Innovation and sustainability: Focus is on materials and research at IPACK-IMA 2025

One of the most significant challenges facing the packaging market, an industry that has been engaged for years in the search for sustainable solutions, is the study of materials. Innovative packaging that reduces material and bulk and thus slashes CO₂ emissions and waste combines with the search for increasingly green packaging that is nevertheless able to ensure the same protection potential in whatever market it is inserted. The search paths explore all packaging materials, identifying the best solutions to fully exploit the properties that ensure food security, stability and thus the efficacy of the molecule of a pharmaceutical, protection during the transport phases, and correct preservation in each phase of the process.

(Source: IPACK-IMA)

IPACK-IMA, the innovation monitor par excellence
At IPACK-IMA, at Fiera Milano Rho from 27 to 30 May 2025, we will be talking about materials innovation: more than 200 companies will be filling us in with specialized proposals for eco-friendly and smart materials that are able to cater for sustainable production and rationalization needs.

Assets that will be relaunched in the different stands inside the show, with the IPACK-Mat - Packaging Materials for Product Development brand, a project that aims to make easily identifiable the companies present within the exhibition halls that offer primary, secondary and tertiary packaging materials, either exclusively or in combination with machines and plants.

IPACK-Mat’s main partner is CONAI, which has reaffirmed its interest in sponsoring the project. “Working with Ipack Ima is a great chance for CONAI to promote sustainability in the packaging industry. The fair is a place in which innovation, technologies and sustainability can meet, providing companies with new ideas and solutions for rising to the challenges of the circular economy. One of the commitments of CONAI is also to support companies in adopting production models that are ever more effective at garnering resources and reducing environmental impacts by encouraging a packaging approach that is not only functional but also responsible” – comments Ignazio Capuano, the Chairman of CONAI.

From materials that ensure food waste to food security, the connection with the world of certification is inevitable and necessary. That is why the exhibition section Ipack Ima Lab - Solutions for Product Testing & Certification, organized in cooperation with the Italian Institute of Packaging,  will be proposed again with the aim of giving space to laboratories, certification and research institutes specializing in the quality and conformity tests linked to MOCA regulations, materials and objects that may come into contact with foodstuffs. A choice made by companies to ensure the strictest quality standards that is a solid support during the R&D phase.

“Like Ipack Ima, we feel the need to create a space dedicated to service businesses, to laboratories and to consultancy firms that use technology but find it hard to establish their identity and make their presence felt. These considerations gave rise to Ipack Ima Lab, a hub that creates a space for people who offer vital packaging services and have high profile regulatory and technical competencies. For this reason, we decided to combine the display side with the opportunity to share information and content in a series of events,”says Francesco Legrenzi, the head of the Italian Institute of Packaging.

On show, therefore, will be a network of selected and accredited companies for running specific tests on the barrier properties of materials, which will not only have a dedicated space with purpose-built stands but also the opportunity to organize a presentation speech in the event schedule of the show. This makes Ipack Ima Lab a cutting-edge laboratory for packaging at IPACK-IMA.

The companies that have signed up for IPACK-IMA 2025
Among the exhibiting companies in the industry, focused on certification, sustainability and new materials, there are many active players already registered, including: Agroblu, Arcoplastica, Botta, Cartotecnica Postumia, Cavanna Spa, Centro qualità carta lucense, Cristalpack, CSI, Goglio, Grifal, Gruppo Fabbri, Gruppo Seda, Ilpra, Labanalysis, Plastotecnica, Propagroup, Remi Tubi, Roboplast, Sacchital, Saes Coated Films, Sdar Pack, Teghleef Industries SPA, Tiber Pack, Tuv SUD, Ulma Packaging, Verbano Film, Volmar Packaging Srl.