The Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) formally announced the winners of the 2020 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards ‘virtually’ with over 380 people registered for the two days. The PIDA Awards are an Australia and New Zealand program that is coordinated by the AIP, in conjunction with Packaging New Zealand.
The PIDA Awards have been established to recognise companies and individuals who are making a significant difference in their field across Australia and New Zealand.
The PIDA Awards are also the exclusive feeder program for Australian and New Zealand for the prestigious WorldStar Packaging Awards run by the World Packaging Organisation. All 2020 PIDA winners will be automatically eligible for entry into the 2021 WorldStar Packaging Awards competition.
The Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year company awards recognise organisations that have designed innovative packaging within each of these five manufacturing categories:
- Food
- Beverage
- Health, Beauty & Wellness
- Domestic & Household
- Labelling & Decoration
The 2020 PIDA Awards also sees finalists in a number of special awards including:
- Sustainable Packaging Design Special Award
- Accessible Packaging Design Special Award
- Young Packaging Professional of the Year Award
2020 Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year Award – Food Category
The Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year Award – Food Category recognises organisations that have designed innovative packaging and/or materials, within food packaging and processing including fresh, frozen or other. All entries are also judged on Sustainable Packaging Design Considerations and what packaging changes they are undertaking to meet the 2025 National Packaging Targets. This is a WorldStar Packaging Awards category.
Finalists were Arnott’s for the Cracker Chips unique split case innovation, BioBag World Australia for compostable cucumber wrap, Disruptive Packaging for Uniqcor for cold chain environments, OF Packaging for Local Legends novelty shaped pouches, Planet Protector Packaging for the Lobster Protector, Platypus Print Packaging for the Youfoodz Meal Kit and Primo Foods for the Red Range Slice Pack.
The winner of the Gold award for the 2020 Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year – Food Category is Planet Protector Packaging for the Lobster Protector.
The uniquely designed Lobster Protector packaging is a flat-packed, recyclable, biodegradable, renewable and compostable solution made from 100% food safe materials. This is the first time this has ever been achieved in the seafood industry. The packaging design consists of three key components – that being a wool liner, a fibreboard insert and a corrugated carton with a unique coating to make the carton water resistant. The Lobster Protector is 100% certified food safe and is 100% recyclable and biodegradable, with the critical wool liner compostable (even home compostable). There are no plastic components in this solution.
The winner of the Silver award is actually a tie between Disruptive Packaging for Uniqcor for cold chain environments and Platypus Print Packaging for the Youfoodz Meal Kit.
A Special Commendation was awarded to Primo Foods for the Red Range Slice Pack.
2020 Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year Award – Beverage Category
The Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year Award – Beverage Category recognises organisations that have designed innovative packaging and/or materials, within packaging and processing for liquid or dry tea, coffee, water and soft drinks including wine, beer and spirits. All entries are also judged on Sustainable Packaging Design Considerations and what packaging changes they are undertaking to meet the 2025 National Packaging Targets. This is a WorldStar Packaging Awards category.
Finalists were Brownes Dairy for Australia’s first renewable gable top milk carton, Coca-Cola Amatil for 100% recyclable rPET bottles, Ecolean for the Bannister Downs Dairy WA chilled pasteurised range, TetraPak for the JUST Water plant-based reusable water bottle and O-I Glass ANZ for the Millie fruit juice range.
The winner of the Gold award for the 2020 Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year – Beverage Category was a tie between Coca-Cola Amatil and Ecolean.
Coca-Cola Amatil for 100 perc cemnt recyclable rPET bottles
Coca-Cola Amatil delivered a world-first by converting all of its single serve PET bottles from largely petroleum-based PET resin to 100% post-consumer recycled PET resin (rPET). Many other bottlers both in Australia and around the world have converted their water bottles to 100 per cent rPET, however CCA is the first to achieve this on carbonated soft drink (CSD) bottles, sensitive warmfilled bottles and aseptic dairy bottles. By converting all of these skus to 100 per cent rPET 7 out of every 10 bottles CCA sells in Australia are made from recycled post-consumer resin. This equates to over 55 per cent of CCA’s total PET tonnages.
