Food displays, packaging and PPWR

Dear Dongo lawyer,

Our large-scale retail group is preparing to review some of its own-brand cardboard food display cases for in-store display. We would like to know if it is sufficient to simply display the manufacturer's contact information on them for the manufacturer to comply with the PPWR requirements.

Thank you very much, [signed letter]

The lawyer Dario Dongo, Ph.D. in European food law, answers

Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (1) (Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, PPWR file) repeals and replaces Directive 94/62/EC (2) (Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive, PPWD) from its date of general application, set on 12 August 2026. To support the application of the new regulation, the European Commission has published specific guidelines (3) and 'frequently asked questions' (FAQ) (4) which, however, do not resolve, to date, some interpretative doubts.

Definitions of 'packaging'

The PPWR defines a packaging, as far as it is relevant here, (5) as:

• 'article, regardless of the material of which it is composed, intended to be used by an economic operator to contain, protect products, enable their handling, delivery or presentation to another economic operator or to an end user and which can be differentiated by packaging format according to the function for which it is intended, the material of which it is composed and its design, including:
• article necessary to contain, support or preserve the product throughout its life cycle without being an integral part of it and intended to be used, consumed or disposed of together with the product itself;
• component and accessory element of an article referred to in letter a), integrated into it;
• accessory element of an article referred to in letter a) attached directly to the product or combined with it which performs a packaging function without being an integral part of the product and intended to be used, consumed or disposed of together with it;
• article designed to be filled at the point of sale and intended for that purpose in order to dispense the product, otherwise known as «service packaging»'.

The Commission guidelines specify that the classification of an item must always be based on the general definition in Article 3.1.1, while the illustrative list contained in Annex I to the Regulation has a merely indicative value, in line with the case law of the Court of Justice established on the PPWD.

The regulation did not include some definitions already contained in the PPWD – such as 'primary packaging", "secondary packaging' And 'tertiary packaging' – referring instead to the following categories: (6)

• packaging for sale: packaging designed so that the products and packaging form a sales unit for the end user at the point of sale;
• multiple packaging: packaging designed to constitute, at the point of sale, a grouping of a certain number of sales units, regardless of whether this grouping of sales units is sold in this way to the end user or whether the packaging serves to facilitate the replenishment of shelves at the point of sale or a create a storage or distribution unit, and that can be removed from the product without altering its characteristics;
• transport packaging: packaging designed to facilitate the handling and transport of one or more sales units or a group of sales units, to avoid damage to the product as a result of handling and transport, but excluding containers for road, rail, sea and air transport.

- exhibitors They therefore qualify as multiple packages, pursuant to the PPWR, since they group together multiple sales units for presentation and shelf replenishment at the point of sale. Where the display rests on a pallet, the pallet must instead be classified as transport packaging, with separate requirements.

Definition of 'manufacturer'

Thefabbricante' is the economic operator defined as 'the natural or legal person who manufactures packaging or packaged products'. However,

• 'if a person physical or legal have packaging designed or manufactured or packaged products with your own name or trademark,
• regardless of whether any other trademark is visible on the packaging or packaged products,
• "manufacturer" means such person physical or legal'. Except in the sole case where the client is a micro-enterprise (7) and its supplier is established in the same Member State. (8)

Two elements must therefore be taken into consideration:

• the role of the operator in the design and/or manufacturing of the packaging; and above all
• the ownership of the name and/or of the brand commercial displayed on the packaging.

The EC guidelines clarify that, when packaging bears a name or trademark, the respective owner is presumed to be the 'manufacturer', as he has the decisive power in the contractual relationship with suppliers and is therefore also able to determine the characteristics of the packaging. 

The definition of manufacturer provided by the PPWR – please note – implies the existence of a single manufacturer in a supply chain, be it the material producer of the packaging or the owner of the name or trademark that appears there, as the case may be.

The same guidelines indicate that, for sales packages and multiple packages, the manufacturer is 'normally' the operator who applies the final processing phases and fills packaging with your product. Such presumption however, it operates in a residual and gives in to the brand criterion: 

• in the case of private label displays, filled by the food industry or by a co-packer, the ownership of the displayed brand prevails, 'regardless of whether any other trademark is visible on the packaging'. 

This point remains a matter of debate: the European retail and hospitality associations (Independent Retail Europe, Euro Coop, HOTREC) have asked the Commission for further clarification, noting that distributors do not normally dictate the technical specifications of packaging beyond the graphic elements.

In the different case of a packaging free of un name or un brand In commercial terms, the role of 'manufacturer' can be attributed to the supplier (i.e., the person who actually makes the packaging) or to the entity that places the packaged products on the market. The decisive criterion lies in identifying the entity that places the order and decides on the packaging design specifications.

Definitions of 'supplier' and 'producer'

Thesupplier' is the natural or legal person who supplies packaging or packaging materials to a manufacturer. (9) It is required to provide the manufacturer with all the information and documentation necessary to demonstrate the conformity of the packaging and materials. (10)

Theproduttore' is instead defined as: (11)

• the manufacturer, importer or distributor to whom, regardless of the sales technique used and even through distance contracts, the following applies:
• the manufacturer, importer or distributor is established in a Member State and makes available for the first time from the territory of that Member State and on that territory transport packaging, service packaging or primary production packaging, whether as single-use packaging or as reusable packaging; or
• il fabbricante, the importer o il distributor is established in a Member State and makes available for the first time from the territory of that Member State and on that same territory packaged products in packaging other than that referred to in letter a); or
• the manufacturer, importer or distributor is established in a Member State or in a third country and makes available for the first time within the territory of another Member State, directly to consumers, transport packaging, service packaging or primary production packaging, whether as single-use packaging or as reusable packaging, or products packaged in different packaging; or
• the manufacturer, importer or distributor is established in a Member State and makes packaging available for the first time within the territory of another Member State directly to users of packaged products other than those referred to in point (c); or
• the manufacturer, importer or distributor is established in a Member State and unpacks the packaged products without being the end-user, unless another person is the producer as defined in points (a), (b), (c) or (d).

