The WorldStar 2022 Awards presentation, held on 4 May at Fierra Milano during the IPACK IMA trade show, saw a record number of Australian and New Zealand packaging innovations recognised on this prestigious global stage. PKN was there.
After two years of online ceremonies, on 4 May, some 300 packaging professionals, representing 37 countries, gathered to celebrate the winners of WorldStar Awards 2022, the global packaging competition organised by the World Packaging Organisation (WPO). The ceremony formed part of the WPO's activities in Milan (Italy), during IPACK IMA 2022.
Over 240 awards were presented in total across various categories, but for the Australians present in the auditorium, and those back home unable to join, it was a special night indeed. (Scroll through our gallery at the top of this page to see who was there - photography by Olaf Ljung).
The categories where ANZ packaging innovation was recognised included Food, Beverage, Labelling & Decoration, Health & Personal Care, Household, Packaging Materials & Components, Transit, eCommerce, Fresh Fruit & Vegetables, Electronics, Medical & Pharmaceutical and Other.
Among ANZ companies achieving multiple awards, Wellman Packaging received four awards (collected on the company's behalf by AIP execeutive director Nerida Kelton), two each for Squeezepak sauce bottle and Colgate Palmolive rPET bottle; Planet Protector Packaging received three for Vaccine Protector collected in person by Lars Ljung; Omni Group received three for VentX Unico, collected by an EU representative for the company; Zipform Packaging received two, one for Pana Organic and one for rPUMP (again, collected by Nerida Kelton); Sealed Air received two, one for Junee Lamb and one for NZ Post Jiffy Shortuff mailer, collected by Roberto Prencipe, a Sealed Air EU representative; O F Packaging received two, one for Brookfarm and one for Zero Co, with MD Joe Foster there in person, accompanied by An Magerman, a colleague from Close the Loop Group in Belgium; and CHEP Australia received two for the 1/6th Retail Ready pallet, the trophies picked up by representatives from the company.
Other award winners include:
In the food category, PakPot picked up an award for its Chobani yoghurt tub with IML, and Woolworths for its paper seal meat tray (the latter was also nominated in the Sustainability special award category, where it picked up a Silver).
In the beverage category, awards went to Cyclpac for Melbourne Coffee and Rhima Australia for Schultz Organic Dairy innovations.
Aussie winner in the household category was Cove for its Nature Organics range, while in the materials category BioPak won for the Blue Harvest Oyster Tray and Simplot Australia for the Edgell Super Crunch Delivery Carton.
In the health & personal care category, Pact Group was recognised for it Dove 50% rHDPE bodywash bottles, and in the electronics category, Birdstone Collective won for its Telstra packaging design system.
Also announced were the winners of the Special Categories - Marketing, Sustainability, Packaging that Saves Food and the President’s Award.
ANZ success in these categories came for Woolworths Group, which won Silver in Sustainability for its paper seal meat tray, and Sealed Air, which won bronze in the Packaging that Saves Food category for its Junee Lamb packaging solution.
A highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement award that recognises practitioners, from all packaging disciplines, who have made a significant national or international contribution in packaging over a prolonged and sustained period. The winners of the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award in Packaging for 2022 are Rachel Bayswater from UK and Graeme Lang from Australia.
