London Packaging Week has unveiled the first wave of speakers for its 2026 conference programme, set to take place on 16 and 17 September at Excel London. The event will bring together senior leaders from global brands, retailers, sustainability organizations, creative studios, and design consultancies to explore how packaging is evolving from a functional discipline into a strategic business driver. According to organizers, the event is expected to welcome more than 5,700 visitors, 220 exhibitors and 90 expert speakers across three conference stages.
The programme reflects packaging’s evolution into a central strategic consideration that now influences sustainability performance, regulatory readiness, consumer engagement, brand growth, and commercial resilience.
The first wave of speakers reflects that transformation. Among those confirmed is Esther Carter, chief strategy officer at PackUK, who will bring a national perspective on packaging reform and system alignment. Her keynote, ‘Next steps for industry in the evolution of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)’, will explore the UK EPR scheme’s journey to date and highlight key innovations being implemented across industry and local authorities.
Joining her is Alex Center, founder and designer at CENTER, whose career spans nearly a decade shaping brands at The Coca-Cola Company, including vitaminwater and smartwater, before going on to build brands including Liquid Death, Kin Euphorics, Apple, and New Balance. At London Packaging Week, Center will take audiences behind the creation of Tom Holland’s non-alcoholic beer brand BERO, exploring how packaging, storytelling, and visual identity can transform products into cultural brands.
The programme will also feature Piera Toniolo, global head of influencer marketing at Dolce & Gabbana, who brings more than a decade of experience spanning luxury fashion, beauty, and global marketing, having helped shape communications and influencer strategies for brands including Dolce & Gabbana, Missoni, and Estée Lauder. Her keynote will explore one of luxury’s defining challenges: how brands preserve heritage and authenticity while remaining culturally relevant to new generations.
Also confirmed is Jeremy Lindley, global design director at Diageo, who joins Ico Hernandez, creative director at Bulletproof, in a session exploring how global brands engage audiences through the FIFA World Cup. The discussion will examine how Diageo activates across its portfolio through limited-edition packaging and how these moments become vehicles for cultural expression on a global scale.
“The strength of this year’s line-up reflects how far packaging has evolved as a discipline and how central it has become to the way modern businesses operate,” said Casey McHugh, conference & community manager at Easyfairs. “These are no longer niche or technical conversations taking place at the edges of industry; they are about cultural relevance. What makes this programme so compelling is the way it brings together voices from across that spectrum – from global brands and retailers to sustainability organizations, creative studios and design leaders – all grappling with the same fundamental question: how packaging can deliver meaningful commercial, environmental, and consumer impact in a rapidly changing world.”
The remaining headliners bring a sustainability and retail perspective, showing how circular ambition is being applied in practice across retail, FMCG, and beauty. This includes contributors from industry bodies including the British Soft Drinks Association, WRAP, British Retail Consortium, British Beauty Council, and Walpole, alongside circular-economy organizations such as OPRL and Ecosurety. They are joined by global brands including PepsiCo, Suntory Food & Beverages, William Grant & Sons, Compass Box Whisky, Molton Brown, PZ Cussons, L’Occitane Group, Müller Group, and Selfridges, as well as creative and strategic voices from The Future Laboratory, eatbigfish, and Distinctive Bat. Together, they reflect the breadth of organizations now driving packaging innovation, from regulation through to brand strategy and cultural impact.
Across the FMCG Stage, discussions will focus on the systems, regulation, and behaviors shaping a more circular and resource-efficient future for packaging, while the Luxury Stage will explore how brands are using packaging design to create emotional connection, cultural relevance, and commercial impact in an era of the conscious consumer.
