Program
Current topics, inspiring presentations, top speakers...Registration
The opening words of the congress
Morning program
The secret dimension of packaging
As packaging professionals, we constantly strive to develop the perfect packaging for our products, trying to make sure that our packaging covers all of the different dimensions. But how often do we think about the secret dimension of packaging: our own personal packaging. What is the key to getting and maintaining clients? What are the basic principles of etiquette that help us in business negotiations? How can we build win-win relationships with our clients that lead to long-term cooperation? Why do we lose clients that we have worked so hard to acquire? More than we think, our own personal packaging – how we present ourselves to others – has a major impact on our success in business. And who better to advise us on how to improve our personal packaging – our business etiquette – than the master of etiquette himself, Ladislav Špaček?
Finding packaging balance while riding the sustainability wave
A sustainability wave is rolling through the packaging industry. Consumers, retailers and branded companies, not to mention legislators and investors, are driving the topic at breathtaking speed. While we certainly have to close loops and reduce the CO2 footprint, it is necessary to not lose sight of basic packaging tasks. Regardless of sustainability activities, product protection and supporting the consumer in his or her purchasing decisions remain non-negotiable. The one who only follows market dynamics will fail. We need independent strategies, and we must work to recreate structures, processes and products. Tips on how to find the right packaging balance in these turbulent times will be offered by the former chairman of the board of the German Packaging Institute, a leading packaging consultant and one of the world’s biggest packaging experts, Thomas Reiner.
Morning coffee break
Panel discussion: The three dimensions of the packaging
What is the right packaging? Simply 3D. Yes, it has width, depth and height. But the three basic dimensions of packaging are also protection, marketing and circularity. Thus, consumer packaging must protect the product, sell it well and at the same time be perfectly recyclable. The three dimensions of packaging are the main topic not only of the 9th edition of the packaging congress OBALKO as a whole, but also of the traditional panel discussion, the highlight of the morning conference block.
Hear the views of market leaders on how their companies internally balance the various demands on packaging. Learn how the different departments of production companies work together to find the right balance among sustainability, marketing and construction. And let’s look more closely at the relationships between the different players on the market – packaging suppliers, producers and distributors of packaged goods and retailers – and how common approaches are found to developing and implementing the ideal 3D package.
Moderator: Stanislav Břeň, editor-in-chief of the magazine Svět balení
Lunch break & BizPACK
Afternoon sessions
Marketing & design session
The Marketing & design session is 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 will find out how packaging can help increase sales.
Moderator: Petr Hříbal, editor-in-chief of the magazine Zboží&Prodej
Technology & transport session
The Technology & transport session deals with topics such as robotics and automation of packaging, transport of packaging, identification and marking of packaging.
Moderator: Stanislav Břeň, editor-in-chief of the magazine Svět balení
Afternoon coffee break
Sustainability session
The Sustainability session is focused on the concept of circular economy, smart design that is optimal for recycling, incorporating recycled materials into new packaging and minimizing the negative impact of packaging on the environment.
Moderator: Jeffrey Osterroth, general manager of ATOZ Group
Evening program
Obal roku ceremony
Award ceremony and awarding of trophies and certificates. The gold, silver and bronze prize winners will be announced at the end of the ceremony by the chair of the jury.
Obal roku is the only certified packaging competition designed for Czech and foreign companies with innovative packaging solutions. The aim of the competition is to highlight and then promote the best ideas, innovations and technologies in the packaging that appear on the market.
Packaging Business Mixer
At this year’s Packaging Business Mixer, you can look forward to 3D-style fun!
After the all-day conference, the traditional Packaging Business Mixer is ready for participants. The mixer is a VIP meeting of packaging experts in a pleasant, informal, evening atmosphere with a special program. Its main goal is networking between the packaging professionals who regularly attend this important social event and users of packaging solutions. You can continue your discussions over a glass of wine or start new ones. And definitely don’t throw away your 3D glasses, as they will come in handy at the Packaging Business Mixer.
This year, the Packaging Business Mixer will take place in the restaurant right next to the congress hall. It will start right after the Obal roku awards ceremony at 20:00.
3D, as in three great singers!
