During its 30th anniversary event, PACK EXPO truly hit its stride, boasting its largest event in its history, as the show floor surpassed 1 million net square feet and more than 30,000 attendees.

Produced by PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, PACK EXPO Las Vegas, the show, taking place from Sept. 29-Oct. 1, drew 20,000 exhibitor personnel for a total of 50,000 packaging and processing professionals in attendance. More than 2,300 exhibitors highlighted a plethora of products, including several items for dairy processors. (See below for some of these product launches).

“The scale and energy of PACK EXPO Las Vegas this year reflect how fast our industry is advancing,” said Jim Pittas, president and CEO, PMMI. “From AI (artificial intelligence) and robotics to next-generation sustainability, the technologies on display aren’t just meeting today’s needs, they’re driving the growth, efficiency, and innovation that will define packaging and processing for the next 30 years.”

During a PMMI press event, Pittas also looked back at the show 30 years ago, noting there were approximately 150 exhibitors. He marveled at how much the show has grown since the first PACK EXPO event, filling the Las Vegas Convention Center. PMMI honored exhibitors who exhibited at the PACK EXPO show with a special booth designation during the show.

One such exhibitor was Syntegon. “We’ve been exhibiting at PACK EXPO all 30 years that the show has been around. The U.S. and Mexico PACK EXPO events are very important to seeing key customers and showcasing our new innovations. This year, we had an awesome first day [Monday] where we saw heavy booth traffic, but the big highlight was securing three orders,” Alana Brown, events manager for the company, whose U.S. headquarters are based in Minneapolis, tells PMMI.

Positive industry outlook

During the PMMI media event, Jorge Izquierdo, vice president of market development for the trade group, presented the packaging State of the Industry report. He pointed to continued industry growth.

“In 2021 and 2022, we saw double-digit growth for the industry. It has not slowed down since,” he reveals. “In 2024, the industry had $11.3 billion of packaging shipped. That was up 2.4% percent compared to the prior year. In 2025, we project 2% (year over year) growth.

Despite headwinds such as tariffs, the packaging industry, comprising 50% food, 46% beverages and 4% other products, should see even better growth in years ahead, Izquierdo states. “In 2026, we estimate 4% growth in shipments and in 2027, we expect 6% growth in shipments. We are optimistic about the market.”

Regarding avenues for this growth, PMMI’s vice president pointed to palletizing. “If you look on the show floor, there is a big increase in robotics,” he notes. “It is bringing a new level of flexibility to the industry.”

Despite current economic uncertainty, “the industry’s commitment to automation, sustainability, and operational excellence remains powerful,” adds Pittas. “PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2025 is more relevant than ever and offers attendees unique opportunities to prepare for projected industry growth and make connections that drive business forward through the depth and breadth of solutions the show offers.”

Education takes the stage

PACK EXPO offered more than 100 educational sessions. Considering the time allotment and expansive show floor space, it would be impossible for anyone to sit in on most of these important educational opportunities. Hence, please visit the www.packexpolasvegas.com website to review recaps of individual sessions. However, we will highlight one fascinating PACK EXPO Industry Speaks session titled “How Smart Packaging Helps Grow Consumer Transparency.”

The key point during this session, presented by Rishi Banerjee, senior director of SmartLabel at the Consumer Brands Association, is an initiative, led by non-profit international organization GS1 to switch from current 1D UPC labels to 2D QR barcodes. “There will be no UPC barcodes in the future. QR codes carry much more data. … QR codes are here to stay,” Banerjee relays.

Banerjee notes this move is led by consumer desires to have more transparency on the packaging labels for the food products they purchase at stores. “Ninety-two percent of consumers say transparency is important,” he says. “Consumers really care about ingredients in products. Transparency grows trust.”

Digging deeper, Banerjee reveals allergens are one of the top things consumers are concerned about. 2D QR codes (smart labels) can provide plenty of details on allergens, he stresses. “Many other things are featured on smart labels, including sustainability attributes and product recall alerts as well.”

Another huge advantage of smart labeling, according to Banerjee, is QR codes can provide regulatory compliance information for individual states. “Fifteen to 20 states are looking to pass ingredient requirements now (for example),” Banerjee maintains.

Recycling information is another huge benefit QR codes provide, Banerjee concludes. “Recycling information can be offered at the individual ZIP code level. More than 9,000 communities have recycling regulations. This kind of capability is huge.”