The 2026 Interpack in Düsseldorf once again demonstrated how strongly the packaging industry is being shaped by the interplay of innovation, regulation, and sustainability.
This year’s Interpack placed particular emphasis on circular materials, new approaches to chemical recycling, automation, and data-driven solutions for more efficient and transparent supply chains. At the same time, it became clear that expectations from the food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries continue to rise — especially in terms of product safety, compliance, and performance.
Some of the key takeaways include:
- Smart manufacturing continues to gain importance: AI, robotics, and connected systems are expected to improve efficiency, transparency, and resource efficiency.
- New materials are driving development, particularly in the context of increasing regulatory requirements such as the PPWR (Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation).
- Circularity: recyclability, recycled content, and design-for-recycling are becoming key decision-making factors across the value chain.
- Regulation: new requirements and rising compliance expectations are driving innovation in material selection, packaging design, and production processes.
- Food and pharma continue to benefit from sustained demand for safe, durable, and efficiently packaged products.
For suppliers in the chemical, machinery, and materials sectors, this creates both exciting opportunities and new challenges across the entire value chain.
We are taking away many valuable insights and look forward to continuing the dialogue around the industry’s most important questions: Which technologies will prevail? Where will new partnerships emerge? And how can innovation and regulatory requirements be brought together in a meaningful way?
Dierk Plümer
+49 6201 9915 44
Dierk.Pluemer@SchlegelundPartner.de
Dr. Isabelle Symonds
+49 6201 9915 10
Isabelle.Symonds@SchlegelundPartner.de
© Schlegel und Partner 2026