The whole evening will be accompanied by the band Prague Rockabilly Cats with its three amazing singers. They will play music in the rediscovered rockabilly style. Thanks to rock elements and perfect triple voices, this rock-and-roll sounds absolutely in tune.
3D, as in a trip to virtual reality!
The unique equipment of the Brno-based company RentFun will take us into the world of virtual reality. You can look forward to a top racing simulator with an overload of up to 2G. You can get in a historic car from 1937, or race on the track in Italy in 1966. Or take part in a race through Prague and ride on the Charles Bridge, for example.
If you don’t want to sit in a car, you can put on your glasses and climb Mount Everest, dive into the wreck of the Titanic, explore the wreckage of Chernobyl, or even go deep into the human cell. Where you go depends only on you! But be sure not to miss this!
3D, as in 3D creativity!
Can you draw in 3D? We probably all know 3D printers, but have you ever tried working with a 3D pen? You will be able to create 3D objects at the Packaging Business Mixer using such pens. We have prepared a wide range of colored filaments for you, so your creativity has absolutely no limits. And if you accidentally forget your inner art muse at home, there will be a wide selection templates from which you can draw.
Packaging revolution in FMCG
Packaging aids in food protection, it plays its important commercial-marketing role as a “signboard” information shield, and at the same time it serves as an attraction of its content. However, an increasingly important aspect is the effort to maximize the sustainability of food packaging so that it has the least possible negative impact on the environment. The complete transformation of its packaging range is currently a major challenge for Danone, which is working hard to achieve 100% recyclability and reusability of its packaging by 2025. How is this global food company tackling the packaging revolution in its plants and how does it approach communication with consumers in the field of circular packaging? And will augmented reality help address the information needs of packaging? Don’t miss this exclusive presentation by Gabriela Kobesová, who holds the position of R&I director of CEN at Danone.
POS/POP post Covid: Searching for the right direction
Retail changed dramatically during the pandemic. On the one hand, brands had to start finding other ways to distribute their products and services. On the other hand, customers themselves have defined and confirmed a new retail paradigm, where individual sales channels do not compete with each other, but are interconnected. How has this situation affected POS/POP materials and campaigns? What changes have the clients made in the area of in-store marketing communication? Should we prepare for the limitations of in-store marketing? You will learn all this and a little more from the point of view of the clients as well as an agency representative. POS/POP communication is a complex and complicated industry that has been made even more difficult by the pandemic. But we are at a crossroads, and we need to find the right direction.
Digital packaging fits, works and sells
There is little doubt that packaging sells. But how does it actually do it? In order to be modern, it must evolve with time and adapt to current market, logistics and customer requirements. Digital technologies can help with that. And how does it work in practice? In this exclusive case study, you will learn why a manufacturer of such a traditional product as Becherovka uses the latest digital technology. Using a single, specific example, Radi Uzunov from Jan Becher Pernod Ricard and Petr Kaczor from THIMM pack’n‘display will show you the benefits that modern digital packaging brings. The secret of Becherovka will probably not be revealed to you during the presentation, but you will certainly learn the story of its modern packaging in detail.
Connected packaging – fad or the future?
Brands face numerous key challenges every day, from facilitating user engagement to increasing brand loyalty and collecting customer insights. Connected packaging, which is defined as the integration of technology within product packaging design, can help. In this exclusive presentation, Jenny Stanley, the founder and managing director of Appetite Creative, will discuss the benefits of connected packaging: how it adds value to advertising campaigns, improves customer engagement and loyalty and encourages recycling behavior, as well as how to best utilize this adaptable and flexible media channel. Jenny will also share case-study insights from a range of big-brand clients including Tetra Pak, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, as well as practical ways to apply connected packaging. Last but not least, Jenny will share her expert view on how connected packaging can deliver a blend of engagement and data allowing brands to make better product decisions and plan more effective marketing campaigns.
Caution! Painted green
Today’s world is a world of sustainable behavior. The vast majority of companies apply this trend to their business and then inform their shareholders and the general public about it. Sometimes, however, it turns out that the chosen form and content of communication is not entirely appropriate and relevant. So let’s take a look at what greenwashing is and how companies (often unknowingly) commit it. In addition to a theoretical explanation of the term and its origin, we will look at its application in practice and recommend how to avoid it.
