At first glance, it's the artwork that draws you in. Look closer and the details reveal a pack designed with both consumers and longevity in mind. Designed to be kept, refilled and displayed, these award-winning tins show how metal packaging combines creativity, practicality and circularity in a single pack. Huge congratulations to Sonoco Consumer Packaging and Kusmi Tea on winning ‘Metal Pack of the Year: Promotional, Decorative and General Line’ at the UK Packaging Awards for a series of refillable, stackable, keepsake tins inspired by Jules Verne’s legendary The Extraordinary Voyages. Sponsored by the Metal Packaging Manufacturers Association (MPMA), the award celebrates excellence across metal packaging, recognising product design and brand partnerships that are redefining what packaging can achieve with the unique circularity properties of aluminium and steel. Created for Kusmi Tea's 2025 festive collection, the collaboration with Sonoco Consumer Packaging produced three distinctive tin designs for three organic tea blends. Each design transformed the pack into a unique storytelling experience while realising the decorative possibilities of metal packaging. 📌Through the use of vibrant colours, intricate graphics and precise print execution, the storytelling collection delivered exceptional shelf stand-out while reinforcing premium brand identity.   📌The tins were designed to be refillable, stackable and keepsake. 📌The refillable approach strongly aligns with Kusmi Tea’s commitment to responsible consumption while the use of metal packaging was chosen to protect the tea from light, moisture and oxygen exposure – critical factors for preserving tea’s aroma and freshness.  The MPMA-sponsored awards demonstrate how resource efficiency, brand creativity and commercial success can go hand in hand while pushing metal packaging beyond its traditional role. This win perfectly demonstrates metal packaging’s role in helping brands create memorable consumer experiences while supporting a more circular future. #UKPackagingAwards #MetalPackaging

Seven designs. One can. One award-winning example of what happens when creativity and manufacturing expertise come together. Congratulations to Crown Holdings, Inc. and Estrella Damm on winning ‘Metal Pack of the Year: High Volume Food & Beverage’ at the UK Packaging Awards for the Estrella Damm 150th Anniversary can. Sponsored by the Metal Packaging Manufacturers Association (MPMA), the award celebrates excellence across metal packaging, recognising product design and brand partnerships that are redefining what packaging can achieve with the unique circularity properties of aluminium and steel. To celebrate 150 years of Estrella Damm, the Barcelona-born brewery partnered with Crown Packaging to create a premium, limited-edition range exclusive to the UK market. The range featured seven distinctive designs which together formed a collectible series. 📌 With bold, colourful and highly detailed mixing opaque and transparent inks, each can had individual status while creating a striking billboard effect when displayed together. 📌 Produced at Crown’s Cambridgeshire facility, using Crown’s Accents™ Color technology, multiple designs within the same production were run by alternating visuals seamlessly during high-speed printing. 📌 Delivering this level of visual richness at scale demonstrates advanced decoration expertise. The MPMA-sponsored awards demonstrate how resource efficiency, brand creativity and commercial success can go hand in hand while pushing metal packaging beyond its traditional role. This win is a showstopping example of how powerful, imaginative storytelling within metal packaging is an incredible tool for consumer connection and brand differentiation. #UKPackagingAwards #MetalPackaging #BeveragePackaging

Good luck to the shortlisted finalists for the MPMA-sponsored ‘Metal Pack of the Year’ categories at this evening’s UK Packaging Awards 2026! 🎉 MPMA is a long-standing supporter of the UK Packaging Awards as we celebrate UK metal packaging’s innovation, commercial impact and circular economy credentials while recognising those who are shaping the future of our industry. Among the High Volume Food & Beverage finalists, judges highlighted the creative use of print technologies, tactile finishes and multi-design concepts to transform beverage cans into engaging consumer experiences. Across the Decorative & General Line category, judges were impressed by the breadth of applications, from premium gifting and commemorative keepsakes to refillable packaging and new functionality. It’s set to be another fantastic evening. We can’t wait. Good luck to you all. High Volume Food & Beverage finalists: •Ardagh Metal Packaging – Guinness Limited Edition Winter Holiday can •Ardagh Metal Packaging – Pepsi Max thermochromic cans •CANPACK UK – POPPI Soda cans •Crown Packaging Services EMEA – Estrella Damm 150th Anniversary cans •Sonoco – Iconic Hereford Corned Beef tins •Sonoco – Timeless Sardines cans Decorative & General Line finalists: •P Wilkinson Containers & William Say – Scarlet & Violet Bespoke Floristry tin •P Wilkinson Containers & William Say – 100 Years of the Queen: Royal Tea tin •Roberts Metal Packaging – Highland Soap Company Bath & Body Care closures range •Sonoco – Kusmi Tea Extraordinary Voyages tins #MetalPackaging #SteelPackaging #AluminiumPackaging #UKPA26

