As such, it announced next year’s summit will be held in Shanghai.
First US Summit
Speaking in the opening session, Eef de Ferrante, MD, AIPIA, said while the conference is now in its seventh year, it took two years for the association to plan its first conference in the US.
“It’s not about the box nor the bottle but the technology behind it,” he said.
“We are sure some technology needs more time to be developed but it is happening.
“Our mindset is to move this industry forward by connecting our members with the right people and giving them the right information to proceed.”
This year’s agenda for the summit was paperless and the program was accessible via an app. All presentations at the two-day event will be available on the AIPIA website next week to download.
AIPIA China
Speaking at the event, Billy Yu, Prime Business Consulting Shanghai, China, said his company has represented AIPIA China since 2016 and now has more than 200 members, launching an AIPIA China website last year.
Dick de Koning, chairman, AIPIA Netherlands, added the association now has 1,202 members globally, and has grown tremendously in the last two years.
“The main business drivers in active and intelligent packaging are consumer engagement loyalty programs, personalized consumer experience, product functionality, shelf life extension, active packaging, anti-counterfeit, fighting food waste, e-commerce and supply chain efficiency, track & trace (anti-theft),” he said.
“A lot of global brand owners have made strong commitments in the near future for sustainability recently where everything has to be recyclable, returnable, and compostable. It is a challenge but it needs to be part of every brand’s portfolio.”