A label worthy of the product
The family-owned Slovak printer Litograf believes that the primary function of packaging is product representation. Through its cooperation with Konica Minolta, it has developed a simple, client-focused system for producing labels for its client’s products. At the OBALKO congress, representatives of both companies, Jaroslav Vidra from Litograf together with Peter Lauko and Tomáš Kugler from Konica Minolta, will discuss how they create graphic design tailored to the customer, how they optimize the production process, and how modern technologies help them differentiate their customers’ products from everyone else’s.
Blockchain in packaging – experiences, uses and the outlook for the future
Blockchain technology, known mainly from the world of cryptocurrencies, is gradually being used in the corporate sphere as well. Tracking the origin of goods and protecting against counterfeiting were some of the first areas where very early on (2017) experiments with blockchain and DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) for decentralized transaction processing in general began. In this presentation, we therefore summarize the situation as of 2021, what are the previous experiences and typical cases of use. We will also present several real projects that have achieved greater expansion abroad (FoodTrust, Everledger) and mention the first Czech project (ELA Chain), which has ambitions to gain a foothold in this area and some new methods of origin protection (Crypto Anchors) used in conjunction with blockchain.
Case study: The automation of graphic data for the processing of labels
Twelve years ago, the Slovak label producer Purgina decided that it needed to automate the processing of data. While it may have seemed unnecessary at the time on the local market, the company was inspired by similar companies abroad. Based on long-term cooperation and mutual trust, Purgina entered into cooperation with the technology supplier M & P, choosing the solutions of the company Esko, which M & P has represented in Slovakia for many years.
Today, the system is lively and functional, and the people at Purgina cannot imagine running the company without it. What concrete steps were taken? What impact did the new system have on workflows? How did Purgina’s customers benefit from the new system? And what are the plans for future development? These questions and more will be answered in a unique, interactive case study by representatives of both the customer and the supplier of the technology, exclusively at the OBALKO congress.
Panel discussion: The complex simplicity of the pallet market
Pallets have always been one of the main packaging and logistics topics. Interest in this area has skyrocketed during the pandemic, which has severely disrupted supply chains. Thus, the tough situation resulting from the lack and high prices of wood was exacerbated by a shortage of fasteners. The prices of wooden pallets, which make up 90% of the market, have soared, while plastic, metal or cardboard pallets have also become more expensive. Companies are logically asking when the growth in prices will stop. But we have more questions for panelists:
- How will the new post-pandemic economic norm support or dampen interest in pallet pooling?
- Will pallet rental rates increase?
- How can a company optimize its pallet management?
- Will digital pallet sharing and exchange platforms reverse the market status quo?
- Is it worth repairing pallets?
- For which applications are different types of materials and pallet sizes suitable?
- When will the pallets communicate electronically within the chain or with the goods themselves?
- And what pallet innovations are on the horizon?
Moderator: Stanislav Břeň, editor-in-chief of the magazine Svět balení
Panel discussion: The world is changing, and with it packaging
Representatives of companies that have been on the market since the last century will discuss packaging and its development in recent history in relation to the impact of packaging on the environment. How and why did the packaging and its functions change? What should the optimal packaging look like? When did customers start demanding environmentally friendly packaging?
The panel discussion will be led by Petr Šikýř (operations director of EKO-KOM)
Case study: A first true test of paper bottles
In the past years, prototypes of paper bottles have started to appear on the market. One of the first true tests of this new packaging solution took place in the summer of 2021, when the online retailer Kifli.hu (part of the Rohlik Group) offered 2,000 bottles of the plant-based beverage AdeZ from the Coca-Cola Company to its customers. The goal of the test was to measure how the packaging performed as well as how people responded to the new format. In an exclusive cast study at the OBALKO congress, Szilárd Vargyas, the trade marketing manager of Kifli.hu and the person in charge of the AdeZ project, will present the results of the test of this pioneering packaging technology.
You can read more about the project (in Czech) here:
Coca-Cola otestuje na evropském trhu první prototyp papírové láhve
A sustainable solution for beer multipacks
Shrink wrap as a wrapper for can mulitpack has found a worthy successor. Something innovative, from renewable sources and without plastics. The fully paper TopClip packaging was used for the first time in the Czech Republic by the craft mini-brewery Clock from Potštejn, and the Svijany brewery has also recently included it in its portfolio. In this exclusive dual case study, hear all of the details of the implementation of this new innovative packaging from representatives of both breweries and from the supplier, Smurfit Kappa.