88.5%. That’s the recycling rate of steel packaging from the latest Defra packaging waste and recycling statistics.* In fact, the Defra data confirms that yet again, steel packaging is the material with the highest recycling rate in the UK. Over 8 percentage points higher than the next most recycled packaging material. The statistic says it all. Steel packaging sets a high benchmark in recycling performance. It's a true recycling superstar. It’s now time for Defra’s EPR policy to reflect the value steel packaging brings to the circular economy. *Defra UK statistics on waste Provisional packaging waste and recycling, split by material, UK, 2025 Published 23 September 2026

Metal packaging is one of the most resilient material solutions shaping modern life and thanks to its enduring strength, adaptability, heritage and circularity it’s a real packaging icon. So this World Packaging Day, we're recognising the essential part it plays in protecting food, drink and other everyday products that modern society relies on. From helping to safeguard food security through to supporting thousands of manufacturing jobs across the UK while keeping valuable materials in circulation, there's far more to metal packaging than meets the eye. Whether it’s an aluminium beverage can or a steel food can, metal packaging is a recycling success story thanks to its Permanent Material status. This means it can be recycled again and again without losing its unique inherent properties, making it a natural champion of circularity. UK waste statistics show that steel packaging has the highest recycling rate of any packaging material at 86.6%*, while Every Can Counts reports that aluminium beverage cans are the UK's most recycled beverage packaging format, with a recycling rate of 81%. Better still, an aluminium can is able to be recycled and back on shop shelves in as little as 60 days.** World Packaging Day is a reminder that some of the things that society depends on most are the ones we rarely stop and think about. That’s certainly true of metal packaging! *2024 gov.uk provisional figures **Every Can Counts

UK preparedness? The future of the ‘tin can’ is in jeopardy. Conflicting, ill-conceived government policies are jeopardising the tin can’s future, and the future of UK metal packaging, when national resilience has never been so critical. MPMA’s Jason Galley responds to the Government’s UK Preparedness plans. “The steel food can, or tin can, is integral to UK Preparedness and national security but conflicting Government policies on packaging reforms, circular economy, energy and decarbonisation are jeopardising the tin can’s future and the critical role it’s able to play in supporting society in times of crisis. “In an uncertain world, resilience matters. Canned foods give households certainty through a shelf life of three to five years with no reliance on refrigeration. From emergency preparedness to everyday convenience and supporting food banks across the country, canned food is affordable, reliable, high quality with high nutritional value. Its metal packaging helps protect fresh produce within hours of source, whether that’s farm, field or sea; through transport and storage; and finally into kitchens across the UK. “We know the Government knows this. But the reality is that a number of Government, including Defra, policies fail to recognise the metal packaging sector's strategic importance. Taken together, their cumulative impact is damaging UK metal packaging by driving brands and consumers to plastics and other less-recyclable materials at a time when the Government is seeking to strengthen food security, domestic industry, secure critical material supply chains and drive economic growth. “Ill-thought-through Government policies threaten the future of UK metal packaging when national resilience has never been so critical. “The focus on UK preparedness demonstrates the Government’s value of the steel food can. We have written to the First Secretary of State requesting an urgent meeting to help her understand the risks and to discuss how the sector can be future-proofed with positive Government intervention, which without will lead to the inevitable off-shoring of food security.” Read our full statement to find out how different Government polices are working against metal packaging and therefore against the national interests of food security, emergency preparedness, affordability and UK jobs: lnkd.in/eWfUc88N

What does ‘circular’ look like in the real world? One everyday, brilliant, hardworking example is the aluminium beverage can – beverage cans are the most recycled beverage container in the world, (International Aluminium Institute study, 2022). High recyclability performance matters because circularity is ultimately about what happens next: keeping valuable materials in use, without loss of quality, again and again. The aluminium beverage can is a huge part of our everyday lives. Designed to be recycled and remade, we’re celebrating the circularity of the aluminium beverage can and its status as a true, recycling super-star.