Ecolean for the Bannister Downs Dairy WA chilled pasteurised range
This lightweight flexible packaging designed for liquid food products is designed to reduce its impact on the environment with convenience, innovative and eye-catching packaging. The unique designs and shapes of the packaging makes it stand out on shelf and present a quality product to consumer. Designed for chilled pasteurised beverages the packaging performs well in refrigerated and frozen requirements. The material is non-penetrable by UV light and maintains the products ‘coolness’ due to the ouch’s natural composition. When kept at, or below 4 Degrees your milk will stay fresh longer. It will also not leak when laid down on a fridge shelf, can be frozen when sealed and microwaved safely once the seal is broken.
The winner of the Silver award is Brownes Dairy for Australia’s first renewable gable top milk carton.
2020 Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year Award – Health, Beauty & Wellness
The Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year Award – Health, Beauty & Wellness Category recognises organisations that have designed innovative packaging and/or materials, within cosmetics, toiletries, personal hygiene, supplements, vitamins, perfumes, hair body and oral care. This award also covers packaging of all medicines including over the counter medicines, medical equipment packaging. All entries are also judged on Sustainable Packaging Design Considerations and what packaging changes they are undertaking to meet the 2025 National Packaging Targets. This is a WorldStar Packaging Awards category.
Finalists were Pact Group for the New Zealand Earthwise Glow Labs brand of PCR 100% rPET bottle range and Kahuku Natural for the refillable stainless-steel range of cleansers and liquid soaps.
The winner of the Gold Award for the 2020 Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year Award – Health, Beauty & Wellness is Pact Group for the New Zealand Earthwise Glow Labs brand of PCR 100 per cent rPET bottle range.
Pact Group worked with New Zealand’s Earthwise brand to launch a post-consumer sourced (PCR) 100% rPET bottle range for their Glow Labs brand. The new range (body wash, handwash, shampoo, conditioner) consisted of seven 100% rPET bottles and replaced the former virgin PET designs. Converting to recycled rPET Pact Group was able to further light weight Glow Lab’s amber bottles by an average of -27% (approx. 37 tonnes per annum). Based on Glow Lab’s volumes, this equates to approximately 130 tonnes of plastic that has been reused and diverted from landfill.
2020 Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year Award – Domestic & Household
The Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year Award – Domestic & Household Category recognises organisations that have designed innovative packaging and/or materials, packaging within domestic and household items, toys, stationary, gifts, clothing, garden equipment, decorating. All entries are also judged on Sustainable Packaging Design Considerations and what packaging changes they are undertaking to meet the 2025 National Packaging Targets. This is a WorldStar Packaging Awards category.
Finalists were Birdstone Collective & NCI Packaging for the DuluxGroup Cabot’s Ready Bucket, Birdstone Collective & Opal Packaging Australia (Formerly Orora Cartons) for the recyclable Telstra Sleeve, Sealed Air Brand Protective Packaging for the Daisy Pool Covers, Gaprie for the P.C. Nets which are a re-usable, alternative for pallet containment, Outside the Box Caskets for an ecological solution to the traditional timber and MDF casket, Pact Group for New Zealand’s Earthwise brand of PCR 75% rHDPE household cleaning range and Sealed Air Brand Protective Packaging for the Korrvu uncompromised product protection.
The winner of the Bronze award is Birdstone Collective & Opal Packaging Australia (Formerly Orora Cartons) for the recyclable Telstra Sleeve
The winner of the Silver award is Birdstone Collective & NCI Packaging for the DuluxGroup Cabot’s Ready Bucket.
The winner of the Gold Award for the 2020 Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year Award – Domestic & Household category is Sealed Air Brand Protective Packaging for the Korrvu uncompromised product protection.
Korrvu delivers versatility, space efficiency, uncompromised product protection while delivering a unique customer brand experience using a package that is simply is fun and sustainable. Korrvu® packaging uses highly resilient low-slip film that suspends products in the centre of the package, reducing damage from shock and vibration while maximising the visual appearance. The product can be easily removed from the box without the need for additional protective shrink wrap which is hard to grasp and open, often requiring scissors or a knife. The efficient design enables packages to be easily opened, reused and recycled.