Deposit return of PET bottles and cans: What will it be like in Slovakia from January 2022?
While many European countries, the Czech Republic included, drag their feet on implementing a deposit return system for PET bottles and cans, Slovakia is aggressively moving forward to implement its system by January 2022. How will this system look in practice? How will it function and who will finance it? What are the obligations of various subjects cooperating in the system – producers of beverages, producers of beverage packaging and retailers? What are the objectives of the system, especially in terms of environmental impact? And what is being done to educate consumers? Learn all about the progress in establishing the deposit return system in Slovakia directly from the person leading the initiative, Lucia Morvai from the Deposit Return System Administrator, exclusively at OBALKO.
Sustainability is about finding ways
What beverage packaging is the most environmentally friendly? Kofola ČeskoSlovensko has long been asking itself how to produce its products as respectfully as possible to nature, while ensuring the constant quality of beverages and maintaining comfort for consumers. After bolstering its portfolio with essentially package-free draft drinks, which are distributed in reusable stainless steel barrels, it began packaging its mineral waters in 100% recycled PET (rPET) bottles. And this year it is bringing to the market another innovation – as part of the Cirkulka project, it also wants to sell popular drinks in returnable glass in retail. Why did it decide for this step? What other packaging innovations is the company working on? And what other topics are key for Kofola in the overall sustainability strategy? Kofola’s chief, Jannis Samaras, will talk about all of this and more.
Visit to the new “Digital Factory” of Thimm pack’n’display in Všetaty
We are breaking down old procedures for solving POS projects! We will introduce you to the new pos4you platform and our “digital factory” in Všetaty.
Get ready for modern production facilities with the highest degree of robotics and digitization, which you will not see anywhere else. We will show you a new corrugating machine and a unique machine for processing corrugated cardboard with a digital laser cut. We will also introduce you to a completely new and unique pos4you concept, which offers a complete service for solving POS projects from A to Z and will ensure easy and perfect visibility of products at POS. Our concept brings a revolutionary idea and is the only one in the Czech Republic. Don’t miss it. Come and find out how the production of packaging and POS project solutions couldn’t be easier!
If you are interested in taking part in the trip, please write us at: lucie.fischerova@atoz.cz
Packaging in action
Trip to CANPACK and Plzeňský Prazdroj
Trip to the new CANPACK can plant in Stříbro and to the Plzeňský Prazdroj brewery in Pilsen
CANPACK: A billion cans a year
The sales of cans have boomed during the pandemic. In particular, breweries had to switch from kegs to this packaging format within a few days. As part of Packaging in Action, we will go to the CANPACK plant in Stříbro near Tachov, where they experienced this rebirth just at the time when they started a new factory for 100 million euros. It is capable of producing up to a billion beverage cans per year. In the plant, we get acquainted with the entire process of production of a beverage can, from the delivery of aluminum rolls, through stamping the base of the can, shaping its body, cleaning, internal coating, external decoration, inspection to palletizing and storage. CANPACK’s largest customer is Plzeňský Prazdroj, which it supplies just-in-time.
Plzeňský Prazdroj: The largest brewery in the Czech Republic
When visiting Plzeňský Prazdroj in the “capital of beer”, we will visit the brewery and bottling plant in particular. We will therefore get acquainted with the basic parts of beer production and packaging, although due to anti-epidemic measures there will be no direct access to packaging lines. Plzeňský Prazdroj has a very strong returnable packaging agenda – most sales in the Czech Republic are more or less related to bottles, kegs or beer tanks. Recently, however, packaging in cans has increased significantly. Among other things, the brewery has committed itself to being carbon neutral in beer production by 2030, reducing the use of plastics to a minimum and avoiding non-recycled plastics altogether. The participants of the excursion will thus receive complete information not only about the current packaging portfolio of the largest Czech brewery but also about its future direction.
If you are interested in taking part in the trip, please write us at: lucie.fischerova@atoz.cz
