Coveris banner promoting Packaging Innovations 2026, featuring recyclable packaging products and event details for 11–12 February at NEC Birmingham, Stand J114.
Japan steps up recycled content, campaigners urge greater reuse

Japan steps up recycled content, campaigners urge greater reuse

Japan is accelerating efforts to increase recycled content in F&B packaging as part of its national plastic reduction agenda. However, Hiroaki Odachi, plastic campaigner at Greenpeace Japan, tells us that the country’s packaging policies should focus on reuse to achieve a circular economy shift.Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has revised its guidelines for the Task Force on Plastic Container and Packaging Resource Circulation in the Food Sector, confirming that a public–private task force will be convened to discuss and examine strategies, with a focus on expanding the use of recycled plastics.
E-commerce packaging: Industry balances costs, personalization & regulations
E-commerce packaging: Industry balances costs, personalization & regulations
The future of e-commerce will be about efficiency and adaptation: using less, designing better, and delivering packaging that works harder across multiple channels, while meeting increasingly demanding sustainability and regulatory expectations. We interview packaging experts at International Paper (IP) and Smurfit Westrock to hear more about how the industry giants integrate sustainability, respond to on-demand systems, and address sudden demand spikes. In the years ahead, regulation and sustainability will be the biggest drivers of change in e-commerce packaging, Arco Berkenbosch, chief innovation officer at Smurfit Westrock, tells Packaging Insights. 
Bain & Company warns paper packaging industry faces structural overcapacity
Bain & Company warns paper packaging industry faces structural overcapacity
Bain & Company’s 2026 Paper & Packaging Report identifies challenges in how paper packaging stakeholders operate and respond to structural overcapacity, input cost volatility, and weak demand across sectors.The global consultancy outlines three priorities that companies should focus on to improve their performance: focus on capacity, accelerate AI adoption for efficiency, and stronger commercial execution to protect margins.
Packaging Insights’ sweet spot: Confectionery picks
Packaging Insights’ sweet spot: Confectionery picks
Confectionery launches showed a 2% year-over-year growth between October 2023 and September 2025, according to Innova Market Insights data. Nearly half of the launches occurred in flat pouches, and more than half were packaged in plastic. Meanwhile, launches featuring carbon labeling claims gained ground.
ISM & ProSweets 2026: Vemag leverages automation for confectionery pack production
ISM & ProSweets 2026: Vemag leverages automation for confectionery pack production
At ISM and ProSweets 2026, Vemag showed how manufacturers can scale production without compromising quality. We explore how precision filling, flexible portioning, and versatile equipment support customization, reduce waste, and improve energy efficiency with Vemag’s managing director Christoph Thelen.
Packaging industry 2025: Most read stories
Packaging industry 2025: Most read stories
In 2025, packaging faced tightening regulations, rising scrutiny over environmental claims, and accelerated digitalization, with the integration of AI and connected platforms gaining traction. Meanwhile, cost pressures, consumer priorities, and legal risk led some major brands to scale back or rethink sustainability targets. We look back at the year’s top read stories.

