London Packaging Week 2024: Luxury packaging and inclusive connectivity take center stage

17 Sep 2024 --- At this year’s London Packaging Week (September 11–12), premium products, especially for the spirit beverage sector, were a main theme. Industry experts discussed gaining competitive advantages in the segment amid regulatory changes.

Meanwhile, connected technology stakeholders presented the latest developments in consumer education and inclusion for the visually impaired.  

The event hosted thousands of attendants and over 190 exhibitors, including packaging companies, government agencies, thought leaders and experts from a range of segments. Multiple panel talks and lectures were delivered on the show’s three stages, marked Luxury, Beauty & Drink and Food & Consumer Pack. 

On the Beauty & Drink stage, four experts discussed “Shaking up tomorrow’s drinks industry.” We spoke to panelist Stephen Richmond, ESG implementation lead for Hunter Luxury, a UK-based packaging and logistics supplier. 

Richmond discussed how environmental, social and governance (ESG) measures are facing “branding issues,” particularly in the US, where the concept of ESG is often seen as a cost of doing business. 

“It’s seen as a bit of an idealistic thing — at Hunter, we say do well by doing good. That’s why I say that we need to change the concept to ‘EESG’: economic, environmental and social governance. It helps focus the mind on what the real purpose is: it’s not just a cost of doing business because people want to do nice things. It’s bound by regulation and it can also add value to your company.” 

Luxury drinks packaging was a major theme at the show, with many new designs on display.Regulatory changes, luxury challenges 

Richmond spoke on the panel with Alyssa Auberger, chief sustainability officer at Baker McKenzie, Simon Mason, head of Wine Sustainability and Due Diligence at The Wine Society and Amy Nelson-Bennett, CEO at Positive Luxury. 

Richmond also discussed how wider legislation is changing the luxury packaging market in addition to the development of ESG regulation. 

“There were a lot of different themes about creating competitive advantage amid regulations like the PPWR and deforestation legislation,” he says.

“Companies will have to certify that they aren’t causing deforestation by using GPS details from their supply chain, and in terms of the PPWR there is a lot about resizing and redesign. Where there’s a big change is the recyclability requirements though, and validating products to meet these requirements through testing infrastructure is a big challenge,” he says. 

“A lot of the upcoming regulation will mean a lot of data crunching and interrogation of supply chains. Hunter Luxury has production locations all across the world, and trying to get data standardized and convincing customers there’s a need to give data is difficult, and it's a big cost. It’s a challenge to do this while bringing extra profit.” 

Profits and footprints

Staying ahead of the regulatory curve while maintaining profits requires a balance, says Richmond. “A lot of it is mindset. Of course, there are regulatory things we have to do, but we can turn that into a competitive advantage.” 

“Soon people are going to be asking how to test for recyclability and facing the challenge of putting packaging on the European market by 2030. Hunter Luxury can benefit from this by being upfront about what’s needed. There’s always a way to add value and we just need to be optimistic about how to do that,” he explains. Stephen Richmond in discussion about the state of luxury drinks packaging.

Richmond also emphasizes the challenges the luxury sector faces in comparison to other segments of the packaging industry. 

“Luxury packaging for years has always been solely about the luxury and unboxing experience, and the trade-off was so well accepted that it would cause damage to the environment. It’s a big challenge creating luxury packaging that is sustainable.” 

“It’s a world that we want to live in, where people can enjoy luxury products while knowing they can be properly managed, but this area is one of the biggest challenges the industry faces.” 

Connectivity for social benefit

Another major theme at the show was connected packaging. Jenny Stanley, managing director of Appetite Creative, unveiled her new book on the current status of connected technology and how it is shaping the future of the industry. She presented examples of how the company is working with packagers such as Tetra Pak to create games that educate consumers on recycling habits. 

Steve Wardle, senior manager for Design Operations and Processes at Kellanova, gave a presentation alongside Stanley about how Kellog’s products are using Navilens technology to help visually impaired consumers. 

“NaviLens is a subject very close to my heart. Kellogg’s was the first brand to introduce it on-pack in 2021, and we’ve now rolled it out over all of our portfolio, printing nearly 2 billion packs and 4,000 artwork changes. It’s a fabulous and people-centric thing to do. It’s all about changing people’s lives.”

NaviLens works through a QR code that is detectable without knowing exactly where the codes are, thus allowing visually impaired consumers to connect. The app can then guide consumers and give them important product information. 

Steve Wardle in discussion with Jenny Stanley about connected technology.“It gives really critical information about nutrition, allergens and so on to make sure that visually impaired people have the same information as other people. We’re not just holding this as a Kellog’s brand, we are happy to share our information with other brands and publicize it for the public good. Brands like P&G are now introducing NaviLens as well,” Wardle says. 

Lobbying and profits 

To boost the technology, Wardle says regulation must be changed. “We as a brand can do this voluntarily but there needs to be legal stipulations to make sure essential information is given to blind and low vision people. We are actively lobbying parliament to campaign for that.” 

“We did this on one pack, first of all on a cereal packet, and we got 229 million media impressions from that — the blind community absolutely loved it. It’s important to show that you’re not just doing things for commercial reasons, it’s a people-centric initiative. It’s such an easy thing to do, and it doesn’t have to be NaviLens. There are other technical solutions, too — we just want to see it rolled out across the industry.” 

Wardle emphasizes that while initiatives like NaviLens do boost brand image, it has nothing to do with profit. 

“Forget about it. If anybody comes into this thinking it’s a commercial opportunity, it isn’t. It’s about helping people. If you want to make money then just stick a QR code on something, but NaviLens is about people.” 

By Louis Gore-Langton