London Packaging Week 2025 opened with a sense of urgency rather than novelty. The mood across the halls at ExCeL was clear: Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is no longer a future talking point it’s a present-tense requirement. The brands, converters and designers on stage weren’t asking if reform is coming, but how fast they can adapt.
- EPR moves from policy to practicality
DEFRA, WRAP and PackUK all pointed to 2026 as the year when reporting accuracy and design data will define compliance.
- Packaging teams will soon need to prove recyclability and recovery, not just claim it.
- We see this as a design opportunity, not just an admin burden. When recyclability becomes measurable, design for circularity becomes a brand differentiator.
- Sustainability matures into performance
Across sessions from Haleon to Unilever and Diageo — sustainability was reframed as operational performance. Lightweighting, refill, and recycled content are being judged by speed, safety and cost-to-implement, not virtue signalling.
- Brands that prototype early and test under real conditions will stay ahead of both regulation and consumer expectation.
- Innovation needs new proof points
Our conversation with delegates like Sara Castilho (Pladis) and Michael Carroll (Müller) underlined that innovation now lives in two halves:
- Front-end discovery – exploring materials, formats, and consumer appeal.
- Technical validation – proving feasibility on existing lines.
Both require partners who can turn ideas into tangible, food-safe artefacts fast. - This is where Design – Make – Deliver comes into its own bridging creativity and compliance.
- Collaboration over competition
Perhaps the biggest cultural shift: competitors shared data, suppliers opened processes, and retailers asked for collective progress. Fibre, refill and digital traceability projects were discussed openly.
- True innovation now depends on shared learning. Path’s role is to turn those shared ambitions into testable outcomes.
- The premium paradox
Luxury and mainstream brands alike debated how to make sustainability feel desirable. From Bentley Motors to Fortnum & Mason, the conversation centred on emotional durability design that earns its keep rather than disposal.
- Our More Premium framework translates that thinking into tactile, repeat-use packaging experiences.
In summary
EPR and sustainability regulation are forcing the packaging industry to get practical and fast. LPW25 confirmed that the winners will be those who can move from talk to tangible, proving both creativity and compliance in real time.
Path helps brand owners do exactly that:
Turning insight into in-hand, faster.
Helping brands be more Available, Premium, and Responsible.