Kai Buentemeyer: Beyond sustainability and brand gimmicks at Interpack

The true value of Interpack lies in the unmatched fragmentation and deep technical specialization of the global packaging machinery industry. For any consumer goods producer facing complex, niche operational variables—such as navigating regional bottle shape preferences, aligning with changing smartphone user behaviors, or managing material shortages—the exhibition floor provided competent engineering interlocutors for almost any specialized requirement. 

However, first-time visitors often found it difficult to navigate this vast technical layout due to a significant shift in corporate messaging.

Exhibitors during the 2026 edition appeared entirely preoccupied with marketing their environmental credentials. Upon approaching a stand, visitors were immediately met with declarations of how a partnership would improve organizational sustainability, making it increasingly difficult to determine whether the company actually manufactured liquid filling systems, secondary cartoning platforms, or flexible packaging materials. 

This current climate likely represents "peak sustainability" for the international packaging sector. By the next edition of the trade fair, environmental compliance will either drop off the central marketing agenda or simply be treated as a standard, baseline manufacturing requirement.

The suppression of industrial artificial intelligence

This pervasive focus on environmental messaging effectively overshadowed the visibility of digital process innovations. Artificial intelligence (AI), specifically advanced image processing and machine learning, was clearly squashed by sustainability marketing across the exhibition halls.

Despite the lack of promotional visibility, these data-driven technologies will soon drive profound structural changes in packaging machinery and downstream manufacturing processes. 

While the majority of these AI-driven software and hardware solutions were not yet mature enough to be commercially ordered on the show floor this year, the landscape will look entirely different at the next event.

The next cycle of development will likely move past the initial marketing hype to deliver functional, ready-to-deploy automated sorting and processing systems.

The shift from machinery to merchandise

The exhibition also highlighted an unusual evolution in trade show marketing strategies by major engineering brands. One world-famous equipment manufacturer chose not to display any physical machinery on its expansive stand. Instead, the company utilized its floor space to run a fully stocked merchandise shop, selling branded hats, mugs, and apparel directly to attendees.

While this represents world-class brand management, it signals a strange departure from the core purpose of an industrial engineering fair. Corporate items that were historically distributed as complimentary promotional giveaways have now been turned into retail commodities. International visitors traveling overseas to Düsseldorf spend significant capital to evaluate physical equipment configurations, mechanical linkages, and structural build quality, rather than purchase corporate gimmicks.

The event did not showcase any revolutionary or trailblazing mechanical breakthroughs. Yet, the fair succeeded in its primary function: serving as an elite troubleshooting arena where international manufacturers could find direct, practical engineering solutions to secure their upcoming product pipelines.