interpack 2026
Düsseldorf.

What interpack is, in two lines

interpack is the world’s leading fair for the packaging industry and related processes: it covers the entire value chain, from packaging materials to packaging machinery, through to process technologies for food, beverage, confectionery, bakery, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and non-food consumer and industrial goods. It is held in Düsseldorf on a three-year cycle, ever since its first edition in 1958. The 2026 edition (7-13 May) closed as a record edition for number of exhibitors, with 2.804 companies from 65 countries and around 127.000 trade visitors from 161 countries, roughly 75% of them from abroad.

Numbers this big hide a simple operational fact: at interpack almost no purchasing decision closes at the stand. A packaging line or a supply of materials is a technical and budget choice that matures in the following weeks, between specification comparisons, tests and follow-up visits. That is why the number of contacts collected matters less, and the quality with which you record and follow up on them matters a great deal more: whoever arrives on the Monday after the fair with tidy, qualified records already in the CRM plays with a huge advantage over whoever comes back with a deck of cards to decipher.

What to exhibit, where to exhibit

interpack occupies the entire Düsseldorf fairground: the permanent halls 1-17 host the main fair, while the temporary outdoor halls 18a and 18b host the satellite components - processes and packaging, dedicated to components and automation solutions (around 100 exhibiting companies). The layout logic follows the chain: areas for packaging materials and technologies, areas for packaging machinery and automation, areas for process technologies aimed at the different end markets (food, pharma, cosmetics, consumer goods).

Position your stand in line with the point of the chain you work in and with the end market you want to cover: a materials producer makes sense near food/non-food demand, a machine builder near the process flow, a component supplier should seriously consider visibility in the satellite components halls 18a/b. Practical tip: with a fairground this large, visitors plan thematic routes via the floor plan and matchmaking. Define in advance the two or three keywords you want to be found under in the catalogue and the app, and make sure your exhibitor profile contains them: most of the targeted traffic comes from there, not from random passers-by.

Visitor profile

interpack is a fair for industry insiders, strongly international: roughly three quarters of visitors come from abroad and a very high share belongs to top and middle management. This is an audience that comes to decide, not to browse. In practical terms you can expect a breakdown along these lines:

• Packaging and material producers and converters (around 25-30%): looking for materials, semi-finished products and conversion technologies.
• Food, beverage, confectionery and bakery companies (around 20-25%): the historic core of demand, oriented towards packaging lines and process solutions.
• Pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry (around 15-20%): an audience demanding on traceability, serialisation and quality standards.
• Non-food consumer goods and industrial goods (around 15%): secondary packaging, automation, end-of-line.
• Technical and purchasing functions across all sectors: production, packaging-engineering, supply-chain managers and buyers, often with decision-making power or strong influence over spending.

The operational consequence: most of those who step into the stand hold a senior role and have little time. The conversation should go straight to the use case, and it should be recorded while it is still fresh, because in a day of dozens of contacts the details blur quickly.

How to prepare in the 4 weeks before the event

Week -4: message audit

Review what you communicate and to whom. With an international, multi-sector audience, a generic message (“packaging solutions”) gets lost. Decide on the two or three priority segments (e.g. pharma vs food vs converter) and prepare a different opening line for each. Align your catalogue and app exhibitor profile to the same keywords: that is where qualified traffic comes from.

Week -3: stand operations playbook

Define who does what at the stand over seven days: shifts, roles (who welcomes, who qualifies, who runs the technical demo), and above all a single method for recording contacts. Establish that every useful conversation ends up in a structured record, not on a card. This is the moment to activate a capture tool like Linkly and test it with the whole team, so that during the fair it is already second nature.

Week -2: 3-question qualification form

Reduce qualification to the essentials: three questions staff can ask naturally during the conversation. For interpack these work well, for example: (1) role/function and end market (food, pharma, cosmetics, non-food); (2) what they are concretely looking for (material, machine, component, complete line); (3) timeline and project stage (exploration, specification in progress, budget approved). Three quick answers are enough to separate the ready buyer from the casual visitor.

Week -1: CRM integration

Connect capture to the CRM before you leave, not afterwards. The goal is for every contact collected at the stand to land directly in the CRM with the event tag, the qualification answers and a voice note from the operator recalling the context of the conversation. Run an end-to-end test with a dummy contact: scan, qualify, note, arrival in the CRM. If the flow holds up in testing, it holds up in peak hours too.

Is the official interpack app worth it?

Yes, and for navigation it is worth using. The official Messe Düsseldorf app (iOS and Android) offers an interactive hall floor plan, exhibitor and product search, a favourites list synced with the portal, personalised recommendations, an in-app ticket with QR code and the fair news; there is also a dedicated app, interpack Matchmaking, to connect with relevant contacts. All of this is excellent for getting your bearings and for being found by the right visitors.

