LOPEC 2018 and drinktec 2017: Intelligent packaging for the beverage industry

 

The global market for intelligent packaging with printed electronic components is growing rapidly. Messe München is focusing on this topic with two events: drinktec, the world’s leading trade fair for the beverage and liquid food industry, will take place from 11 to 15 September 2017. The drinktec Forum on 14 September will provide information about printed electronics applications in the beverage industry. LOPEC, the international exhibition and conference for the printed electronics industry, will then take place six months later from 13 to 15 March 2018 and will focus, among other things, on smart packaging.

Whether they are organic LEDs on soft drink bottles or forgery-proof RFID labels on spirits, smart labels are making their way into the beverage industry. “Many sectors already use printed electronic components. The thin, lightweight and flexible elements can be integrated perfectly into packaging and labels,” as Wolfgang Mildner, general chair of the LOPEC Conference and CEO of the consulting and technology company MSW, stresses.

Six months before LOPEC, Mildner will look at the potential of printed electronics for beverage manufacturers at drinktec 2017. He will take part as a speaker in the “Smart Packaging enabled by Printed Electronics” drinktec Forum being held in Hall A2 from 14:30 to 16:00 on 14 September. The programme furthermore includes a presentation given by PragmatIC from Cambridge, England, as well as a panel discussion. This session is being organized by the industry association and LOPEC co-organizer OE-A (Organic and Printed Electronics Association).

According to the current OE-A Roadmap, the printing and packaging industry is changing. Packaging is no longer simply used to wrap up products, but is including more and more additional functions. According to an independent market research institute, the global market for smart packaging will increase in value from under US$11bn in 2015 to almost US$27bn in 2024. “We are also seeing the first applications in the beverage industry”, says Mildner.

Printed electronics in the beverage and food sector is far more than just an advertising tool. RFID tags, for example, simplify supply change management by storing information about the entire value and supply chain. Printed temperature sensors can register interruptions in the cold chain.

Caption: NFC tags from Thin Film can provide information about the product (photo: Thin Film)

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