds, with innovation available to all. This is true from the biggest brand wanting to stay ahead of the competition to the smallest independent retailer looking to amaze and delight customers. By innovating using packaging, brands and retailers can keep customers engaged and sold into their offer and reduce the risk of losing them to competitors.
Standing still, after all, is akin to going backwards. With packaging innovation available to all, this need is heightened.

Registration is already open for Packaging Innovations & Empack 2025. Packaging Innovations & Empack 2025 takes place 12 & 13 February at the NEC, Birmingham.