Ekoroll have developed a paper cup with a folding lid that forms a drinking spout: https://packagingeurope.com/news/lid-free-paper-cup-from-ekoroll-avoids-plastic-lids-and-polymer-coatings/14262.article

Does anyone else have a Black List? Those people you won't do business with? My list includes categories: Too slow, Too Expensive, Frauds, Gross Over Packaging. This supplier definitely falls into the Gross Over Packaging category. Mouser Electronics is a US company with a UK division. This was my first order from them and their prices were good, their website straightforward and the products had tons of data and 3D drawings. All good signs until I received this box of plastic for 17 small components. It also makes no sense to me - it's bad for the environment, the zip lock bags were taped shut so couldn't be reused and took time to cut them all open, they don't provide any protection other than moisture and it would have cost them a ton of time to bag them all at their end. If I had a commercial premises, it would also have added to commercial waste costs. Why not use paper bags, or moisture coated paper bags and seal them with the label that's being stuck on anyway?

If you've never patented anything, brace your bank account. This week I received an email with the first report from the UK Intellectual Property Office, stating the Examiner had no objections and the patent would progress to the next stage (it's an 18+ month process). Accompanying that exciting report was the £600 patent attorney invoice for forwarding me that email. It's worth noting, patent attorneys are not required to file for a patent, but when you haven't filed one before and your product is technical and/or in a competitive field, I felt it was the right way to go. UK government funding paid for the initial application (£7,000). At minimum, there will be another £3,000 to pay for the rest of the process and if there are objections from competitors, it could be £1,500 to reply to each objection! So I have another few months to make the money to pay for the rest of the patenting process - without disclosing the machine outside of the UK, which would invalidate future international patents, at a cost of around £100,000. This is why investors are so highly sought after - to pay for the legal fees. Instead, I'm bootstrapping it, but as I'm down to my last £150, I have to sell the technology quickly to cover future costs, or abandon the patent. In more optimistic news, I redrew the machine to make it even smaller, and in so doing, was able to 3D print the parts that would be sheet metal. This should allow me to rapidly build a fully working prototype and start demonstrating it in the hope of finding more buyers, as well as impressing my waiting customers.

Featured in this week's email, Fachpack have put together a gallery of winning entries from the last 60 years of the German Packaging Awards: https://www.fachpack.de/en/fachpack-360/2026-1/german-packaging-award-2026-highlights

Hi, I run an ecommerce ceramic store and I’m having a hard time figuring out the right packaging. Our products are fragile and come in many different sizes, so it’s been challenging. Up until now we’ve been using wrapping paper and the packaging provided by our supplier, but as we move into the US market, I’m thinking we need something more protective and better-looking.