PACK EXPO features education, exhibitors for boosting beverage branding

Beverage brands thirsting for success must balance three critical needs — innovative design, efficient manufacturing and the ability to create unique consumer experiences — and PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2013 (September 23-25, Las Vegas Convention Center) could be a helpful step toward achieving that balance.

With more than 1,600 exhibitors and a full range of packaging and processing equipment, materials and containers under one roof, the show provides access to leading innovations and innovators. And special features help beverage brands advance too.

Attendees from small- and medium-sized beverage businesses can take advantage of the new SMB FastTrack program, with its planning tools and services that make it  easy for qualifying attendees to find technologies to get their products to market faster, streamline operations and stay competitive with larger companies.

The Beverage Cooler lounge, endorsed by the International Society of Beverage Technologists (ISBT), offers attendees beverage-centric networking right on the show floor. Visitors can also seek technical advice from the Ask-the-Expert desk for a different perspective on trends they’re seeing on the show floor.

The Brand Zone returns to PACK EXPO Las Vegas to serve as a center for inspiration for packagers, brand managers and designers. Attendees will find advanced technologies that reduce materials without sacrificing function and appeal, labeling systems that provide greater flexibility and new formats to enhance shelf-appeal.

“The Clemson University Packaging Emporium: Design for the Future” will showcase the impact of package design on consumer behavior and feature a university-pioneered technology for capturing biometric data.

The sold-out Processing Zone is a hub for processing technologies, but only the beginning. Beverage brands will want to explore the entire show to catch all that’s available.

Innovation Stage presentations — free, 30-minute education sessions — will focus on technologies and hot topics for the beverage industry as well as other markets. In the Central Hall, The Center for Trends & Technology (CTT), sponsored by Rockwell Automation and its Partner Network, will be a gathering place for attendees who want to learn about new and emerging technologies to improve production. Attendees can participate in cutting-edge learning sessions and see dynamic displays of trends like network security, line integration, secure remote monitoring, cloud computing and manufacturing convergence.

“With so many avenues to explore at PACK EXPO Las Vegas, beverage professionals can capitalize on all of the show’s features and come away with new ways to set their business apart,” said PMMI President and CEO Charles Yuska.

Register for PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2013 at Packexpo.com. Registration is $30 and includes access to The Beverage Cooler lounge and all educational sessions. Registration increases to $60 after Sept. 9.