The very best in packaging design recognised at the 2018 European Carton Excellence Awards.
Outstanding design and functional packaging solutions were under the spotlight last night at the 22nd European Carton Excellence Award. The winners were announced at the ECMA Congress Award Gala, which took place in the glamorous setting of the House of the Riga Latvian Society to an international audience of the industry’s leading packaging and design professionals.
Scooping the ultimate accolade of Carton of the Year 2018, Van Genechten Packaging was chosen for its ‘Moët 6 Mini Moët pack’ containing six mini bottles of Moët Imperial accompanied by six mini golden flutes. Constructed from cartonboard manufactured by BillerudKorsnäs, the judges described it like ‘opening a box of treasure’, the panel was impressed by the product presentation as well as the internal structure of the boldly branded box. Designed to ensure that each bottle of Moët Imperial is perfectly positioned and protected, it is also easy to transport and enables consumers to reuse the box as an ice bucket, keeping the product cold and ready for consumption.
Van Genechten Packaging is a long-established company (started in 1834) that provides its customers with innovative and cost-effective packaging solutions. BillerudKorsnäs focuses on offering the packaging market sustainable materials (world-leading paper and board material) and solutions that increase customers’ profitability while at the same time improving the overall environmental impact.
Speaking about the calibre of award entries, Satkar Gidda of international brand consulting agency SiebertHead and chairman of the jury, said: “In every category, I can state that the judges saw design, construction, structure and graphics that really made an impact and set cartonboard far away and above any other material.”
The ceremony also recognised the most innovative packaging designs across nine different categories including Confectionery, Dry Foods & Beverages, Fast/Convenience Foods, Frozen & Chilled Foods, Healthcare & Pharmaceutical, Innovation Material, Luxury Goods, Non-Food and Save the Planet.
Demonstrating the versatility of cartonboard as a sustainable, biodegradable and recyclable packaging material, Van Genechten Packaging and BillerudKorsnäs were also presented with the Save the Planet Award for their FlatSkin® packaging tray solution. The solution reduces the use of plastic by 75% compared to existing plastic tray solutions and offers an eco-friendly and attractive way of presenting fresh food. It was also recognised for improving durability and sustainability, as the pack’s integrated recycling tab enables consumers to easily separate materials for recycling.
Voting was also opened to the general public to decide the fate of the Public Award, which was awarded to the Turkish carton converter Omaks Packaging and Scandinavian board producer Stora Enso for their Starskin Facial Masks pack.
Speaking about the awards, Horst Bittermann, president of Pro Carton, added: “The range of creative and sustainable solutions that cartons can offer is clearly demonstrated by the winners and finalists of the European Carton Excellence Award. I am impressed by this successful industry event every year.”
A full list of the 22nd European Carton Excellence Awards winners can be seen below:
- Carton of the Year: Moët 6 Mini Moët pack from Van Genechten Packaging
- Public Award: Starskin Facial Masks from Omaks Packaging
- Confectionery: Booja-Booja Six Truffle Packs – The Rainbow Collection from Coveris
- Dry Foods & Beverages: Simply Cook from The Alexir Partnership
- Fast/Convenience Foods: Pop Up Cup from Snel
- Frozen & Chilled Foods: Zoe & Zazu Goat Cheese Packaging from Model
- Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals: Berlin-Chemie, Menarini – Mezym from rlc packaging group
- Innovative Material: Modified Atmosphere (MA) Food Tray from Rapid Action Packaging (RAP)
- Luxury Goods: Jean Leon – Vintage Retro Suitcase from Grafopack
- Non-Food: Inkanto from Posson Packaging
- Save The Planet: FlatSkin from Van Genechten Packaging.