Food security isn’t just about supply, it’s about reducing food waste.   UK households waste 6.0 million tonnes of food each year and 73% – that’s 4.4 million tonnes – of this food could have been eaten!*  In addition, food waste generated in households is associated with at least 16 million tonnes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.**  Canned food is a silent hero in kitchens across the UK, playing a vital role to help cut food waste and carbon emissions across the supply chain.  Its metal packaging helps protect fresh produce within hours of harvest:  ✔ From source, whether that’s farm, field or sea  ✔ Through transport and storage  ✔ Into kitchens across the UK  ✔ Giving a shelf life of three to five years.  At a time when cutting waste is critical to both climate and food security, the role of metal packaging has never been more important.  *Facts about household food waste levels in 2022 – WRAP’s UK Food Waste & food Surplus – Key Facts, July 2025, VFUO33  **Household Food and Drink Waste in the UK 2022 (WRAP 2025)

Metal packaging is once again making its mark at the UK Packaging Awards! Ten outstanding packs have been shortlisted across the MPMA-sponsored categories, demonstrating metal packaging’s role as a powerful platform for creativity, consumer engagement and brand differentiation. From colour-changing beverage cans and limited-edition, heritage designs to bespoke containers and premium decorative closures, this year's Metal Pack of the Year finalists are strong examples of the versatility of metal packaging across food, drink, gifting, beauty and lifestyle markets. The UK Packaging Awards celebrate innovation and creativity and this year's Metal Pack finalists, judged by an independent panel of packaging and industry specialists, are showing just how metal packaging continues to push boundaries. Whether through striking graphics, premium finishes or clever functionality, these packs are a strong representation of how aluminium and steel are helping brands create stronger relationships with consumers and delivering outstanding performance. Celebrating metal packaging through these awards is a real highlight for MPMA. Aluminium and steel provide a dynamic canvas but at the same time the use of metal and its exceptional recyclability and permanent material status enables brands to truly support circular economy goals. It’s a win-win! Finalists – Metal Pack of the Year: High Volume Food & Beverage 🔵 Ardagh Metal Packaging: Guinness Limited Edition Winter Holiday can 🔵 Ardagh Metal Packaging: Pepsi Max thermochromic cans 🔵 CANPACK UK: POPPI Soda cans 🔵 CROWN Packaging Services EMEA: Estrella Damm 150th Anniversary cans 🔵 Sonoco: Iconic Hereford Corned Beef tins 🔵 Sonoco: Timeless Sardines cans Finalists – Metal Pack of the Year: Decorative & General Line 🔵 P Wilkinson Containers & William Say: Scarlet & Violet Bespoke Floristry tin 🔵 P Wilkinson Containers & William Say: 100 Years of the Queen - Royal Tea tin 🔵 Roberts Metal Packaging: Highland Soap Company Bath & Body Care closures range 🔵 Sonoco: Kusmi Tea Extraordinary Voyages tins Winners will be announced at the UK Packaging Awards ceremony on 7 October 2026. 🏆

When it comes to the aluminium beverage can and the circular economy – this isn’t just a ‘sustainability’ concept, it’s a proven, functioning, real-world supply chain. When the aluminium beverage can is captured and recycled, it can be back on sale as a brand-new can in around 60 days*, a powerful example of aluminium’s high-recyclability status. Today’s beverage can becomes tomorrow’s beverage can. And the environmental benefit is significant. In the European Union, in comparison to primary aluminium production, aluminium recycling saves approximately 94%** of the energy needed and is approximately 92%*** less carbon intensive. Collection and recycling performance matters: every additional aluminium beverage can kept in the system helps protect resources and strengthens a genuinely circular model. *Every Can Counts ** International Aluminium Institute *** International Aluminium Institute

Delivering a secure food system is a global issue but it doesn’t need to come at an environmental cost.   Canned food helps to enable food security while supporting sustainability and resource efficiency goals.  ✔ No refrigeration of a food can is needed, helping to reduce energy use.  ✔ Products have a long shelf life thanks to the metal packaging providing a complete barrier against water, light and air, so cutting waste through spoilage.  ✔ The high recyclability and inherent circularity of steel and aluminium packaging contribute to the circular economy.   A resilient food system needs to be sustainable.   Canned food helps to play a key role in solving a global issue.

