The Shanghai World of Packaging (swop), co-organized by Messe Düsseldorf (Shanghai) and Adsale Exhibition Services took place from 25–27 November 2025, at SNIEC (Shanghai New International Expo Centre). This year, swop reached the significant milestone of its 10th anniversary. Since its debut in 2015, swop has evolved into a major annual international exhibition for the global packaging industry. The show has always maintained its long-standing commitment to staying current with industry developments and remaining closely aligned with the sector.
swop 2025 showcased numerous innovative packaging products and technologies. It focused on eight end-use sectors—food, beverages, confectionery, bakery, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, non-food consumer goods, and industrial products—and kept pace with developments at the industry’s forefront.
From 2026, swop will be renamed as ‘interpack China’
On the morning of November 25, the swop 2025 opening ceremony — themed ‘A Decade of Brilliance — A New Chapter’ — took place at SNIEC. Evian Gu, general manager of Messe Düsseldorf (Shanghai); Rita Chu, vice chairman of The Adsale Group; and Thomas Dohse, director interpack, portfolio processing & packaging of Messe Düsseldorf, attended the ceremony and delivered speeches.
Representatives from key partners and industry bodies — including the Shanghai Packaging Technology Association;the CCPIT Machinery Sub-Council; the Zhejiang Health Products & Cosmetics Industry Association; the Shanghai Society of Plastic Industry; the Shandong Plastics Association; and the Nanjing Food Industry Association— participated in the launch. More than 30 representatives from prominent industry firms and professional media outlets were also present to witness the event.
At this 10-year milestone, the Shanghai World of Packaging (swop) will undergo a major upgrade: beginning in 2026, the exhibition will be officially renamed as ‘interpack China’. This change is more than a renaming: it signals the show’s intent to deepen integration with the global packaging ecosystem and to broaden its international outlook. As a member of the interpack global alliance and drawing on its international resources, interpack China will continue to bring together leading global technologies, ideas and expertise to enrich the experience for exhibitors and visitors and to serve as a central platform for advancing packaging innovation.
Going forward, interpack China will collaborate with partners worldwide to explore opportunities in intelligent manufacturing, innovative materials, and talent development — injecting fresh momentum into the global packaging industry ecosystem.
swop 2025 introduces eight themed routes
This year, swop once again launched its ‘Signature Packaging Routes,’ enhancing on-site sourcing for trade buyers and visitors. The concurrent program targeted widespread industry needs, presenting eight themed routes that address 24 specific packaging ‘pain points,’ and offering end-to-end solutions across the value chain — from equipment and materials to design and logistics.
Exhibits spanned key areas including plastic and paper container production (equipment and materials), primary and secondary packaging machinery, packaged products, and logistics packaging. The routes directly addressed trade buyers’ and visitors’ core requirements — product traceability, production efficiency, accuracy, and finished-product yield — and on the first day of the show they drew unanimous praise and strong interest from exhibitors and trade buyers.
Global packaging innovations and international market insights
The 2025 SAVE FOOD Forum
For the fifth time, swop partnered with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Representation in China (FAO China) to host the SAVE FOOD Forum. This year’s forum brought together policy makers, designers and technologists to discuss strategies for reducing food loss and waste.
The program featured three roundtable discussions: The Intersection of Sustainable Food Systems and Packaging: Women Power in the Industry; Innovation and Technology in Sustainable Packaging; and Global Design for Recycling Guidelines: Tools for Creating Recyclable Packaging. Concurrently, the Awarding Ceremony for Save Food Design Award & Sustainability Design Award China — organized by Messe Düsseldorf together with the World Packaging Organisation (WPO), FAO China and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) — was held during the event.
Global emerging technologies
Leveraging its membership in the interpack alliance, swop tapped the alliance’s global network and professional resources to deliver one-stop processing and packaging solutions for buyers across food, beverage, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, confectionery, bakery, non-food consumer goods, and industrial sectors.
swop 2025 places attendees at the epicenter of global packaging compliance, with leading companies and innovation pioneers from Germany, Italy, Austria, France, Turkey, Switzerland, Japan and South Korea showcasing on-site cutting-edge technologies in digitalization, intelligent automation and low-carbon, sustainable packaging.
Furthermore, swop 2025 presented a full program of specialist forums addressing market strategy, digitalization, green packaging, food-processing technologies and business matchmaking. Key sessions included: Packaging Industry · Practical Forum on Starting from Zero in Cross-Border Trade; Navigation New Markets in Packaging’s Blue Ocean; swop x CPRJ The Digital and Intelligent Carbon Reduction Revolution in Plastic Packaging — From Material Innovation to Circular Ecosystem; Industry-University-Research Cooperation Conference on Packaging Industry 2025 & The 2nd Training Course for Sustainable Packaging Engineers; interpack 2026 Press Conference; and Dialogue Across Continents: Eurasian Food Packaging Technology and Business Opportunity Connection Forum.
These events featured presentations and panel discussions by international experts who shared insights on packaging market demand, helping Chinese packaging companies expand overseas and fostering collaboration between domestic and international industry players under the theme of global resource connectivity and co-creation of value. We look forward to your participation.
Smart supply chains, global intelligence
swop 2025 introduced for the first time the “Scenario Smart Connect — Packaging Solutions Zone” in Hall N4. This dedicated zone addressed the needs of trade buyers by providing in-depth industry trend analysis, guidance on overseas-market compliance, forward-looking technology showcases, and expert sessions that dissect common production pain points. The exhibition also featured two interactive areas — the Packaging Decision Accelerator and the Packaging Challenge Arena — where equipment connectivity and coordinated intelligent solutions were demonstrated in live, application-driven settings. In addition to technology showcases, the Zone functioned as a commercial exchange platform for industry specialists and buyers to explore cooperation and partnership opportunities. Visitors could experience the demonstrations at Booth K05 in Hall N4.
Wide industry support: swop 2025 backed by domestic and international associations
swop 2025 received strong support from a broad network of domestic and international industry organizations, as well as from leading trade media. Key institutional partners included the Shanghai Packaging Technology Association (PTA), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the World Packaging Organisation (WPO), the VDMA Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Association, the Korea Packaging Association (KOPA), and the CCPIT Machinery Sub-Council. Furthermore, the event was supported by more than 100 domestic and international industry associations representing the food, cosmetics, plastics and printing & packaging sectors.
