The 2024 Beverage Packaging Design Award recognises organisations that have designed innovative packaging materials and packaging for liquid or dry tea, coffee, water and soft drinks including wine, beer and spirits.
Recyclability, refillability and use of use of PCR recycled content weighed in contestants' favour in this category.
And the winners are...
The Bronze Award went to Thermocup by Wellman Packaging, while the Silver Award went to Fleurieu Milk Company's Refillable Glass Bottle by Cutler Brands.
And, taking home the Gold Award, was the Integrally Moulded Handle (IMH) bottle by Integrated Plastics.
About the Gold winner:
Integrated Plastics' IMH PET bottle lays claim to being the world’s first PET bottle with an integrally moulded ‘through’ handle.
According to the company, the attraction is that the IMH bottle can be designed to replicate existing packaging designs but made from fully recyclable, 100 per cent PCR compatible food grade PET/rPET polymer, with the additional benefit of requiring no separation at the recycler. The handle design allows for a broad range of size and shape options.
During the design phase the bottle and handle can be customised to optimise functionality of handle design and ensure it is aesthetically correct, ergonomically functional, and fits the hand of the ‘typical’ consumer.
The IMH bottle moulding process differs in that IMH preforms and bottles are moulded in a high speed two-stage injection stretch blow moulding (ISBM) process. This process allows for centralisation of preform manufacturing and in-line blowing at the filling location.
Transport of preforms reduces total freight costs by up to 350 per cent and greatly reduces total carbon footprint when compared to shipping empty bottles.