From Paper Bottles to Digital Treasure Hunts: Inside ThePackHub’s Brand Owner and Retailer Summit
Stepping into The Oval cricket ground yesterday for ThePackHub's Brand Owner & Retailer Summit was an experience that perfectly encapsulated where our industry stands at this pivotal moment. As I joined over 100 fellow packaging professionals from some of the biggest names in the business - Danone, Diageo, Aldi, Mars Wrigley and Tony's Chocolonely, to name a few - there was a palpable sense of shared purpose in the air.
What struck me immediately was the unique composition of attendees. Unlike typical industry events, this summit brought together an unprecedented concentration of brand owners and retailers, creating an atmosphere of candid discussion and genuine peer-to-peer networking that's rare to find elsewhere.
Brendan Hill from Braskem delivered a particularly compelling presentation on bio-based plastics that challenged my thinking about carbon footprint reduction. His insights dovetailed perfectly with Clover Walton from Faerch's passionate argument for making climate change our industry's north star metric - a perspective I found myself nodding along with throughout.
One of the day's highlights was the panel discussion on paperisation trends. It was fascinating to hear from representatives of Diageo, AG Barr and Cullen Sustainable Packaging who shared their candid story about the challenges and breakthroughs in paper bottle development.
The presentation from Meadow about adapting aluminium can recycling systems for personal care products was a lightbulb moment for me. It's exactly the kind of cross-category innovation we need more of in our industry. Stefan Casey's exploration of digital transformation in packaging also resonated strongly, particularly given how it was demonstrated in real-time through the summit's innovative treasure hunt.
The connected packaging treasure hunt, organised by Appetite Creative, was an event highlight. Rather than being a mere networking exercise, it transformed attendee interactions with sponsors into an engaging digital experience. I found myself visiting nine different sponsor tables, scanning QR codes and answering questions about their sustainability innovations. It gave everyone a reason to visit all of the stands and interact with the stall holders. Participating sponsors included headline sponsor Braskem, along with UPM, Aquapak, ArjoWiggins, Parkside Flex/PhD Marketing, Plastipak, Coveris, Cepac and TIPA.
The connected experience saw an average of 3 minutes and 44 seconds engagement time from 54 people which speaks volumes about this captivating format. Treasure hunt participants were encouraged to stay until the end of the summit to qualify for the prize draw. Prizes included Apple Airpods and copies of Jenny Stanley’s new book Connected Packaging: The Game-changing Marketing Tool.
Paul Jenkins, ThePackHub's managing director, perfectly summed it up when he noted how the connected treasure hunt brought an extra dimension to the event. It demonstrated the practical application of digital engagement in real-world interactions - while keeping attendees involved throughout the day - something we often talk about but rarely experience firsthand at industry events. This wasn't just bluster - we were actively experiencing and engaging with the future of packaging innovation.
The event bridged the gap between theoretical insights and practical application. Whether it was exploring circularity at scale or diving into paperisation trends, every session offered tangible takeaways. This wasn't just another industry event - it was a masterclass in how to bring together thought leaders, innovators and practitioners in a way that generates real value for everyone involved.
