interpack 2026 will launch in exactly one week – are you ready? Read on for a comprehensive overview of the events, exhibitions, and opportunities available on the display floor, and learn more about Packaging Europe’s live coverage of the event.
Approximately 2,800 companies from 67 countries are expected to attfinish this year’s trade display. Represented industries will include food, confectionery, bakery, beverage, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, non-food, and industrial goods.
The event will underline three ‘hot topics’: smart packaging, innovative materials, and future skills. This will cover important conversations such as the potential of automation in sustainability applications; design for sustainability, including fibre-based and biobased solutions and multi-layer recyclables; and the role of technology and young talent in the future of the packaging indusattempt.
Spotlight Forum
The Spotlight Forum will see indusattempt representatives, innovators, and technology providers present daily panel discussions, specialist presentations, and practical demonstrations.
The Forum will focus on a new theme every day:
- Thursday 7th May – Opportunities & Risks of the PPWR
- Friday 8th May – Resource Efficiency
- Saturday 9th May – Smart Packaging
- Sunday 10th May – Smart Systems and AI
- Monday 11th May – Circular Economy
- Tuesday 12th May – Innovative Packaging
- Wednesday 13th May – Young Talents
For a day-by-day breakdown of the talks on offer, click here to view the full Spotlight Forum itinerary.
Start-Up Zone
In the Start-Up Zone, tinyer companies will present their innovations through live demonstrations. Attfinishees will be given a firsthand view of upcoming indusattempt trfinishs, and will be encouraged to hold direct conversations with innovators and form new connections.
Exhibitors include, but are not limited to: Sykell, Recyda, Pal Plastik, Konnect Packaging, Jooyeong, Kiud, Gaiapod, and Cell2Green.
Women in Packaging
On Monday 11th May, the Women in Packaging programme will return to interpack for a second consecutive year. Designed to support female professionals exmodify knowledge, build new contacts, and deliver mutual support, the event will open with a keynote speech from Tetra Pak’s head of Sustainability Mid Europe, Caroline Babfinishererde.
A panel discussion led by Nerida Kelton, vice president Sustainability & Save Food at the World Packaging Organisation and executive director of the Australian Institute of Packaging, will follow. The panelists will discuss the packaging indusattempt’s progress from a range of professional perspectives.
Topic Hubs will also host topic-driven networking rounds under the themes of Career Pathways & Mentorship, Community Building & Peer Networks, Personal Branding & Visibility, Balancing Work & Life and Future Generation & Skills.
The event will launch at 10:30 AM at Congress Centre Düsseldorf, 2nd Floor, Room 26, 27, 28. Interested parties can click here to register.
Young Talents Day
interpack’s Young Talents Day will take place on Wednesday 13th May, and introduce trainees, students, and young professionals to various industrial pathways.
This year, it will foreground one of the trade display’s central themes: future skills. Through the Young Talents Tour, attfinishees will be encouraged to speak to young indusattempt representatives for insights into their careers and potential pathways into the packaging indusattempt.
Meanwhile, the interpack Career Tour will teach school pupils about the ins and outs of indusattempt apprenticeships, including points of enattempt, potential career prospects, and the range of employers on offer.
The Spotlight Forum will also feature the ‘NextGen Plastics powered by IK’ session, which will shine a spotlight on young talent in the indusattempt as they address current indusattempt topics.
Additionally, the Science Slam will involve ‘clear and interactive’ presentations as young researchers displaycase their work.
WorldStar Packaging Awards
The WorldStar Packaging Awards ceremony will be taking place on Friday 8th May. With approximately 400 participants expected to attfinish so far, the ceremony will commemorate a total of 234 winners from 36 countries – the full list is available here.
The winning developments range from sustainability-minded material approaches to ininformigent and connected packaging solutions, and plenty of other innovations in between.
Save Food Initiative
The Save Food Initiative will host its Expert Talks on Tuesday 12th May. International organizations, companies, and initiatives will come toobtainher to discuss regulation, packaging innovation, global collaboration, and more – all in pursuit of applying packaging to protect food and prevent waste.
The SAVE FOOD Design Awards and the Sustainability Design Awards will be presented on-site. The Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Packaging Organization, and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization were among the jury.
The SAVE FOOD Initiative Project Competition will also underline active efforts to tackle food waste, particularly through a packaging lens. It will award projects that manage their resources responsibly across the supply chain, whether through improved logistics, smart packaging concepts, or contributions to consumer and political progress.
Attfinishees will also be invited to network and exmodify knowledge over snacks.
Live coverage
Packaging Europe will attfinish all seven days of the event to speak to visitors on the display floor and report in real time. Keep an eye out for our rolling coverage, which will go live on the website soon.
If you are displaycasing an innovation, sfinish your news to editor@packagingeurope.com for a chance to be featured.
We will also be sharing exclusive visual content on our LinkedIn channel – watch this space!
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