London Packaging Week reveals 87 finalists for its 2026 Innovation Awards

The event, taking place at Excel London on September 16-17, 2026, has unveiled the 87 finalists for its 2026 Innovation Awards, recognising projects that are setting new standards in packaging across luxury, beauty, premium drinks, food, consumer goods and sustainability.

Selected from hundreds of entries submitted by brands, designers and packaging innovators worldwide, the shortlist spans 18 categories. It showcases projects that combine smarter materials, refined engineering, circular thinking and an outstanding consumer experience. Rather than rewarding novelty alone, this year’s judging recognised solutions delivering commercial, environmental and consumer value.

According to the organisers, several clear industry shifts emerged across the judging process: fibre-based materials continue to replace conventional substrates, while mono-material construction is becoming increasingly sophisticated, improving recyclability without compromising performance.

The shortlist was selected by an experienced judging panels, bringing together senior packaging leaders from Burberry, Glenmorangie, No7, Starbucks, PZ Cussons, Pladis, Diageo, Superdrug, Marks & Spencer, Müller, Pernod Ricard, Trinny London and Kingfisher, alongside experts from the Food & Drink Federation, British Beauty Council, ThePackHub and Re-sources. Together, they assessed every entry against five core criteria: creativity, technical execution, manufacturability, commercial effectiveness and environmental performance.

"The quality of this year’s entries was exceptional. What impressed the judges wasn’t simply beautiful packaging, but the intelligence behind it. The strongest projects solved multiple challenges simultaneously, combining outstanding design with smarter engineering, better material choices, stronger sustainability credentials and richer consumer experiences,” commented Christelle Anya, Chair of the London Packaging Week Innovation Awards.

"Across almost every category, we saw evidence that packaging is entering a new era. Brands are moving beyond incremental improvements and fundamentally rethinking the role packaging plays in creating value, building trust and delivering memorable experiences. This shortlist captures that evolution and showcases some of the most intelligent packaging solutions being developed anywhere in the world today."

All shortlisted entries will be showcased within the Innovation Awards Showcase at London Packaging Week. The winners will be revealed during the London Packaging Week Innovation Awards Ceremony on the Luxury Stage from 12:30 pm–1:30 pm on Thursday 17 September.