We’re celebrating an icon of modern packaging: the aluminium beverage can. First introduced in the late 1950s, the aluminium can revolutionised how drinks are packaged, transported and enjoyed – combining convenience, performance and innovation in a single, endlessly recyclable material. More than six decades on, the aluminium beverage can continues to set the standard: ✔ Lightweight yet incredibly strong ✔ A perfect barrier protecting freshness ✔ Designed for circularity, recycled again and again back into a beverage can without loss of quality ✔ Constantly improving through engineering and lightweighting From its early days to today’s high‑recyclability and ultra‑light designs, the aluminium beverage can shows how smart material choices can deliver circularity at scale without compromising on quality or convenience. Here’s to over 60 years of innovation and to the role the aluminium beverage can continues to play in a truly circular future. ♻️

Food security means access for everyone. But access to food remains a growing challenge for many: 7.5 million people in the UK, 11% of the population, live in food insecure households.* Canned food helps provide: ✅ Affordable meals ✅ High-quality nutrition ✅ Convenient, flexible, everyday meal solutions ✅A reliable option when cooking or refrigeration isn’t available – food is pre-cooked and ready to eat. Canning locks in nutrients with minimal need for preservatives, helping ensure food retains its value from source to plate. From family cooking to cost-conscious shopping, canned food means nutritious options remain within reach for households across the UK. Put simply, canned food helps make quality food more accessible. *DWP 2023/2024 data – Houses Below Average Income publication (July 2025)

The aluminium beverage can represents a masterclass in lightweight design. Over decades, manufacturers have continuously reduced the amount of material needed per can while maintaining strength, safety and the performance to withstand high-pressure filling, transport and stacking at scale. ✅ Today’s 330ml aluminium beverage cans are around 50% lighter than in the 1970s.* ✅ Back then, they weighed around 21g*, today they weigh on average 12g.** In Europe, aluminium beverage cans achieved around a 31% reduction in CO₂ emissions between 2006 and 2016, with weight reduction a contributing factor. *** Lightweighting shows how smart engineering and material innovation has delivered practical carbon savings at scale. References: *MPMA ,** MPE, ***MPE

In an uncertain world, resilience matters. Canned foods give households certainty through a long shelf life with no reliance on refrigeration. With a complete barrier against water, light and air, metal packaging provides the ultimate protection. From emergency preparedness to everyday convenience, canned food is: ✅ Affordable ✅ High quality with high nutritional value ✅ Reliable, thanks to a three-to-five-year shelf life ✅ Ready quickly when it matters. You could say that food security starts in the kitchen cupboard.

What does the next generation of metal packaging design talent look like? If the entries to this year's MPMA Starpack Students Awards challenge are anything to go by, the future is incredibly bright. From bold creativity to circular design thinking, the student entries showed us the very best of emerging packaging talent. Congratulations go to the winner Ethan Smith and runner-up Srivatsan Ravi, both first-year product design students at Nottingham Trent University. 🎉 This year’s MPMA design challenge asked students to explore the creative potential of metal packaging in the confectionery gifting market – combining striking design with functionality, shelf appeal and circularity. And Ethan and Srivatsan fully realised our brief. They demonstrated a clear understanding of both the visual impact and functionality of metal packaging together with an appreciation of how brands can create strong shelf appeal with this truly circular material in a competitive gifting environment. Ethan took the top prize with his ‘Core Republic’ confectionery tin, impressing judges with its innovative after-use as a chocolate fondue set. His winning concept was praised for its clever functional design, classic branding and ability for the pack to potentially be easily manufactured. Further praise was given for the use of the domed lid as the fondue set’s melting pot and also as an attractive night light. Described by the judges as ‘a well thought out design that superbly fits the luxury, high-end market brief with a very novel and functional after use’, the concept stood out for its creativity and versatility. Runner-up Srivatsan was recognised for the ‘Mello’, a collectable confectionary tin originally made to hold marshmallow sweets. The design demonstrated superb embossing to create a tactile surface alongside a classic look, transforming a simple product into a premium range with real shelf appeal. Judges praised this ‘classic simplicity’ of the design and its ability to combine standout aesthetics with its excellent stackable functionality – a key consideration for retailers. The level of creativity from this year’s entries was once again inspiring as students took hold of our challenge to blend innovation and design packaging that remains valuable beyond its initial use. In fact, this year’s brief attracted a high number of exceptionally strong entries underlining the depth of talent. Alongside the Winner and Runner-up awards, students entering the metals brief received eight Gold, four Silver and eight Bronze awards. A huge thank you to every student who entered our category and the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining (IOM3) team. The next generation of packaging design talent is in excellent hands! Read the MPMA news release for more information: ow.ly/4Krj50Zmp9a