The winner of the Silver award is Birdstone Collective & NCI Packaging for the DuluxGroup Cabot’s Ready Bucket.
The winner of the Bronze award is Birdstone Collective & Orora Cartons for the recyclable Telstra Sleeve
During the judging for the Domestic and Household category a number of unique and innovative designs were also noted, and the judges decided to introduce a NEW category from this year into the PIDA Award program called ‘Outside of the Box’. This category is also eligible for a WorldStar Packaging Award.
2020 Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year Award – Outside of the Box
The Gold winner of the inaugural 2020 Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year Award – Outside of the Box category is Outside the Box Caskets for an ecological solution to the traditional timber and MDF casket.
Outside The Box designs have a very different aesthetic and sustainable footprint to current solutions. The structural design has been developed to meet the strict requirements of the global green burial movement by being fully compostable, which leaves no footprint. While still being functional for its intended purpose, the solution has been rigorously weight tested and has 300 kg load bearing capabilities: all the while being cardboard. This unique innovation is also the first cardboard casket in NZ to meet Natural Burials requirements which means the carbon footprint is even lower compared to a traditional option. In partnership with Trees for Survival, the company also donates a native NZ tree back to the community.
The winner of the Silver award is Gaprie for the P.C. Nets which are a re-usable, alternative for pallet containment.
The winner of the Bronze award for this new category is Sealed Air for the Daisy Pool Covers.
2020 Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year Award – Labelling & Decoration
The Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year Award – Labelling & Decoration Category is designed to recognise the addition of content to a pack which creates a unique or innovative appearance, function or communication. This may include labels, sleeves, tags, coding/markings, etching, directly applied inks or by any other similar process. All entries are also judged on Sustainable Packaging Design Considerations and what packaging changes they are undertaking to meet the 2025 National Packaging Targets. This is a WorldStar Packaging Award Category.
Finalists were NCI Packaging & DuluxGroup for the Porter’s Paints superior crafted paint can range and UPM Raflatac & Kiwi Labels for the CUSTOM-PAK rPET Cherry Punnet with self-adhesive label, permanent adhesive that is also washable at the PET recycling plant.
The winner of the 2020 Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year Award – Labelling & Decoration category is NCI Packaging & DuluxGroup for the Porter’s Paints superior crafted paint can range.
NCI Packaging worked with Porter’s Paints to produce a superior crafted paint can that showcased the brand’s premium quality and differentiated itself within Bunning’s stores. When shopping in paint or hardware stores consumers can be overcome by different paint brands, all fighting for attention using packaging screaming features and benefits, in overwhelmingly bright colours and glossy finishes. The Porter’s point of sale concept creates a store within a store approach within Bunning’s. Knowing that the paint can industry in Australia has never produced a matte can before has allowed Porter’s and NCI to set the tone and be very creative with how they went about using colours, fonts, dyes and materials against a matt finish. The Porter’s range sits together in the point of sale unit, simplifying the shopping experience. This differs to other brands, which are grouped in categories.
2020 Accessible Packaging Design Special Award
The Accessible Packaging Design Special Award is designed to recognise packaging that is accessible, intuitive, easy-to-open and innovative. Accessible Packaging Design needs to include measuring techniques, understanding injuries caused by packaging and consumer satisfaction levels with packaging accessibility. This award is sponsored by Arthritis Australia and Arthritis New Zealand.
Finalists were Ecolean for the Bannister Downs Dairy WA chilled pasteurised range and Reckitt Benckiser for Gaviscon Dual Action Sachets.
The winner of the Gold Award for the 2020 Accessible Packaging Design Special Category is Ecolean for the Bannister Downs Dairy WA chilled pasteurised range
Ecolean worked with Bannister Downs Dairy to design innovative and lightweight beverage packaging that is certified as easy-to-open and easy-to-use by people with reduced hand function.
