EVENTS
Packaging Première & PCD Milan 2024: a successful edition wraps up
26/05/2024

Three days pursuing creativity, sustainability and innovation: the 2024 edition of Packaging Première & PCD Milan, the reference event in deluxe packaging for the fashion, beauty, jewellery, fine food and wine & spirits sectors, which took place in Milan from 21 to 23 May at Allianz MiCo, ended yesterday.
Packaging Première & PCD Milan was attended by over 8300 visitors, who were able to discover the latest products from over 320 exhibitors from Italy, China, France, Germany, UK, Hong Kong, Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary and Netherlands.
Visitors were led into a multi-sensory experience from the moment they entered the hall: illusions, optical effects and experimental music - curated by digital artist Vincenzo Marsiglia in collaboration with Ocrasunset - turned the Packaging Première & PCD Milan experience into an immersive and impactful one. A fragrance, named Cyber Milk, conceived by the Italian Perfumery Institute and created especially for the event by CFF Creative Flavours & Fragrances, was diffused in the atmosphere creating a synaesthesia effect. In line with the notes of this fragrance, pastry chef Gianluca Fusto of the eponymous pastry brand Fusto Milano created a dessert that captured all the elements of this experience.
The Art Gallery, entitled Encrypted World, showed a selection of digital artworks by 28 young talents from the Accademia Aldo Galli - IED Network in Como and the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brescia SantaGiulia, where Vincenzo Marsiglia is a lecturer. The works had been transformed into NFTs and placed in the world of crypto thanks to the collaboration with the Italian platform Openverse.
Avant Garde, the highly innovative initiative involving exhibitors, design and branding agencies, material manufacturers, deluxe packaging suppliers and start-ups involved in the conception and realisation of innovative products, was hugely appreciated. In the innovative materials category excelled the project Esacote® BIO BC 100 by Lamberti, a 100% bio-based coating obtained from tomato peels through an innovative patented process, which offers excellent barrier properties to water, grease and oil, respecting the principles of sustainability and circularity. Special mention for Qwarzo® for its invisible mineral-based coating that improves the performance of the material it covers, particularly paper. In the sustainability category, the winning project was Rinascimento, a 100% recycled paper produced in a circular economy using pulp generated by CM Cartotecnica Moderna in collaboration with Icma Sartorial Paper. Last but not least, in the design category was particularly outstanding the project Ungsam Vital Ginseng Packaging, realised by Revation in collaboration with UNGSAM, which redefined the traditional approach to ginseng packaging.
Packaging Première & PCD Milan offered creative ideas and was also a source of inspiration thanks to exclusive exhibitions such as GINnasium (a creative exercise in which 5 designers from 5 Italian regions were invited to interpret gin packaging), Paper Posh (an augmented imagination project signed by artists Andrea Filippi & Gabriele Moschin who through 14 shopping bags represented a challenge for tomorrow's design) and Materioteca by Materially, a library of the most innovative packaging materials.
Several talks and conferences, 23 in total, involved more than 80 renowned international speakers, including Andrea Filippi (AI artist), Charles van Reij (Cradle to Cradle), Chris Egger (Portofino Dry Gin), Jungwon Heo (Amorepacific), Fabrizio Rinaldi (Giorgio Armani), Gian Giacomo Costa (L'Oreal) and Juan Mantilla (KIKO Milano), to name but a few. The topics ranged from multisensoriality and storytelling to the evolution of bio-based plastics, from originality and creativity to Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Imagination, from the cost of sustainability in luxury to the value of neuromarketing and design trends in South Korea.
“The attendance at this edition was impressive, both in terms of exhibitors and visitors, confirming the growing interest and vitality of the deluxe packaging sector. We would like to thank everyone who contributed to this success, from the leading companies who presented their innovations, to the visitors who made the event inspiring. This result further motivates us to continue to improve and innovate in order to offer an even more unique experience in the coming editions”, said Pier Paolo Ponchia, Founder and Director of Packaging Première.
In order to make the event more responsible, Packaging Première & PCD Milan has partnered with Impatto Positivo, a brand launched by Recuperiamo founded in 2016 by Marco Raspati and Paolo Rellini. Impatto Positivo is a virtuous project that measures and certifies the social and environmental impact generated by the recovery of products at risk of waste through a recovery and redistribution process managed by the Regusto platform. Thanks to this collaboration, the Exhibitor Lounge dedicated to exhibitors has been transformed into a zero-waste and positive impact environment: the social and environmental impact it has contributed to generate has been transparently and traceably highlighted through 4000 Impact Tokens translated into 8000 equivalent meals, 4000 kg of CO2 emissions avoided, 8000 m3 of water saved and 12000 m2 of soil saved. By joining Positive Impact, Packaging Première & PCD Milan will be included in the official register of positive impact companies and events.
Packaging Première & PCD Milan was supported across the different initiatives by: Fedrigoni Paper, Fedrigoni Self-Adhesive, Artegraf, Global Ribbons, D’Auria, Tipografia Altedo, Luxoro, Kurz, Masseria Surani, Birrificio 620 Passi, Tommasi, Comieco, Kotra, Click Agency, Malìa, Winetage, The Unique Show, Portofino Dry Gin, IED, Hdemia SantaGiulia, Accademia Aldo Galli- IED Network di Como, INTHEGARDEN, Goodwings, Integra Fragrances, Promo360, Fusto Milano, Cosaporto, Impatto Positivo, GEA Profumi, Valtenna, New Genius Glass, Italian Perfumery Institute, Grafical, CFF Creative Flavours & Fragrances, Cerve, Caps & Fashion. Tra i brand ambassador si annoverano: Pusterla 1880, Luxoro, iMei, Formbags, Flexpet / Frapak Packaging BV, Favini, Cabomet, Besta Pack and Autajon.
Packaging Première is the selective exhibition dedicated to designers and manufacturers of luxury packaging as well as to major international brands entrusting the safekeeping of their products to containers bearing the tangible, unmistakable mark of luxury all over the world. The world of luxury is visionary and needs to be ahead of its time, of seasons and tastes. Packaging Première showcases novelties previews, provides room for experimentation and innovation, helps managers understand trends and speeds up decision time to enable companies to get to the market first. Protecting and speaking of luxury packaging is a world to itself. Dominated by brands’ strong personality, packaging expresses itself in evocative, original, surprising shapes and relies on a production chain that is designed to pursue excellence from the processing of raw materials to the finished product. Packaging Première is the stage enhancing the entire industry.
