The recent AIPIA/AWA Smart Packaging World Congress held on 20 – 21 May in Amsterdam brought a stellar line-up of innovators and new ideas to the event. Along the way, key themes such as preparation for Digital Product Passports and PPWR; GS1 Digital Link, Data collection and management; as well as the interface between Sustainable and Intelligent packaging, were all given a very thorough shakedown by panelists and presenters.
The Congress was topped and tailed by the Brand Challenge, with Clive Stephens, head of R&D at Cranswick PLC and AIPIA Advisory Board member Dr Russell Sion, a Cranswick technology partner and CEO of JentonDimaco, giving a lively opening keynote on The Perfect Pack – How Connected Technology Reduces Food Waste, Packaging Waste & Risk Through Real-Time Intelligence. This was a topic which recurred throughout the event, which was rounded off with the Brand Challenge itself, which was covered in more detail in the June Newsletter.
Identiv, a long-time sponsor of Congress, focused on how secure NFC and RFID technologies are enabling practical, scalable smart packaging applications. The presentation covered two key areas: product authentication to protect brand integrity, and consumer engagement through connected packaging experiences. By combining secure digital identities with advanced tag and inlay design, it believes brands can strengthen trust, improve transparency, and unlock new data-driven insights across the product lifecycle.
A recurring theme throughout the event was the global implementation of GS1’s Digital Link. The need for a standardized approach to coding of CPG’s is widely recognized, as is the need for a ‘richer’ menu of features offered by such coding. Different regions will go at different speeds when implementing this protocol. Markem-Imaje demonstrated how connected packaging, enabled by accurate and reliable coding, helps brands deliver richer product experiences from the point of sale to the home. By such means can packaging become a dynamic digital touchpoint, they say.
No better exponent of the Digital Link is GS1 itself. Delegates were lucky enough to hear direct from Camilla Young, program lead, Next Generation of Barcodes, GS1 UK about both the upsides and downsides of the journey to Sunrise 2027. She looked at the real-world blockers that slow adoption once concepts move beyond proof of value, from unclear ownership and data confidence to misaligned timelines between brands, retailers, and solution providers.
Adoption is a collective challenge, she believes, where progress depends on how well the ecosystem works together, not on any single component. She also speculated that the industry can move forward without waiting for perfect certainty or regulatory deadlines and the intelligent packaging community’s role in helping customers move earlier, with confidence.
The two favorite acronyms of the Congress were DPP and PPWR. Both are looming large, and while Digital Product Passports are some way off on the Food & Beverage and Pharmaceutical horizon, there is plenty of preparation to be done. Several sessions covered this ‘hot’ topic.
In particular, a panel session led by an old friend of AIPIA, Dom Guinard, skipped the intro fluff and dived into what really matters right now: how DPPs are actually being implemented, what’s breaking or missing, and what brands and tech providers need to gear up for in the next 12–36 months. The general message is ‘Be Prepared’ and utilize the Smart Packaging technologies which ease the pain.
The Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation is all too real now, however flawed it may seem to many. Willemijn Peeters, founder and CEO, Searious Business, explored the profound effect it is having on transport packaging. While Steven Cuvelier, Packaging & Sustainability specialist at SC Projects, looked at some of the design challenges the Regulation might present to Smart Packaging designers. And of course it loomed large in several panel sessions, not least the one devoted to Circularity!
There was plenty more on offer: low energy harvesting for tags; packaging as a secure, data-driven connection point; the US$540billion food waste bill; integrating intelligence into products at scale; and even closed loop recycling, to name only some. Congress 2027 will be held in Amsterdam next June.
(First published on AIPIA.info)
