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Highlights And Insights From Foodex 2025!
Foodex Manufacturing Solutions is one of the main trade events in the food industry’s calendar – and our Business Development Team was thrilled to be exhibiting there for the first time!
Bringing together top brands across the food and beverage sectors, as well as their key partners in packaging, processing, and logistics, Birmingham’s NEC hosted hundreds of stalls, a high variety of speakers and sessions, and record numbers of attendees – 14,000 on Day 2!
For three days, we showcased our exceptional food packaging solutions, including our tubs and pails, shaker jars, and glass packaging products for the food sector, as well as debated hot topics such as sustainability, EPR and PCR inclusion in glass products.
The main things that stood out for the Cambrian team – apart from all the free food! – were the huge amount of requests we had for our glass jar ranges and the amount of people who told us they were having issues with buckets arriving damaged and product quality and freshness being compromised.
Here, our Business Development Manager Callum Baker and our Business Development Executives, Jayden Paynter and Sidney Peters, give us their highlights and insights from the show.
Callum Baker, Business Development Manager
“A key highlight for me from our three days exhibiting at Foodex was the huge amount of requests we received for our glass jar ranges! A red-hot topic at the event was sustainability and the associated EPR legislation, and we had lots of questions about how much PCR is included in our glass products.
“Many customers discussed the difficulties of incorporating PCR into glass without ruining the clarity, and were pleasantly surprised when we assured them that our glass jars are beautifully transparent AND contain high levels of PCR (40%, with a target increase to 45% by 2030). Plus, unlike plastic containing PCR, glass containing PCR can be used for foodstuffs. (For a detailed look at all our glass packaging for the food industry, including jars (22ml to 900ml), spice jars, and bottles (10ml to 450ml), please take a look at our food sector brochure.)
“We also had lots of lively discussions with customers and colleagues about the use of glass vs plastic for food packaging. It’s a common conception that glass is better because it’s inert, meaning it doesn’t interact with food or beverages, and preserves taste and freshness, while ensuring safety. In addition, glass packaging has a high-quality, premium appearance, which can often enhance product appeal and brand value. However, EPR could well have a big impact on this because glass is heavier than plastic and will be more costly to recycle. We can only watch and wait to see how the market responds!
“Another big highlight of Foodex was having the opportunity to physically display our food-safe buckets. As a business, we’re really seeing the market for bulk foodstuffs grow bigger by the day, which means our pails, which are ideal for storing bulk products such as sauces, soups and marinades, are becoming extremely popular. When paired with their corresponding snap-on lid, they’re perfect for hot filling and offer a superior tamper-evident package that maintains your product’s integrity and freshness and protects it in storage and in transit.
“Many people came to our stand talking about issues with buckets getting damaged in transit, which was contributing to food spoilage and waste, not to mention loss of profits. Customers said they were having to take extra precautions by boxing up products on a pallet for transportation. We were delighted to be able to tell these customers that extra boxing isn’t necessary with Cambrian buckets, because they’re ingeniously designed with a dotted rim that interlocks them together in transit, ensuring stability and minimising the risk of breakages and lids popping off!
“Our amazing Stacker Buckets and their space-saving capabilities are a big deal for the food industry too! Made from foodsafe PP and with a brimful capacity of 5.9 litres, our 5Ltr White PP Stacker Pail is perfect for the storage of bulk catering ingredients. It can save 30-50% of pallet space, which allows for optimal stacking and pallet utilisation, saving money on transport, storage, and handling costs. Our stacker buckets also feature the dotted rim, mitigating the risk of product damage and waste in transit.”
Jayden Paynter, Business Development Executive
“It was great to meet with so many of our current customers at Foodex and have the opportunity to catch up in person. I had a few really interesting conversations with companies who are experiencing challenges with buckets and also looking for alternative options to glass.
“Problems with buckets and goods being damaged in transit is clearly a big problem for our food industry clients and although glass is increasing in popularity as a great packaging solution for foodstuffs, it remains true that glass products are more difficult to transport and are more likely to have breakages, resulting in more protective packaging costs.
“The potential EPR impacts of glass packaging is also a big problem for many customers, so companies are still very much on the lookout for strong, sturdy, tamper-evident, food-safe plastic packaging products – something we obviously offer in abundance!
“Our huge range of food-safe buckets (with their dotted rim that interlocks pails together to maintain stability in transit), exceptional tubs (with tamper-evident tabs and lids included as standard), and shaker jars (perfect for seasonings, spices, and dry ingredients) offer some of the strongest, most reliable, sustainable, and cost-effective packaging solutions out there.”
Sidney Peters, Business Development Executive
“One of the main insights from Foodex for me was the keen interest customers had in glass packaging. We had a lot of interest in our sauce bottles, for example, which was really exciting, and I enjoyed talking to customers about our brilliant Made To Order service, which can source any kind of sauce bottle (or indeed any glass or plastic packaging) for a minimum order quantity (MOQ). (Please also refer to our food sector brochure for more information on our glass bottles).
“It seems like a lot of customers are leaning towards glass for food packaging because of its inert nature and premium, luxury appearance. At Foodex, I came across many stands where companies were manufacturing jams and preserves and nearly all had their own brand and used glass jars to fill in-house.
“Glass packaging is obviously a key player in food packaging and becoming increasingly popular in the filling sector. Yet, all this may change when EPR fees come in because glass is heavier and will incur higher recycling costs.”
For more information on Highlights And Insights From Foodex 2025! talk to Cambrian Packaging