Il produttore, it is recalled, is responsible for paying the costs of collection and recovery of packaging waste in the respective Member State. (12) The guidelines specify that, for sales packaging and multiple packaging, the producer must be identified with reference to the packaging filled up: is the operator who first makes the packaged product available in the Member State where the packaging is destined to become waste. For exhibitors, this Member State generally coincides with that of the points of sale. If EPR contributions have been paid in one Member State and the packaging is then made available for the first time in another, the contributions must be reimbursed.

Identification of the manufacturer on the packaging

I manufacturers must indicate on the packaging – or on a QR code or other data carrier, or in an accompanying document, where direct affixing is not possible – the own name or company name, the trade name or registered trademark, as well as themailing address and, where available, electronic means of contact. (13) 

The packaging must also bear a identification element (type, batch or serial number). (14) These references must therefore be those of the manufacturer pursuant to the PPWR – in this case, the distributor who owns the trademark – and not those of the material producer of the display.

Conclusions

Cardboard displays qualify as multiple packages. If they bear a name or a brand commercial, the respective owner – who in the case in question is the distributor – is identified as fabbricante and has the responsibility to ensure the compliance of the relevant packaging with the requirements of the PPWR, with particular regard to sustainability and labelling, (15) through conformity assessment, technical documentation and EU declaration of conformity. (16) 

Consequently, the 'manufacturer' is not necessarily the natural or legal person who manufactures the packaging, but rather – in the presence of a trademark – its owner, or – in the absence of a trademark – the person who orders and decides on the design specifications of the packaging.

Il distributor also assumes, as a rule, the role and extended responsibility of the 'produttore' of the same displays, such as multiple packages made available for the first time – once filled – in the Member State where they become waste, at the points of sale. In cross-border supplies, however, the first time they are made available in the Member State of destination is relevant, with the contribution reimbursement mechanism mentioned above.

Is not therefore sufficient, nor correct, to report on the exhibitors the only references of the material manufacturer: pursuant to Article 15.6 of the PPWR, the manufacturer's contact details must appear. That is, in the case in question, the name of the distributor who owns the trademark. The address of the packaging supplier does not need to be indicated, except in rare cases where it can be classified as the 'manufacturer' (e.g., display stands).no-logo', i.e. micro-enterprise client with supplier in the same Member State).

Finally, it should be noted that the multiple packaging will apply from January 1st 2030, also maximum empty space ratio of 50%, charged to the operators who fill them, (17) and theharmonized labelling for waste sorting, (18) from which transport packaging is excluded.

Cordially

Dario Dongo

References

(1) Regulation (EU) 2025/40 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2024 on packaging and packaging waste, amending Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 and Directive (EU) 2019/904 and repealing Directive 94/62/EC. http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2025/40/oj 

(2) Directive 94/62/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 1994 on packaging and packaging waste. Consolidated text: 04/07/2018. http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/1994/62/2018-07-04 

(3) Commission Communication C/2026/3084, Guidance document for Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste (OJ C 10.6.2026). Original English version approved by Communication C(2026) 2151 final of 30.3.2026

(4) Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) – Frequently Asked Questions, Edition 1. Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission, 30 March 2026. https://environment.ec.europa.eu/publications/faq-packaging-and-packaging-waste-regulation-ppwr_en 

(5) See art. 3, par. 1, point 1, letters a), b), c) and d) of Regulation (EU) 2025/40. The same point 1 contemplates, in letters e), f) and g), further cases not relevant here (disposable articles filled at the point of sale, single-dose units for drinks)

(6) See art. 3, par. 1, points 5, 6 and 7 of the regulation. (EU) 2025/40

(7) According to Recommendation 2003/361/EC, a microenterprise is one which employs fewer than 10 persons and has an annual turnover or annual balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 2 million.

(8) See art. 3, par. 1, point 13 of Regulation (EU) 2025/40

(9) See art. 3, par. 1, point 16 of Regulation (EU) 2025/40

(10) See art. 16, par. 1 of the reg. (EU) 2025/40

(11) See art. 3, par. 1, point 15 of Regulation (EU) 2025/40. The 'distributor' is in turn defined as the natural or legal person in the supply chain, other than the manufacturer or the importer, who makes packaging available on the market (art. 3, par. 1, point 18)

(12) See art. 45, par. 1 of the reg. (EU) 2025/40

(13) See art. 15, par. 6 of the reg. (EU) 2025/40

(14) See art. 15, par. 5 of the reg. (EU) 2025/40

(15) See art. 15, par. 1 and articles. 5-12 of the reg. (EU) 2025/40

(16) See Articles 38 and 39 and Annex VII of Regulation (EU) 2025/40

(17) See art. 24, par. 1 of the reg. (EU) 2025/40

(18) See art. 12, par. 1 of the reg. (EU) 2025/40

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