Reflecting on an exciting Packaging Innovations 2025

We had an incredible two days at Packaging Innovations 2025 last week! We were thrilled to see so many familiar faces and meet plenty of new ones at the NEC, Birmingham. It was fantastic to catch up with our existing OPRL members and showcase the benefits of OPRL membership to potential new joiners. We loved sharing how we can help businesses navigate the evolving packaging landscape.

With pEPR on everyone’s mind and the recent release of Defra’s Recyclability Assessment Methodology (RAM), our team was kept busy answering your questions and demonstrating how our tools can simplify compliance with the new legislation. We’re always happy to provide clarity and support to the packaging community.

A special highlight of the event was seeing our Interim Managing Director, Jude Allan, kick off Wednesday morning with a fantastic presentation on the Circular Economy Stage. The audience packed in quickly, eager to learn about the role of labelling for recycling in pEPR. It was great to see so much interest in finding out about recycling labels.

Jude also had the honour of judging and presenting awards for the ‘Future Trailblazers Programme’, a brilliant initiative celebrating innovation and recognizing trailblazers within the packaging sector. Aden Newbury (Kingfisher), Jade Ellen Capp (Kingfisher), Hope Fletcher (Unilever), Robert A. Burgo Rigby (Mailway), and Josephine Cooper (DS Smith) were all recognised this year. The runner ups Michael Thompson (Bake & Bag), James O’Rourke (Mailway), and Anais Dubois (Kingfisher) were also recognised. Jude also presented Keith Barnes with the Lifetime Achievement Award – a huge congratulations to them for their outstanding contribution to packaging innovation!

We had an amazing time meeting everyone, exchanging ideas, and exploring new opportunities. Over the next few days, we’ll be busy following up on all the enquiries we received at the show.

Thank you to everyone who visited us at the event and attended Jude’s presentation. If we didn’t get a chance to chat, feel free to reach out – we’re always here to help.

We Go Beyond The Label

At OPRL, we are more than just a source of recycling labels. We offer a whole range of related services.

To find out more about how we can help you and your business with your recycling labelling needs and the benefits of becoming a member of OPRL, click here.

Existing OPRL members can log into our Members Area to access our intuitive Labelling Tool, our Recyclability Assessment Tool (RAT), read our Labelling Rules, watch informative webinars, and so much more.

Get in touch with our team if you would like to discuss how we can support you.