For beverage brands navigating tightening regulations, changing consumer expectations and the rise of sustainable luxury, Paris Packaging Week 2026 is shaping up to be a must-attend event.
Running across Thursday 5 and Friday 6 February, the trade show will celebrate its 25th anniversary with an expanded format, new innovations and a sharpened focus on circularity that speaks directly to one of the alcohol industry’s most urgent priorities: sustainability.
Show organiser Easyfairs is clear about the significance of the moment, says senior marketing manager Karen Abarian. “After 25 years, we wanted this milestone to feel truly special – not just bigger, but more inspiring and more meaningful for our community, especially for the drinks sector, which has always been such a vibrant part of the show,” she says.
This ambition is reflected in the show’s theme: ‘Iconic’, which stands for ‘innovation, celebration, outstanding, networking, inclusivity and creativity’.
Abarian says the theme sets the tone for an event that anchors heritage while embracing forward motion. “It’s our way of celebrating everything this industry represents while also looking ahead and inviting people to join a movement that’s more sustainable, inclusive and forward thinking,” she explains.
For many drinks brands and their owners, the most immediate pressure point is the EU Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), the phased implementation of which becomes legally mandatory from August this year. Abarian notes that PPWR is “front of mind for everyone,” and Paris Packaging Week has built an extensive programme to help brands navigate this complicated transitional period.
Attendees can expect technical guidance, design strategies, regulatory insights and a headline keynote speech that will provide invaluable top-down insights on this key topic from Vitalie Taittinger, CEO of the world’s third-oldest champagne house, Taittinger.
Building on the success of 2025, which saw a 27% rise in visitor numbers, this year’s show will welcome in the region of 155 new exhibitors, a clear sign of the acceleration in materials science, decoration technology and circular-economy systems.
Abarian highlights a new ‘Innovation Trail’ that will spotlight ten “forward-thinking suppliers” offering a direct route for drinks brands to identify future-ready packaging partners. For brand owners who are seeking to balance heritage with innovation, this curated pathway could be a valuable resource.
Refill & Reuse
Perhaps the biggest step change for drinks brands at next week’s exhibition comes in the form of the new ‘Refill & Reuse Zone’, created with New Era, a European coalition promoting circular packaging systems. The area explores returnable glass, closure systems and refill station concepts, giving visitors an unusually practical look at what circularity could mean in commercial environments.
Complementing this is a pair of crucial conference sessions that dive deeply into the realities of reuse. The first, ‘Reuse in the wine & spirits sector: where are we really?’, will dissect what progress has actually been made, examining pertinent issues such as format standardisation, capture rates, industrial washing and the economic models that could progress circular systems beyond pilot schemes.
The second session, ‘Traces of reuse on glass: how are they really perceived by consumers?’ will present findings from a scientific study exploring whether visible markings on reused glass affect premium-brand perception. “This one’s fascinating,” says Abarian. “It explores something that hasn’t really been studied before: how consumers perceive the small visible marks that appear on glass bottles after reuse.”
AI is another hot topic the show will address. In the expanded ‘Discovery Zone’, brands will encounter innovators exploring smart packaging, intelligent decoration and AI-driven design tools, while conference sessions will probe how AI and PLM (product lifecycle management) are reshaping efficiency and sustainability.
Design will take centre stage in the expanded ‘Pentawards Village’, dedicated to the winners of the annual packaging awards. Abarian promises a “bigger, more immersive” programme with 100 award-winning designs and archive highlights.
Looking ahead, Abarian hopes that by 2030, “Paris Packaging Week will stand for much more than an event” and will have become “a global meeting point for responsible packaging, where regulation, design and innovation come together”.
