After its inaugural edition under a new name and visual identity this past June, Paris Packaging Week is returning to its traditional January dates in 2023. Novelties in the form of Packaging Première and a partnership in the aerosol arena are lined up for this edition.
Easyfairs’ Paris Packaging Week is gearing up to open its doors on January 25th-26th 2023, when it will welcome some 630 exhibitors and an estimated 7,000-7,500 visitors. “It’s going to be a bigger show,” Josh Brooks, Event Director at Paris Packaging Week, tells Luxe Packaging Insight, adding that visitor pre-registrations are up more than 20% on last year.
After Paris Packaging Week unveil its new branding this year, the show has more novelties in store for 2023. Paris Packaging Week is for the first time welcoming Packaging Première, Easyfairs’ Milan-based trade show dedicated to luxury packaging. Some 60 exhibitors will be setting up shop in the space, including Century Box, Gainerie Moderne, James Cropper and Impact Emotion. And a tie-up with the European Aerosol Federation FEA will see its Global Aerosol Events trade show now held at ADF, the portion of the event dedicated to aerosol packaging. “This partnership strengthens ADF and brings new exhibitors," affirms Brooks.
In addition to the stalwart PCD zone dedicated to perfume and cosmetics packaging, the January show will also feature the third edition of PLD, focused on luxury drinks packaging. “Our strategy is to have a ‘menu’ of shows for specific markets, and to pick the most appropriate where it makes sense to run them,” explains Brooks.
Alongside exhibitor stands, the show floor will feature the Pentawards gallery, showcasing 2022 winners of the design awards, while shortlisted products and winners from the PCD, ADF and PLD innovation awards will also be on display. The winners of the latter will be announced at the event. “We've seen a big increase in entries to the PCD Awards this year,” says Brooks. A record 270 submissions were received in 2022, compared to under 200 last year. “After a couple of difficult years there’s an uptick in innovation,” he affirms.
Paris Packaging Week’s student design competitions will once again be a feature this year. The competition for ESEPAC/ESP students, sponsored by The Estée Lauder Companies, challenges students to propose disruptive projects in response to the question, "How to create unique experiences for luxury fragrances and make-up consumers while highlighting craftsmanship?”
ESIReims students, meanwhile, were given the opportunity to participate in packaging design challenges for HudaBeauty. These were to rethink a secondary pack for the beauty brand’s liquid matte lipstick, or add an accessory to the primary pack of a Kayali fragrance.
With its champagne bars, DJ in the welcome area and a "chill zone", Paris Packaging Week is adding an element of entertainment to the event. “The idea is to create a strong sense of community in a fun environment for people to come together and create,” says Brooks. “From the theaters hosting the Paris Packaging Week talks, to exhibitor stands and student design awards, we want participants to be able to see where the packaging industry is going.”
On the conference front, sustainability, connected packaging, artificial intelligence and the metaverse are all on the agenda. More than 100 speakers are lined up for the Paris Packaging Week Talks, including Isabelle Sultan, Chief Sustainability Officer at Parfums Christian Dior; Pierre-Samuel Reyne, Export Director at Champagne Cattier; Frédéric Dreux, R&D Packaging Leader Prestige at Unilever; Benoit Rigaut, Director of Technology Innovation at Chanel, and Jeremy Alonso, Head of Eco Innovation at Guerlain. More details on the conferences will be revealed in the run-up to the show.
