"It’s a thrill to have the trade shows back," Josh Brooks, Paris Packaging Week

Interview by Vincent Gallon

17 May 2022

"It's a thrill to have the trade shows back," Josh Brooks, Paris Packaging Week

After a 2021 edition that was held remotely and a 2022 edition postponed from January to June, the Paris Packaging Week trade show will open its doors on 29 and 30 June at Porte de Versailles, Pavilion 7.2. The event, which stands as the new joint identity of the PCD, ADF and PLD shows, will be gathering again, in a face-to-face format, professionals from the beauty, high-end beverage, aerosol and dispensing systems industries, and should welcome nearly 650 exhibitors. Josh Brooks, Paris Packaging Week Director and Christelle Anya, Community & Content Director, tell us more.

Premium Beauty News - First scheduled for January, the 2022 edition of the threefold ADF, PCD and PLD trade show will finally take place at the end of June under a new identity: the Paris Packaging Week. What is the reason for this name change?

Josh Brooks – In addition to the name change, we have also modified the entire graphic identity of our three consumer goods packaging events in London, Paris and Milan. Each of these three events is made up of different complementary "building blocks": ADF, PCD and PLD in Paris, Packaging Première, PCD, PLD and Food & Consumer Pack, in London, for example.

We entrusted this image and name change to the London-based design agency Butterfly Cannon, which has expertise in the premium and luxury sectors. The aim was to reflect both the expertise and the passion of players in this sector.

The new identity stands as a coherent offer for both brands and suppliers and meets the expectations of a community of professionals who are keen to be connected and benefit from increased visibility in the packaging innovation markets. It will allow us to accelerate the synergies between the three events, for the benefit of our exhibitors.

Premium Beauty News - So, what is the outlook for this Paris edition?

Josh Brooks - The feedback is very good! We can see that exhibitors and visitors are really enthusiastic. They are all looking forward to meeting up again, to see first-hand what the market has to offer. The number of exhibitors will be the same as at the last face-to-face event, with almost 650 exhibitors. On the visitor side, pre-registration rates are extremely promising and we are even ahead of the figures usually recorded at this stage of the event. We expect about 10,000 participants over the two days of the Paris Packaging Week.

Premium Beauty News - What are the main assets of the Paris Packaging Week?

Josh Brooks - Undoubtedly the first asset is Paris! We are at the heart of the global luxury industry. Several groups - such as L’Oréal, LVMH, Chanel or Puig - send more than 100, or sometimes more than 200 people to the show. For our exhibitors, this is an opportunity to meet entire teams. This is something we can see very clearly in the profile of visitors: 50% of them come from the Paris region. But Paris is also an attractive spot at the European level and we record 30% of international visitors.

Another major asset is our very comprehensive and unparalleled programme of conferences and events! Each of the three components of the Paris Packaging Week will have its dedicated conference room, i.e., three specific conference rooms. Various showrooms (Pentawards, student projects, Innovation Awards) and prize-giving ceremonies will also allow us to promote the innovations of the high-end packaging sector.

Finally, we will also provide several informal and networking areas that give our event this unique atmosphere! The Champagne Bar and Cocktail Bar, as well as the first day’s evening party, are ideal for creating links and sharing moments in a relaxed atmosphere.

Premium Beauty News - Precisely what will be the highlights of this edition?

Christelle Anya - The Paris Packaging Week is a place to enrich your network but above all a place to get information from experts and to identify what’s best in terms of packaging today. We have devised a highly diverse programme of events, conferences and exhibitions to meet the very high expectations of visitors who are only too eager to meet up again.

The show will allow brands to discover the best in terms of environmental approach, eco-design, recyclability, bio-sourced materials, refill solutions... Sustainable development will be a hot topic, and several conferences, including the opening conference for the PCD Awards ceremony by Franck Marilly, President and CEO of Shiseido Europe, will address this topic. An Ecotour will allow participants to take a guided tour of innovations in the field of eco-responsibility to help brans owners create the perfect packaging in line with their product and their CSR commitments.

There is also an exclusive meeting organised between Michel Fontaine, President of the CNE (Conseil National de l’Emballage) and Jacques Playe, Global Head of Packaging and Product Development at L’Oréal.

Also worth mentioning are the two student contests launched in partnership with cosmetic brands: the 6th edition of the ESEPAC/ESP Student Competition sponsored by Estée Lauder Companies, which challenged students to reflect on the reinvention of luxury perfume consumer experiences, and the first edition of the ESIReims student contest, with Shiseido and HudaBeauty, where young engineers were asked to completely reinvent a palette of 18 shades by making it refillable and recyclable or to rethink the secondary packaging of the brand’s flagship perfume "Kayali" by integrating eco-design and industrialisation into the project, or to revisit the WASO range dedicated to the GEN Z.

This year’s edition of the Paris Packaging Week will be rich in meetings, discoveries and innovations, a place where brand owners and their teams will be able to discover eco-responsible and disruptive solutions, at the heart of trends!