THE OBALKO 8 CONGRESS TOOK PLACE AT THE END OF JANUARY – LIVE AND ONLINE

The eighth edition of the Czech and Slovak packaging congress OBALKO took place on January 27–28, 2021, and offered a rich program. More than 40 speakers inspired Czech and Slovak packaging professionals in two dozen presentations, case studies and panel discussions. The speakers presented live at the Aquapalace Hotel Prague and more than 500 professionals from the Czech and Slovak packaging market participated online via a live online stream. For the first time, the organizers are offering the chance to register after the event and watch the full stream of the congress.

WHAT THE CONGRESS OFFERED THIS YEAR…

Joint morning program on the topic The Customer and Packaging

The congress was opened by three “customers” – representatives of the main fields for the packaging market: Jana Volfová from ŠKODA AUTO (for automotive), Pavel Komůrka from Orkla (for FMCG) and Jaroslav Vodáček from Tesco Stores (for retail). Then Hana Říhová from GfK presented the results of a unique survey on households’ attitudes towards plastic packaging, sorting and recycling. Six key players from the retail and FMCG market outlined how they deal with packaging in their companies with regard to consumers in a panel discussion at the end of the joint block.

Three topical sections: Immerse yourself in the depth of packaging!

This year’s congress again offered three topical sections. New this year is that the sections were not be parallel but followed one other:

Wednesday, January 27 from 13 to 15: Marketing & Design section

As every year, the Marketing & Design section was dedicated to packaging as the fifth “P” in the marketing mix, in addition to the four main parameters: Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Thanks to current case studies, we learned how packaging can help increase sales.

Wednesday, January 27 from 15 to 17: Technology & Transport section

The Technology & Transport section was devoted to topics such as robotics and automation of packaging or transport packaging.

Thursday, January 28 from 9 to 12: Sustainability section

The new feature in this year’s program – the Sustainability section – was focused on the concept of the circular economy, smart design that is optimal for recycling, incorporation of recycled materials into new packaging, and minimizing the negative impact of packaging on the environment.

MISSED THE LIVE STREAM OF THIS YEAR’S CONGRESS?

You can still register for the congress and watch the recording!

One of the advantages of the hybrid nature of this year’s OBALKO congress is that a full-HD recording of the entire congress is available for registered participants. In addition, the organizers allow after-event registration for those who did not have time to watch the congress live but would like to receive their full dose of packaging inspiration. Just register for the event and the organizers will send you a password to watch the full congress recording.

Note: Unfortunately, due to the hybrid nature of the congress, we were not be able to provide simultaneous translation for this year’s edition of OBALKO. The presentations were be in the language of the presenters (primarily Czech or Slovak). We apologize for the inconvenience.