Culture

5 THINGS WE LEARNT AT PARIS PACKAGING WEEK

March 10, 2023

Sometimes getting a feel for packaging trends requires actually getting a feel for them. And where better to get your hands on the latest and greatest than Paris Packaging Week? The world’s leading event for all things, well, packaging.

In late January, we headed to Paris Expo Porte de Versailles to get way too excited about the latest materials, colours and finishes. Here's what we found.

YOU CAN’T MAX OUT ON MINIMALISM

Cautious of how their packs will stand up on shelf against consumer hands, some brands shy away from too much white space. But in our eyes white minimalism still has a well-earned place in luxury packaging.

Beautifully utilised Cold Form Embossing proved this point in Paris. This is a technique that allows for super detailed and much deeper embossing which, when combined with minimal colour and branding, proves just how much more you can do with less.

IT'S A STRONG YEAR FOR PAPER PULP

Moulded pulp packs showed up in a big way this year too. For the most part, prototypes were “clamshell” style, consisting of two hinged halves moulded to the shape of the product inside – a choice that both reduces material usage and limits excess space.

A big thumbs up in the eyes of sustainability (and Chinese and EU legislation), but is this style to the detriment of creativity? We’ll let you decide…

THERE’S A BOLDNESS TO COLOUR BLOCKING

Minimalism has had its fair share of moments, but what if you aren’t ready for a full white-out? Enter colour blocking. Whether led by fashion, brand recognition or emotional connotation, colour is a powerful tool in the world of packaging.

Many of the brands we saw successfully struck a minimalist balance, keeping a simple, uncluttered feel while going bigger on bold, bright colour and colour blocking.

GLASS KEEPS GOING FURTHER

As we saw first-hand, combining new direct-to-glass technology with more traditional techniques has progressed Inkjet print technology by a long way.

Thanks to colour spraying, metallisation, screen print and precious metal application direct-to-glass print can now be used for anything from subtle touch ups to all-out coverage.

STANDS CAN BE SUSTAINABLE TOO

Material innovation at the event even stretched to the stands themselves.

Side-stepping the wastage that a lot of short-term events result in, the displays used materials like honeycomb, inverted and elephant flute corrugate board made from 100% paper to ensure they were 100% recyclable.

Words by Helen Davies, Senior Production and Sustainability Manager & Sophie Knott, Creative Artworker