The event, organised by Easyfairs, brought together professionals from the aerosol and dispensing (ADF), beauty and fragrance (PCD), premium drinks (PLD) and other luxury sectors. Some 6,912 visitors, and a total of 10,509 attendees including stand personnel from the 637 exhibitors, passed through the doors of the 2022 edition of Paris Packaging Week. This year’s figures are quite similar to figures equivalent to those of the pre-pandemic edition in January 2020, which welcomed 650 exhibitors and more than 10,000 visitors.
"We are very pleased with the visitor and exhibitor figures. The health situation suggested that there may be a drop in the number of participants, but this was not the case. Paris Packaging Week is back to the excellent figures of its 2020 edition, with an additional human dimension: the pleasure of finally meeting and being together. This is what struck me as I toured the show. The atmosphere was one of smiles, of positive energy, of the joy of being face to face again. It was the reunion our industry needed," said Josh Brooks, event director of Paris Packaging Week.
The 637 exhibitors, including more than a hundred first-time exhibitors, occupied 25,000 square metres of exhibition space, including Talks stages, Awards galleries and the many networking areas across the show floor.
Innovation Awards, student challenges, and conferences were also key highlights of this edition.
Innovation Awards
After the winners were unveiled last April, the ADF, PCD and PLD Innovation Awards ceremonies were held in the presence of all participants. These three ceremonies plus a new gallery highlighted five key market trends:
Monomaterial packaging;
Reduction of material use;
Refills;
Personalisation;
Consumer experience.
Each ceremony was marked by a keynote speech by a leading figure in his or her sector: the PCD Innovation Awards by Franck Marilly, President and CEO of Shiseido EMEA; the ADF Innovation Awards by Alain d’Haese, General Secretary of the FEA (European Aerosol Federation); and the PLD Innovation Awards by Sandrine Sommer, Chief Sustainability Officer of Moët Hennessy.
Student challenges
This year again, packaging school ESEPAC and the École Supérieure du Parfum (ESP) students worked on a project proposed by a key player in the cosmetics market, The Estée Lauder Companies for this edition.
The five winning projects and their creators were thus invited to present the outcome of their reflections on the PCD Talks stage. This year’s theme was: "How to reinvent unique, luxurious and sustainable consumer experiences for the luxury fragrance market." The projects were also exhibited at the heart of the show.
"We were impressed by the students’ work. They were able to show creative audacity and express multiple avenues for packaging that is closer to the combined desires of the brands and their customers. Their professionalism and imagination augur well for our professions," said Marc Lechanoine, Global Senior Vice President Creative Design & Packaging Innovation at The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
For the first time in 2022, the packaging school ESIReims proposed to its students and offered them the opportunity to take up the challenge launched by Huda Beauty and Shiseido that consisted in either totally reinventing a palette of 18 shades by making it refillable and recyclable, or transforming the secondary packaging of the Kayali brand’s flagship perfume by rethinking it in terms of eco-design and industrialization.
"We are delighted and excited by the students’ work. They were very committed to the projects and were able to come up with very concrete answers to the problems we presented them with," said Wendy Annonay, Sr. Director, Packaging Design & Development at Huda Beauty.
The Shiseido challenge relied on very precise specifications and asked the students to revisit the WASO range dedicated to Generation Z. Emmanuelle Bonardi, Shiseido’s Director of Packaging Development, praised the excellent work carried out: "They came up with real, concrete, well-thought-out and well-designed projects. They were able to propose real solutions with impressive rigour and maturity.
The winning works in the various categories were also on display for visitors to see.
Talks and guided tours
The dynamism of Paris Packaging Week was also expressed in its Talks and its inspirational areas. The 2022 edition marked the first gallery dedicated to the Innovation Awards, which complemented another inspiring space: the Pentawards gallery, curated by the leading annual international packaging design competition.
The Eco-Tours were particularly well attended and appreciated, as was the rich programme of conferences. These addressed crucial themes for the three pillars of the event: the response to new consumer expectations, eco-responsibility, which has become a central issue in all packaging development, the place of technological innovations in the packaging of the future, and the new problems arising from the pandemic.
On course for 2023
The next edition of Paris Packaging Week will be held on 25 and 26 January 2023, still at Porte de Versailles. Two major innovations have already been announced: the launch of a Paris edition of Packaging Première under the Paris Packaging Week umbrella, alongside ADF, PCD and PLD; and a major new partnership with the European Aerosol Federation (FEA), in order to merge their biennial Global Aerosol Events, with ADF.
"Beauty and high-end beverages represent about 75% of the luxury packaging market. The remaining 25% concerns fine food, confectionery, watches and jewellery, leather goods, fashion, accessories and luxury retail. All these areas are covered by the Packaging Première show and launching Packaging Première at Paris Packaging Week 2023 allows us to create a complete event targeted at the luxury industries," said Josh Brooks.