From the cupboard to the plate: protein-packed meals don’t need to be complicated or expensive. That’s the thinking behind Canned Food UK’s latest campaign, Protein Packed Cans, fronted by TV chef Theo Michaels. As an official CANbassador™, the brilliant Theo introduces four carefully-developed recipes showing how everyday canned ingredients can deliver flavour, nutrition and convenience, in line with the rising demand for easy, high-protein meals at home. At its heart, Theo’s ongoing partnership with Canned Food UK is about helping people cook smarter, using ingredients they already have, while demonstrating the versatility, affordability and long shelf life of canned foods. The campaigns also reinforce a key point: canned food is not only convenient and nutritious but also packaged in metal that can be easily recycled over and over again, helping to support more sustainable habits at home. A huge thanks to Theo Michaels for all his support! Find out more about MPMA’s latest Canned Food UK campaign at: mpma.org.uk/tv-chef-theo-mic…

Sustainability policy will make a true, lasting impact when the unique, circularity benefits of metal packaging are fully recognised. As the leading voice for the UK's aluminium and steel packaging sectors, MPMA's Jason Galley works to ensure metal packaging's contribution to a more resource-efficient and circular economy is recognised by policymakers, industry bodies, NGOs and consumers. It's fitting to see that work recognised in the Packaging News Sustainability PowerBook. Working with MPMA’s membership, Jason is currently advocating for the alignment of a range of trade, energy and environmental policies – including packaging Extended Producer Responsibility – to fully realise UK sustainability goals. Jason says: "The PowerBook recognition reflects the work of the MPMA and our members as we help shape policies that genuinely support sustainability. We work to ensure that metal packaging’s unique circularity proposition is valued by policymakers and consumers alike. "Representing both aluminium and steel gives MPMA a unique perspective and we use this to highlight the essential role metal packaging plays in resource efficiency, food security and the growth of the circular economy." Congratulations to Jason and to all those acknowledged in this year's PowerBook. #MetalPackaging #CircularEconomy #Sustainability #FoodSecurity

Today, the Government announced it will set tariff-free quotas for packaging steel in line with the sector’s recommended levels. Responding to the announcement, Jason Galley, director and chief executive of MPMA, emphasised the importance of constructive dialogue led by MPMA and its membership to show policymakers how the proposed tariff-free quotas would have affected downstream manufacturers, negatively impacting the UK’s wider economic and circularity ambitions. “The Government’s decision to refine its approach and bring packaging steel tariff-free quotas down by 62%, instead of the initially proposed 93%-cut and more in line with other sectors, is a constructive development for MPMA members and UK-produced steel. It’s essential that MPMA members can continue to access the steel they need to deliver for their customers, to support jobs in local communities and to contribute to the UK’s wider economic and circularity ambitions. “Access to a stable and competitively priced steel supply is essential for UK manufacturers and the Government’s decision on tariff-free quotas indicates a more nuanced understanding of the interconnected nature of the UK’s manufacturing supply chains and the pressures facing downstream sectors including metal packaging manufacturers. “Since the steel measures were announced earlier this year, MPMA has consistently made the case that while we fully support the ambition to protect and strengthen UK steelmaking, policy must also recognise the needs of our members who rely on a combination of domestic and imported steel to operate effectively. This latest step from the Government reflects the importance of our ongoing dialogue and how considered consultation with the sector experts can result in a win-win for both the protection of domestic steel and downstream consumption, which ultimately sets the demand for packaging steel. “Ensuring that the tariff-free system reflects the realities of downstream manufacturing has been key to avoiding unintended consequences, including cost inflation, loss of competitiveness, customers switching to less-recyclable packaging materials and the relocation of production and filling outside of the UK. “It is encouraging to find our Government in listening mode and taking action in collaboration to achieve the best outcomes for UK PLC. We trust that we can find opportunities together for growth of the metal packaging sector.” Read the full statement on the MPMA website: mpma.org.uk/mpma-responds-to…

“Unprecedented change.” That’s how Geoff Courtney, Chair of the MPMA describes the environment facing the UK metal packaging industry today. In his Executive Profile for The Canmaker, Geoff reflects on a period defined by regulatory complexity, policy pressure and political uncertainty – from pEPR, DRS and CBAM to wider tariff challenges. It’s a landscape that demands constant engagement, strong advocacy and clear representation to ensure metal packaging’s role, and its circularity credentials, are fully recognised. Geoff’s message is clear: metal packaging has a vital role to play within UK industry and supporting circularity goals and its voice needs to be heard. Our thanks to The Canmaker for allowing us to share the article. Go to canmaker.com/ for the latest news and features from the editorial team. #MetalPackaging #CircularEconomy