American Packaging Summit

MAY 14-15, 2026

9th Annual

American Packaging Summit

The Westin Chicago Lombard - Chicago, IL

Past Speakers

Leland Maschmeyer
Chief Creative Officer
Chobani
Oliver Campbell
Director, Distinguished Engineer, Product Development Engineering and Packaging Engineering
Dell Technologies
Craig Slavtcheff
EVP, Chief R&D and Innovation Officer
Campbell Soup Company
Ann Tracy
Chief Sustainability Officer
Colgate-Palmolive
Shimei Fan
Chief Scientific and Sustainability Officer
Coty
Michael Okoroafor, Ph.D.
Chief Sustainability Officer
McCormick & Company

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Featured Attendees

ABOUT THE AMERICAN PACKAGING SUMMIT

The Generis American Packaging Summit (APS) is a leading packaging event where the packaging industry’s top minds unite to share ideas, build connections, and shape the future.

Our packaging conference is designed to provide packaging executives with current trends, strategic insights, and best practices related to packaging innovation, packaging design, packaging materials, packaging engineering, and branding. With a focus on fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange, the summit brings together leaders from across all industry sectors, including food & beverage, consumer packaged goods, cosmetics, pharma, retail, toys, and more - involved in the business of packaging. Unlike a traditional packaging expo, our summit provides packaging executives with an abundance of opportunities to network with fellow industry leaders and gain insights from solution providers.

Join over 250 packaging leaders to engage with pioneering solution providers, network with peers across industries, and gain actionable strategies to accelerate innovation, sustainability, and business growth in today’s fast-evolving packaging landscape.

Key Themes

Advancing the circular economy by integrating recyclable materials, rPET, and advanced recycling technologies into mainstream packaging.
Innovating with compostable, paper, and biomaterial solutions to meet evolving global sustainability regulations.
Reducing packaging footprints through lightweighting strategies in carton, film, and corrugate packaging.
Scaling closed-loop packaging systems by aligning suppliers, brands, and consumers in sustainable practices.
Enhancing recyclability with clear labeling, digital markers, and consumer-friendly disposal instructions.
Incorporating aluminum and alternative substrates to balance durability, functionality, and eco-performance.
Accelerating adoption of renewable biomaterials and biodegradable polymers to replace virgin plastics.
Optimizing lifecycle management to reduce waste across primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging.
Addressing cost-to-value tradeoffs in sustainable packaging by balancing affordability and performance.
Building trust in sustainability claims through transparent certifications, verifications, and consumer education.

Reinventing consumer engagement through bold packaging aesthetics combined with sustainable design.
Blending graphic design and digital printing to create premium, customizable brand experiences.
Using foiling, textures, and tactile finishes to elevate packaging quality and perceived value.
Integrating brand storytelling into package structure, typography, and print innovations.
Designing flexible packaging formats that balance portability, shelf presence, and sustainability.
Streamlining design-to-market processes with 3D rendering, prototyping, and virtual testing.
Ensuring global compliance while maintaining local relevance in branding and labeling.
Leveraging minimalism and eco-design principles to communicate authenticity and responsibility.
Connecting primary and secondary packaging designs for seamless consumer experiences.
Aligning cross-functional teams—design, legal, and marketing—to ensure brand integrity across markets.

Driving efficiency through automation, robotics, and AI-enabled packaging production.
Scaling digital printing and flexographic printing to enable faster, cost-effective customization.
Deploying smart labeling and connected packaging to improve traceability and consumer interaction.
Leveraging 3D rendering and simulation technologies to shorten product development cycles.
Implementing advanced recycling technologies to transform post-consumer waste into usable feedstock.
Integrating digital twins and predictive analytics to optimize packaging supply chains.
Advancing flexible packaging technologies with improved barrier properties and sustainability features.
Enhancing quality assurance through data-driven inspection and real-time monitoring.
Exploring next-gen substrates, coatings, and barrier films to extend product shelf life.
Building resilient packaging operations with cloud-based platforms and digital integration across partners.

ADDITIONAL PACKAGING TOPICS

3D and Digital Printing
Aluminum Packaging
Bag, Film and Pouch Packaging
Design Workflow
E-Commerce

Plastic Films
Primary Packaging
Smart Packaging
Waste Management

View the Program

The American Packaging Summit Experience

250+ Senior Leaders
250+ Business Meetings Onsite
Hear Thought Provoking Case Studies
Learn Key Implementable Ideas & Solutions

Testimonials

By coming to summits like this, you can connect across the entire packaging ecosystem—from suppliers to CPGs to government officials—and those cross-connections are what help us take our packaging portfolios into the future.

