Our March roundup: kp shines at food industry events
We’ve been on the road! At kp, we love connecting with the food industry at trade events to share the latest sustainability and quality innovations we’re developing.
Below, we share a snapshot of some of the key food industry events that our kp teams have attended recently, along with the products we showcased, the technologies capturing attention, and what we’ve observed about market priorities and trends.
Below, we share a snapshot of some of the key food industry events that our kp teams have attended recently, along with the products we showcased, the technologies capturing attention, and what we’ve observed about market priorities and trends.
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Annual Meat Conference - Nashville, Tennessee, USA (18-20 March)
From left to right: John Alexander, Erik King, Arash Thompson and Chris Davenport
Hosted by the Food Industry Association (FMI) and Meat Institute, the Annual Meat Conference is an event that brings together every element of the meat supply chain across North America. The event welcomes more than 2400 attendees from the meat retail community to explore trends, insights and future-ready solutions.
Brian Sturgill, VP FP North America – Manufacturing Management, and Erik King, Regional Marketing Leader, FP Americas, offered valuable insights from their experience at the event.
Brian said: "The AMC is a well-attended and highly focused show that grows every year. We always open fantastic new conversations with target processors and retailers, and this gives us greater insights into our customers’ businesses, their perspective on consumer habits, and trends influencing the protein sector."
Brian said: "The AMC is a well-attended and highly focused show that grows every year. We always open fantastic new conversations with target processors and retailers, and this gives us greater insights into our customers’ businesses, their perspective on consumer habits, and trends influencing the protein sector."
Highlighting what visitors were interested in, Brian and Erik noted the prominence of vacuum skin packaging (VSP), with attendees particularly talking about the strong shelf appearance when delivered in combination with linerless label C wraps. Life cycle messaging associated with our use of 100% rPET in trays also proved a great conversation starter as did the additional EPR legislation arriving in the US market in 2025.
It was clear that sustainability was the focal point of the event, with knowledge sessions seeing high levels of attendance, reflecting the industry's growing attention to upcoming legislation and environmental responsibility.
It was clear that sustainability was the focal point of the event, with knowledge sessions seeing high levels of attendance, reflecting the industry's growing attention to upcoming legislation and environmental responsibility.
INTERNORGA – Hamburg, Germany (8-12 March)
From left to right: Martin Franz, Simon Zoppke, Paolo Nisci, Jan Arzt
INTERNORGA brings together the entire German and European foodservice and hospitality sector. The exhibition, which includes a comprehensive programme of talks and seminars, attracts attendees from the catering, hotel, bakery and confectionery industries.
Martin Franz, Sales Manager, DACH, shed light on kp's presence at INTERNORGA, highlighting local engagement and interactions with the hospitality sector.
Martin said: “INTERNORGA was a fantastic exhibition for us to attend and put our packaging innovations in the spotlight. Attendance levels were strong, and the clear focus was again on packaging sustainability. The key product for our team at INTERNORGA was kp Infinity®, our 100% recyclable Expanded Polypropylene (EPP)-based foodservice packaging, which combines quality, convenience and recyclability and has been developed to replace traditionally used Expanded Polystyrene (EPS/XPS) in the foodservice sectors, where required due to legislation changes.”
Martin Franz, Sales Manager, DACH, shed light on kp's presence at INTERNORGA, highlighting local engagement and interactions with the hospitality sector.
Martin said: “INTERNORGA was a fantastic exhibition for us to attend and put our packaging innovations in the spotlight. Attendance levels were strong, and the clear focus was again on packaging sustainability. The key product for our team at INTERNORGA was kp Infinity®, our 100% recyclable Expanded Polypropylene (EPP)-based foodservice packaging, which combines quality, convenience and recyclability and has been developed to replace traditionally used Expanded Polystyrene (EPS/XPS) in the foodservice sectors, where required due to legislation changes.”
CFIA – Rennes, France (12-14 March)
From left to right: Fabien Le Palud, Virginie Carrée, Michel Tulliez, Patricia Vérité, Manuella Cheny
Taking place in the French city of Rennes, CFIA (Carrefour des Fournisseurs de l'Industrie Agroalimentaire) has been a staple of the food-processing industry for more than 26 years.
At the expo, industry professionals from across Europe gather to explore the latest trends and technologies powering food industry success. With the 2023 event welcoming almost 20,000 visitors, the latest CFIA event was also very well attended.
kp’s Patricia Verité, Area Sales Manager, commented: “The CFIA event is a fantastic opportunity for our team at kp. Centred around the agrifood industry, it’s very representative of our business and the markets we operate in. In addition to seeing great interest in our food packaging solutions, we also noted a lot of interest in how we are addressing the latest European directives on circularity and material restrictions, such as the ban on polystyrene single use foodservice packaging.
For example, we showcased our use of EPP/XPP to create fully recyclable solutions such as kp Infinity®, and how we are recovering rPET from trays through our kp Tray2Tray® initiative.”
At the expo, industry professionals from across Europe gather to explore the latest trends and technologies powering food industry success. With the 2023 event welcoming almost 20,000 visitors, the latest CFIA event was also very well attended.
kp’s Patricia Verité, Area Sales Manager, commented: “The CFIA event is a fantastic opportunity for our team at kp. Centred around the agrifood industry, it’s very representative of our business and the markets we operate in. In addition to seeing great interest in our food packaging solutions, we also noted a lot of interest in how we are addressing the latest European directives on circularity and material restrictions, such as the ban on polystyrene single use foodservice packaging.
For example, we showcased our use of EPP/XPP to create fully recyclable solutions such as kp Infinity®, and how we are recovering rPET from trays through our kp Tray2Tray® initiative.”
EuroGastro – Warsaw, Poland (12-14 March)
From left to right: Tomasz Mrowinski, Paweł Kielak, Justyna Topolska, and Tomasz Piotrowski.
Representing kp was Paul Rawlings, Launch Manager Trays and Flexibles, who reported high footfall at the event as it continues to grow year on year.
Paul said: “EuroGastro is a turnkey event for businesses located in Poland or wishing to work with suppliers in the Polish market. It has a distinct regional flavour, and it’s a show that will only grow as more and more businesses discover the benefits of working in the Polish HoReCa market. We saw a strong focus on sustainability, particularly in relation to takeaway food packaging. Legislation in Poland regarding single-use plastic packaging is evolving at a rapid pace, so it was the ideal opportunity to show what we can do at kp.
Paul said: “EuroGastro is a turnkey event for businesses located in Poland or wishing to work with suppliers in the Polish market. It has a distinct regional flavour, and it’s a show that will only grow as more and more businesses discover the benefits of working in the Polish HoReCa market. We saw a strong focus on sustainability, particularly in relation to takeaway food packaging. Legislation in Poland regarding single-use plastic packaging is evolving at a rapid pace, so it was the ideal opportunity to show what we can do at kp.
Several of our products attracted particular attention, including our new kp Infinity® HotPacs® and our kp Elite® washable adhesive rPET MAP trays, combined with our kp Zapora® padless tray technology. All these solutions are fully recyclable.”
The food industry is ever evolving, and it’s essential that our team is continually connecting with the market to show how our ‘Packaging with Integrity’ ethos is part of every element of our business.
From Tennessee to Warsaw, our journey through March's food industry tradeshows not only showcased our diverse product portfolio, but also gave us invaluable insights into industry trends and consumer preferences, which continue to shape our product innovation work.
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