Wrap Up From Luxe Pack New York

The 2012 edition of Luxe Pack New York—also the New York event’s 10th anniversary—welcomed more than 2,600 attendees, a 10.2% increase over last year’s attendee numbers. The event, which took place at the Altman Building and Metropolitan Pavilion in Manhattan May 16–17, also hosted approximately 140 exhibitors showcasing their latest and greatest luxury packaging options for the beauty industry and beyond.

Accounting for the growing success of the event, Nathalie Grosdidier, Luxe Pack’s executive director, cited its targeted focus and the relationships it’s built over the years in New York. “We’ve been able to remain selective and maintain a quality reputation based on our event in Monaco and this one in New York,” she said. “We always try to propose something new and original and have the event have more boutique-like show feel, which keeps attracting quality attendees and exhibitors. For us, it’s really about style and content.”

“I’ve been involved since Luxe Pack’s first year in Monaco, and what I loved about it is what I still love about it,” said Marc Rosen of Marc Rosen Associates, who also develops and moderates panels at both the Monaco and New York shows. “It’s the only show that is focused on luxury and it’s all about innovation—even 10 years later the focus remains. People really connect; all the suppliers [big and small] take pride in what they’re doing [here], and it’s a testament to the show.”

The 2012 event offered original content through its nine seminars, all designed to help industry leaders stay ahead of the trends and informed about the newest developments in consumer purchasing habits, creativity, R&D, niche marketing and more. Among the featured speakers were L’Oréal USA’s Maria Archambault, Stylesight’s Sharon Graubard, The Estée Lauder Companies’ Henry Renella, and Donna Sturgess of Buyology Inc.

GCI associate editor Abby Penning moderated the final panel of the event, “New Innovations from Exhibitors,” with panelists including Sheherazade Chamlou of SGD North America, Marianna Cilauro of Cosmogen, Boris Schaefer of Neopac, Hee Jeong Son of Anisa International, Derek Harvey of Fusion Packaging, and a video presentation from Curtis Packaging featuring John Giusto. Their presentations featured new developments, products and ideas from their respective companies, and the new innovations covered fragrance products, skin care packaging options, cosmetic brush trends and innovations, creative secondary packaging collaborations, eco-friendly options and more, as well as how these innovations are meeting and even anticipating current consumer trends.

Ideas and conversations also flowed on the exhibition floor as attendees and exhibitors interacted, discussing needs and solutions, tools and options, collaborations and partnerships, product uses and new trends that packaging is being developed to meet. “We try to bring ideas and inspiration each year,” Grosdidier commented. “We look for inspirational designs and creativity, and highlight quality and innovation and thoughtful ways packaging is meeting trends—we always want to be ahead of the market. We want evolving ideas and inspiring opportunities and creative new capabilities and materials.”

Special exhibits on the exhibition floor focused on some of these assets, including the Luxe Pack Innovation Forum, the Material ConneXion Lab, and the Pratt Institute “Marc Rosen Scholarship and Education Fund for Packaging by Design at Pratt Institute” student designs.

And to celebrate its 10 years in New York, Luxe Pack held a cocktail party on the evening of May 16, co-sponsored by GCI magazine, that recognized the event’s growth over the past decade. “We hadn’t really stopped to celebrate it until now,” Grosdidier noted, “but it’s a great time to show how pleased we are to have been able to bring this together for the past 10 years.”

The next Luxe Pack event is Luxe Pack Monaco, set to take place October 24–26 at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, and Luxe Pack Shanghai is set for the Shanghai International Convention Center April 23–24, 2013, while the 2013 edition of Luxe Pack New York will again take place in May.

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