VP, Packaging Research and Innovation
Danone

I love this format—it’s a great opportunity to share what we’re doing, build brand awareness, and most importantly, learn from other leaders in the space.

Senior Director, Sustainability
Carter’s

This is the best packaging conference. The breadth of the speaker lineup and their content is incredible.

Director & Distinguished Engineer
Dell Technologies

Fantastic! I appreciate the smaller format that encourages collaboration and networking. Topics are varied and interesting. Thank you for a very valuable 2 days!

Associate Brand Manager
Seagram’s Escapes

This is a great summit for a more in-depth look at packaging than a large packaging tradeshow. The topics were relevant and impactful.

Senior Packaging Engineer
Reynolds Consumer Products

The event never disappoints whether it’s the speakers, topics or location. The networking opportunity is second to none.

Corporate Packaging Engineer
Brasscraft

I love meeting people outside my day-to-day—it’s a great space to learn from others in the industry, hear what challenges they’re facing, and share ideas that spark new thinking.

Director, Design and Packaging
McDonald’s

This summit really focuses on collaboration. The breakout time to meet with folks, share ideas, and understand challenges that a broader array of stakeholders are facing is really key, and I appreciate that about the conference.

Principal Sustainability Lead, Packaging and Content
Microsoft

This is the best packaging conference. The breadth of the speaker lineup and their content is incredible.

Director & Distinguished Engineer
Dell Technologies

Fantastic! I appreciate the smaller format that encourages collaboration and networking. Topics are varied and interesting. Thank you for a very valuable 2 days!

Associate Brand Manager
Seagram’s Escapes

This is a great summit for a more in-depth look at packaging than a large packaging tradeshow. The topics were relevant and impactful.

Senior Packaging Engineer
Reynolds Consumer Products

The event never disappoints whether it’s the speakers, topics or location. The networking opportunity is second to none.

Corporate Packaging Engineer
Brasscraft

Sponsorship Opportunities

The American Packaging Summit is a packaging conference that provides unique sponsorship opportunities for innovative solutions in packaging within the food & beverage, CPG, cosmetics, pharma, retail, toys industry and more. These organizations gain direct access to VPs, Directors, and Senior Executives involved in packaging innovation, packaging design, packaging sustainability, and packaging quality. Build your best path to conversion through direct engagement and generate measurable results using our customized packages, extensive networking opportunities, trademarked Marketing 365 initiative and organized 1-to-1 meetings.

MARKETING 365®

Our trademarked Marketing 365 initiative allows you to extend your brand beyond our brick-and-mortar packaging event to include personalized graphics, content sharing, original content generation, and more – all as part of your package!

PRE-QUALIFIED ONE-TO-ONE MEETINGS

Our one-to-one meetings go beyond speed dating, providing you with the opportunity to pre-qualify potential meeting candidates and make adjustments to your meeting schedule before the onsite one-to-one meetings at our packaging conference.

LIMITED NUMBER of exhibitors

We limit the number of sponsors at our packaging conference to ensure that quality packaging interactions occur on the floor. We bring only the most relevant, capable and credible thought leaders to our events to meet with our delegates and speaker faculty.

Senior Level Delegates

Our executive packaging event is invitation only. Registrations are only granted to delegates who meet our strict qualification and seniority standards.

Thought Leadership

Unlike other packaging conferences, speaking opportunities at Generis events are tailored to your needs. We offer you direct access to a highly targeted audience that makes the decision on what their business will do next. Join our speaker faculty!

ONLINE DELEGATE CATALOG

Full access to specific and detailed business intelligence on each attending delegate, including a detailed profile and their key areas of focus/investment via our proprietary attendee database.

To ensure the exclusivity of our packaging conference, we have password protected our pages. Access is granted to qualified individuals and companies who meet the requirements for attendance. To Request Access to our gated pages, please contact us.

To find out more about sponsorship opportunities and the range of services offered in our packages, please contact us and we will follow up with you shortly.

speaker interviews

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Venue

The Westin Chicago Lombard

70 Yorktown Shopping Center, Lombard, IL 60148, United States
+1 630-719-8000

Get in Touch

606 – 555 Richmond Street West

P.O. Box 119

Toronto, ON M5V 3B1

Canada

Phone+1 (416) 298 7005

Emailinfo@generisgp.com

HoursM–F: 8:30am–5:30pm EST

MAY 14-15, 2026

9th Annual