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Top buyers from Tesco, Asda, B&Q, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer are set to judge this year's UK Packaging Awards, Packaging News can reveal.

The four supermarkets are among a host of top brands represented on this year's judging panel, including Innocent Drinks, Reckitt Benckiser, Hotel Chocolat and United Biscuits.

Packaging guru Robert Opie, founder of the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising, will also take part in the judging, while Packaging Federation chief executive Dick Searle will chair the panel.

Judges for the UK Packaging Awards, which are supported by sponsors including Mercury Search & Selection, Stehlin Hostag and Reed Exhibitions, will consider the entries at a judging day during the summer under strict rules of impartiality.

Josh Brooks, Packaging News editor, said: "I am delighted that a group of such high-profile buyers and packaging experts have agreed to judge this year's UK Packaging Awards.

"Their huge experience of examining packaging with a critical eye make them the ideal people to pick this year's winners."

Entries for the UK Packaging Awards are open until 6 June, and awards categories cover the full supply chain, including materials suppliers, brands, retailers, converters, merchants and designers.

Winners will be announced at a dinner and ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel on London's Park Lane on 3 November.

Visit www.ukpackagingawards.co.uk now for full information on how to enter or to book a table for the awards ceremony.

Confirmed judges for this year's UK Packaging Awards:

Tracey Bhamra, reader in sustainable design, Loughborough University
Sarah Bunday, packaging innovator, Hotel Chocolat
Jacqueline Collins, fruit packer, Innocent Drinks
Jonathan Couper, packaging manager, B&Q
Karen Graley, packaging and reprographics manager, Waitrose
Anne Harding, packaging manager, grocery & events, Marks & Spencer
Robert Herridge, joint managing director, Packology
Des King, columnist, Packaging News
Stuart Lendrum, print and packaging manager, Sainsbury's
Walter Lewis, managing director, Faraday Packaging Partnership
Arno Melchior, global packaging director, Reckitt Benckiser
Nicholas Mockett, partner, Europa Partners
Shane Monkman, buying manager - packaging & environment, Asda
John Monks, former chairman, BPIF Cartons
John Noble, director, British Brands Group
Robert Opie, founder, Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising
Barry Pamplin, European packaging technology controller, United Biscuits
Sonia Raja, head of packaging, Tesco
Dick Searle, chief executive, Packaging Federation (chair)
Robert Stevens, director and founder, Think Eye Tracking
Alison Vincent, managing director, AVA Packaging Solutions