Many remarkable private labels items were shown this year at the PLMA International Private Label Trade Show in Amsterdam. “This is the place to be to spot innovation,” PLMA President Peggy Davies comments. “Retailers know shoppers want the very best of quality, innovation, and performance. The exhibitors at PLMA’s Annual World of Private Label Trade Show offer products and packaging to support retailers’ product development plans.”
On May 28 and 29, the Amsterdam RAI Convention Centre welcomed more than 17.000 visitors from over 125 countries, who were all keen to find out new trends in products and packaging. PLMA’s International World of Private Label Trade Show was, as it always is, a meeting place for retailers, buyers, category managers, and other visitors who walked the 43,500 m2 trade show floor to browse what the almost 3,000 exhibiting companies from 73 countries offered. A challenging task, given the show floor space and the abundance of food and non-food exhibitors which was 10% larger compared to last year. To guide visitors to identify innovation on the expansive show floor, PLMA’s Idea Supermarket was an area buzzing with trends through hundreds of innovative and newly developed products from retailers and manufacturers around the world.
The 2024 International Private Label Trade Show kicked off on Monday, May 27 with two workshops addressing the topics of how to build a strategic partnership and the evolution of packaging design in the Gen Z era, followed by the seminar program with presentations from Circana and Euromonitor. Picnic the intriguing and trendsetting online-only retailer gave an insight into its clear vision of the future of retailing in Europe whereas Coop Italia gave a speech on its revolutionary approach to private labels.
Among the product trends spotted on the show floor:
Innovative Beverages
Sea water and vinegar are unlikely to be someone’s favorite beverage. Still, product developers succeeded in creating refreshing drinks based on these ingredients. Functional teas with added zinc to support the immune system, or tea, especially for men as it contains herbs to maintain the prostate function. And what about beverages on your bread? Tea is used to create a jelly bread spread, as could be seen in PLMA’s New Product Expo.
Halal and Kosher
A notable number of interesting Halal and Kosher products could be seen, including a Ramadan Calendar for fasting. New items that comply with the requirements of Halal and Kosher are developed to such an extent that they may even allow for special ranges in retailers’ private label architecture.
Functionality in non-food
In non-food private label manufacturers developed functional and surprising unexpected new products, such as a probiotic cleaning cloth, or medical diapers allowing for urine sampling for babies that are sick. The New Product Expo even showed an AI-enabled air fryer that identifies its content and automatically adjusts the cooking time. Similarly remarkable is an aroma therapy product for pets, and in packaging the addition of braille on tampons packaging stands out.
ITALIAN PRIVATE LABELS WIN BIG AT PLMA INTERNATIONAL SALUTE TO EXCELLENCE AWARDS
Once again this year, Italian companies and retailers took center stage at Amsterdam’s trade show. Several Italian retailers distinguished themselves by winning the PLMA International Salute To Excellence Awards for their private-label products. The VéGé Group secured three awards, Pam Panorama claimed an impressive nine awards, while Despar and Crai each garnered two awards for their product excellence.