What the official app does not do is manage your leads as a company. It does not export contacts to your CRM, it does not enrich them with company data, it does not structure qualification, it does not build the follow-up and it does not hand you a tidy report for the sales management. It is designed for the visitor, not for your sales process. On top of that, matchmaking and features change from edition to edition, so it is not a foundation to build a repeatable method on. For that you need a capture system of your own: with Linkly you scan the contact, record the qualification answers and a voice note, and everything arrives in the CRM already tagged by event, ready to be enriched and followed up on. It is exactly the piece the app does not cover. Here is how Linkly works.

What to do during the 7 days of the fair

Day 1 (Thursday)

Opening and calibration. Traffic starts strong but the first day also serves to fine-tune the method: check that capture works, that the three qualification questions flow naturally and that records reach the CRM. Fix any friction straight away, because you will be repeating it for another six days.

Day 2 (Friday)

First full day. Traffic is high and many technical professionals arrive. Keep the pace on qualification: ten complete records beat thirty names with no context. Start sending out the first warm follow-ups, that same evening, on the most qualified contacts.

Day 3 (Saturday)

A day of sustained traffic, with international visitors too concentrating their visit over the weekend. It is often one of the decisive days: take care of the technical demos and use the voice note to fix the details of the most promising conversations.

Day 4 (Sunday)

Peak of audience and decisions. In a seven-day fair the heart of the week is when buyers with real projects cluster together. Concentrate the most senior people of the team at the stand here and give absolute priority to recording quality: these are the contacts you will want to recontact first.

Day 5 (Monday)

An intense business day, with strictly professional profiles returning at the start of the week. Excellent for the appointments set in the previous days and for picking up the weekend’s warm leads with a second contact at the stand.

Day 6 (Tuesday)

Traffic still good but more targeted. Use the day to close open conversations, confirm the next steps (technical call, sending of the specification, visit) and enrich the records of the best contacts while the memory is fresh.

Day 7 (Wednesday)

Closing day, lower traffic but often high quality: those who come on the last day often have a precise reason. Spend the time finalising records, completing missing notes and checking that every contact is in the CRM with tag and qualification answers. Walk out of the fair with the database already ready, not with a backlog of work.

What to do in the 7 days after the fair

There is only one rule: speed of response counts more than message perfection. At interpack buyers have seen hundreds of stands; whoever calls back first, with a credible context, starts ahead.

• Within 24 hours: contact the warm leads (qualification “budget approved” or “specification in progress”) with a personalised message that recalls the conversation at the stand. The recorded voice note lets you write something specific, not a copy-paste.
• Within 7 days: work the lukewarm leads with technical material targeted at their end market (food, pharma, cosmetics, non-food) and propose a concrete step: a technical call, a sample, a site visit.
• Within 14 days: pick up those who did not reply with a second touch and enrich the records with the missing company data to prioritise the highest-potential contacts.
• Within 30 days: take stock. Which segments converted best? How many records became real opportunities? That is the figure that steers the next edition and that management wants to see.

This flow - capture, enrichment, qualification, follow-up - is exactly the path Linkly automates with its six AI agents: from the raw contact collected at the stand to the enriched, qualified record that lands in the CRM ready to be followed up on. No evening spent transcribing cards, no leads going cold while they wait.

Practical FAQ

How much does it cost to exhibit at interpack?

The cost depends on floor space, hall and stand type (pre-built module or bare space to fit out). As a rough guide, at an international fair of this size in Düsseldorf a small stand typically starts in the order of tens of thousands of euros all-in (space, fit-out, services, logistics, staff), while major presences rise much higher. Request the official price list from Messe Düsseldorf and always reason in terms of cost per qualified lead, not cost of space: that is the number that tells you whether the fair went well.

Which is the best day to staff the stand with the senior team?

The heart of the week, roughly the central part of the seven days, is when buyers with concrete projects concentrate. If you have to choose where to put your most experienced people and the decision makers, put them there. The last day has less traffic but often high quality: keep it well staffed.

When is it best to register the entry ticket?

Online and in advance. For visitors, early registration on the interpack portal is standard practice and speeds up access; the ticket lives in the app with a QR code. As an exhibitor, tell your guests to register early: it cuts queues and increases the chance that the people you want to see actually reach the stand.

Is there an alternative to collecting paper business cards?

Yes, and it is the thing that makes the biggest difference. Collecting cards and scattered notes means losing hours after the fair and letting leads go cold. With a digital capture system like Linkly you record the contact, the qualification answers and a voice note in a few seconds, and everything ends up in the CRM tagged by event. At the same traffic level, it is the difference between a database ready on Monday and a week of transcribing.

Is the official app enough to manage the contacts collected?

No. The official app and matchmaking serve to navigate the fair and to be found, but they do not export to your CRM, they do not enrich the data, they do not structure qualification and they do not build the follow-up. For the sales process you need a tool of your own: see how Linkly works.

Page updated ahead of the 2026 edition. For official information on dates, halls and participation terms, consult the official site interpack.com.