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Amazon partners with IIT Roorkee to pilot crop waste mailers
Amazon partners with IIT Roorkee to pilot crop waste mailers
Amazon has partnered with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee to develop biodegradable paper mailers from agricultural waste. The 15-month pilot research project will convert crop waste, such as wheat straw and sugarcane residue, from India into e-commerce packaging solutions. The collaboration aims to reduce plastic packaging pollution and pressure on virgin wood pulp, the most commonly used material for paper mailers. 
Sparxell scales plant-based coloring tech to replace toxins in packaging
Sparxell scales plant-based coloring tech to replace toxins in packaging
Sparxell has raised €4.2 million (US$5 million) in pre-Series A funding to boost its plant-based coloring technology suitable for packaging applications. The technology patented by the start-up, spun out of the University of Cambridge, UK, uses cellulose from wood pulp. It extracts and assembles the cellulose crystals into structures that reflect specific wavelengths of light to create fully plant-based structural color.
Emerald Ecovations advances bagasse packaging for food and pharma
Emerald Ecovations advances bagasse packaging for food and pharma
Emerald Ecovations has developed a packaging board material derived from bagasse and fibers certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The packaging material is suitable for use in pharmaceuticals, food packaging, and other consumer goods. Headquartered in Huntington, US, Emerald Ecovations manufactures “tree-free, plastic-free, and toxin-free” solutions for the foodservice and janitorial industries.
Texen designs recyclable aluminum-effect mascara tube for Lancôme
Texen designs recyclable aluminum-effect mascara tube for Lancôme
Texen, a premium producer of personal care packaging, has equipped Lancôme with an aluminum-effect, easy-grip, and recyclable polypropylene mascara bottle for the cosmetic company’s Lash Idôle Curl Goddess. 
Plastic Recyclers Europe welcomes EU vote on SUPD calculation method
Plastic Recyclers Europe welcomes EU vote on SUPD calculation method
Today at the European Commission (EC), the Waste Technical Adaptation Committee for the EU’s Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) is voting on the draft implementing decision on recycled plastic content in single-use plastic beverage bottles. We sit down with a spokesperson at Plastic Recyclers Europe (PRE) who tells us the outcome of the vote will determine the timeline of its implementation. “In case of a positive vote, the EC is expected to adopt the measure without delay,” they share.
dsm-firmenich completes consumer pivot with €2.2B Animal Nutrition divestment
dsm-firmenich completes consumer pivot with €2.2B Animal Nutrition divestment

Food Ingredients First

dsm-firmenich has agreed to sell its Animal Nutrition & Health (ANH) business to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners for approximately €2.2 billion (~US$2.6 billion), which includes an earnout of up to €500 million (US$590 million). The company will retain a 20% equity stake in the divested business. The deal marks the final step in dsm-firmenich’s transformation into a consumer-focused company centered on nutrition, health, and beauty. 
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Packaging & Technology News
Henkel acquires Stahl for €2.1B to expand specialty...
Henkel has purchased the Dutch Stahl Group for €2.1 billion (US$2.5 billion) from the majority owner, Wendel SE, a French investment firm. Through the acquisition, Henkel gains access to Stahl’s high-performance specialty coatings for flexible materials used in packaging. Stahl’s portfolio includes leather finishing coatings, performance coatings, as well as high-performance paper packaging and graphics coatings. 
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New Product Development
Paris Packaging Week 2026: Luxury refill and customization...
As Paris Packaging Week (February 5–6) approaches, packaging experts are getting ready to showcase the latest luxury innovations for cosmetic and beauty products. This year, balancing eco-conscious design with luxury and customizable solutions is taking center stage.
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Packaging & Technology News
Packaging Innovations 2026 preview: Industry responds to...
As Packaging Innovations 2026 in Birmingham, UK, approaches, packaging experts are gearing up to showcase solutions addressing regulatory change, functionality, and data-driven transformation.Packaging Insights catches up with representatives from ATS-Tanner, Ecosurety, PakTech, and Tipa to explore the topics expected to dominate discussion at the trade show, and how exhibitors plan to drive these conversations forward.

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Fresh produce packs reinventedFeb2026

Innova Market Insights data reveals that consumers increasingly prioritize packaging that preserves freshness when cooking at home. This preference drives brands to innovate in fresh fruit and vegetab...

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Valentine’s Day food packaging Feb 2026

According to Innova Market Insights data, food product packaging launches for Valentine’s Day recorded a 14% CAGR between October 2020 and September 2025. Confectionery accounted for more than two-thirds of these launches. Nearly half were packed in folded boxes, and 71% in plastic.

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Packaging Insights’ sweet spot: Confectionery picksFeb 2026

Confectionery launches showed a 2% year-over-year growth between October 2023 and September 2025, according to Innova Market Insights data. Nearly half of the launches occurred in flat pouches, and more than half were packaged in plastic. Meanwhile, launches featuring carbon labeling claims gained ground.

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ISM & ProSweets 2026: Vemag leverages automation for confectionery pack production

At ISM and ProSweets 2026, Vemag showed how manufacturers can scale production without compromising quality. We explore how precision filling, flexible portioning, and versatile equipment support customization, reduce waste, and improve energy efficiency with Vemag’s managing director Christoph...

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ISM & ProSweets 2026 live: Papacks reveals next-gen molded fiber packaging
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MD&M West live: Plastic Ingenuity talks sustainable thermoforming tech
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Video19:09
Duni Group expands reuse systems as regulatory support increases
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