Celebrating Excellence: UK Packaging Awards 2026

• William Brooks
• May 12, 2026

The UK Packaging Awards 2026 are all set to be launched, and the entry window is now open. As a packaging boxes brand owner, this is your chance to register yourself and get an entry before the time runs out. This year, the organisation is all set to showcase and endorse recycling projects as well as sustainable designs.

In this blog, we are going to dig a little deeper into the UK Packaging Awards and discuss its history, core values, and how you can participate in it. Additionally, we will also inform you about the major segments and the special categories that have just been added. So let's begin!

Location of UK Packaging Awards 2026

The UK Packaging Award Show 2026 will once again celebrate innovation, excellence, and leadership in the supply chain sector and will be held on Wednesday, 7 October 2026, at Hilton Park Lane, London.

Marketing manager of UK Packaging Awards sponsors Claire Stringer-Phillips quoted, "This upcoming packaging event is a demonstration that our industry has some incredible talent and innovative minds, and our team is super excited to witness the achievements that are shaping the future of the packaging industry.”

The event director of Packaging News, Simone Broadhurst, recently quoted regarding the event: 

“This is not merely a partnership; instead, it is a statement. It is a shared commitment from both sides to acknowledge and celebrate sustainability and design as well as performance across the UK packaging industry.”

Now 2026 is all set to reaffirm the commitment. New benchmarks, new entries, and new winners are again shaping the future.

Categories of 2026 Awards

The award show has been divided into more than 24 estimated categories to celebrate packaging innovation. These categories will deeply discuss how to increase product quality and performance for increased sales. The main objective of the awards this year is to inform everyone regarding industry progress and the developing solutions to any critical difficulties offered by manufacturers.

Another amazing feature of the award show is that it will comprise more than 30 judges who are experts in one of the domains of categories that are part of the event. The judges will keenly look for any new or innovative market approaches that might help to improve functionality, material design or development, enhance supply chain efficiency, or strengthen environmental impact.

Special Categories

The 20th edition of the award show has a special prize already announced for supporting the sustainability drive, namely Circular Economy Packaging of the Year.

The main focus of the prize remains on appreciating the solutions that support and encourage approaches that encourage reusing, refilling, or enhancing closed-loop developments. And brands that keep sustainability as their top priority.

Now let's discuss performance-focused categories. A newly added prize category is for ‘Recycling Project of the Year'. This prize is specially intended to honour those who have shown upgraded collection and sorting, as well as recovery operations for various materials of products. 

All the projects that demonstrate innovative infrastructure, introduce new technologies, or show collaboration with companies that are working to improve the quality of recycled materials are eligible to apply. 

As UK packaging awards this year are filled with several new categories, one of them is the Packaging Printer of the Year. Printing is a significant element of product packaging, and its quality decides the level of success of its shelf appeal.

The Packaging Printer of the Year category recognises packaging printers delivering outstanding quality, innovation and performance across the industry.

Additionally, there are also material-specific categories this year included in the UK Packaging 2026 awards, which will keep an eye on any new forms of developments in the packaging sector, specifically for materials that are derived from cardboard, plastics, or glass, which covers both rigid and flexible varieties.

Reflex Group is the New Sponsor

Reflex Group is the UK’s biggest manufacturer of flexible packaging and labels that was founded in 2002. It is currently operating over 27 sites and is the new sponsor of the UK Packaging Awards 2026.

History of the UK Packaging Awards

The UK Packaging Awards are the most renowned packaging industry awards in Britain that are organised every year by Packaging News. The major initiative behind the award show is to recognise and appreciate business leadership, sustainability, innovation, and excellence across the packaging industry. 

The first award show was held almost 20 years ago to celebrate achievements in the packaging sector. The event is mainly known as a meeting ground for converters, manufacturers, designers, brand owners, and packaging suppliers for showcasing best practices as well as innovation.

The award show has evolved over the years, and the trends have been updated. Earlier, the categories used to focus more on packaging manufacturing and design, whereas recently the organisers have shifted focus, highlighting the significance of technological advancement, supply chain connectivity, as well as sustainability. 

With the addition of Packaging Printer of the Year in 2026, the organisers are ready to acknowledge the contribution of printing specialists to the industry and to being a key contributor to consumer engagement, packaging performance, as well as environmental responsibility.

Wrap Up

The UK Packaging Awards are a great opportunity for brands to participate and celebrate sustainability, innovation, and leadership throughout the packaging supply chain. The awards are going to be held on Wednesday, 7 October 2026, at Hilton Park Lane, London.

In this blog, we have given you all the details about the UK Packaging Awards 2026 and their core categories. Here at YBY Boxes UK, we completely encourage such appreciation and recognition of brands booking the UK packaging industry. Check out our website to explore our custom boxes!

Thank you for following our blog!