Organisers of the DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation have proclaimed 2015 as the year of design, with 77 per cent of winners honoured for design excellence when it comes to enhancing the experience of users.
Canada-based IPL Inc. earned the Diamond Award, the program’s highest honour, for its SkinnyPack technology. This mono-material package marries flexible and rigid packaging to create a thin, light and strong structure that uses less material, enables recycling and allows more message space.
The global awards are the industry’s longest-running, independently judged celebration of innovation and collaboration throughout the value chain. An independent panel of packaging experts evaluated nearly 140 entries from more than 25 countries and last night (17 May) awarded one diamond winner, five gold winners and seven silver winners based on excellence in one, two or all three categories: technological advancement, responsible packaging and enhanced user experience.
DuPont Packaging Awards program leader Yasmin Siddiqi said the winners “expertly integrated precision engineering, design and technology to create multi-sensorial yet functional packaging”.
Mintel Group global packaging director and lead judge David Luttenberger said the program offered packaging designs with “intuitive functionality”.
“There’s frequently a lot of technology behind seemingly simple designs, but when you can design packaging in a way that resolves an issue and is intuitive to use, that’s value,” he said.
We've compiled the list of this year's winners for you:
* Diamond Winner: Salsa container, IPL Inc./ Ana’s Foods (US)
Through collaboration with IPL, Ana’s Foods has replaced its rigid salsa containers with the SkinnyPack, a flexible-rigid container that combines the advantages of thin, flexible film and the advantages of a strong frame. The lighter-weight, thin-walled SkinnyPack uses 54.8 percent less plastic than the original salsa containers, and is 100 per cent recyclable. The round mouth gives consumers easy access to the product inside while the square edges of the bottom provide better grip and handling. The container's unique squround (square-round) shape ensures distinction on store shelves while providing ease for food manufacturers to adopt the new package.
* 2015 Gold Winners
1. Squeezable mascara tube, AmorePacific (Korea)
This product eliminates consumer frustration with inconsistent delivery and a dried-out product. Claiming to be the first matte silicone mascara tube in the world, the hybrid package is made of a silicone tube with an aluminum laminated inner pouch.
2. Axe and Lynx aerosol cans, Unilever (UK)
These cans feature a squround shape to deliver a unique look while accommodating the industry standard 1-inch valve. As the body rotates, the button emerges from the flat top and tilts to provide a pleasing opening experience.
3. MiiSTS ultra-slim spray, Int’l Inc./ HotPot Design (US)
MiiSTS are flat, travel-size bottles with the rough dimensions of a credit card and just 5mm thick at their thinnest point. They are fitted with a pump housing that allows consumers to spray the product while keeping the package leak-proof.
4. Child Guard closure, Pactech Packaging/ Reynolds Presto Products (US)
Pactech Packaging partnered with Presto Products to develop a slider-based closure called the Medi-CRREO with Child Guard. It uses a high-strength barrier material that is bite- and tear-proof.
5. EnVeo R Packaging, Medtronic CardioVascular; Prent Corporation (US)
This tray is designed with added functionality, and helps streamline the valve preparation and loading onto the catheter before surgery.
For the silver award winners visit DuPont's website.