The Bannister Downs Dairy range has been designed with obvious opening points and the packaging is intuitive to use and open. As the design is shaped like a standard jug, a format well-known for containing and pouring liquids it is intuitive with the ‘tear off’ instructions near the tip of the pack to open the package. The opening tear operates as indicated along the dotted line. The tear-off spout makes the packages easy to open and empty with no need for the use of tools.
The design is also easy to grip, control and manoeuvre with the ‘Firm’ grip Air-filled handle offering stability to hold the package regardless of whether the person is left or right-handed. Ecolean has considered the sustainable packaging design principles and chosen a lightweight flexible package, and the packaging is accepted through the REDcycle recycling program.
2020 Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year Special Award
The Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year Special Award is designed to recognise companies that have developed innovative packaging or processing solutions that incorporates sustainability considerations. Elements include Social, Material, Source Reduction, Energy and Recovery. One of the winners will be awarded the custom EcodEX packaging environmental assessment valued at $10,000. Selerant will implement its acclaimed EcodEX assessment and provide the winner a reputable third-party environmental evaluation of the product package or formulation. This is a WorldStar Packaging Awards Category.
Finalists were Birdstone Collective & Opal Packaging Australia (Formerly Orora Cartons) for the recyclable Telstra Sleeve, Brownes Dairy for Australia’s first renewable gable top milk carton, Coca-Cola Amatil for the 100 per cent recyclable post-consumer recycled rPET bottles, ecostore Ltd for New Zealand’s first 100 per cent Ocean Waste Plastic (OWP) limited edition hand wash, Nestlé Australia Ltd for the KITKAT Chocolatory recyclable e-commerce solution, Omni Group for the PerformX 100 per cent recyclable stretch wrap, between Opal Packaging Australia (Formerly ORORA Fibre Packaging) for the recyclable moulded paper inserts, Pact Group for New Zealand’s Earthwise brand of PCR 75 per cent rHDPE household cleaning range, Planet Protector Packaging for the Lobster Protector, Planet Protector Packaging for the home compostable mailer pouch, Sealed Air Brand Protective Packaging for the TempGuard kerbside recyclable packaging for pre-packaged, temperature sensitive goods, UPM Raflatac & Kiwi Labels for the CUSTOM-PAK rPET Cherry Punnet with self-adhesive label, permanent adhesive that is also washable at the PET recycling plant.
The Sustainable Packaging Design Special Award is always the hardest category to judge as the volume of entries is so high each year and the judges have an extensive process just to narrow it down to a finalist list. This year was no exception.
This year the judges have decided to provide two sub-categories within the award 1. Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year – Retail Pack and 2. Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year – Product Protection.
2020 Sustainable Packaging Design Special Award – Retail Pack
The winner of the Gold Award for the 2020 Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year category – Retail Pack is Coca-Cola Amatil for the 100 per cent recyclable post-consumer recycled rPET bottles.
Many other bottlers both in Australia and around the world have converted their water bottles to 100% rPET, however CCA is the first to achieve this on the technical difficult carbonated soft drink (CSD) bottles, sensitive warm filled bottles and aseptic dairy bottles. By converting all of these skus to 100% rPET, seven out of every ten bottles CCA sells in Australia are now made from recycled post-consumer resin. This equates to over 55% of CCA’s total PET tonnage or a reduction of CCA’s use of virgin plastics in Australia by around 16,000 tonnes a year. Even more technically remarkable after the bottle weight reductions undertaken over the last decade, the conversion to rPET was achieved without increasing the weights of any packs and in the case of the preform used for warm fill and aseptic dairy, they successfully light weighted these bottles by a further 8.5% during the conversion to rPET.
The winner of the Silver Retail Pack award is Pact Group for New Zealand’s Earthwise brand of PCR 75% rHDPE household cleaning range.
The winner of the Bronze Retail Pack award is actually a tie between Brownes Dairy for Australia’s first renewable gable top milk carton and UPM Raflatac & Kiwi Labels for the CUSTOM-PAK rPET Cherry Punnet with self-adhesive label, permanent adhesive that is also washable at the PET recycling plant.
2020 Sustainable Packaging Design Special Award – Product Protection
The winner of the Gold Award for the 2020 Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year – Product Protection category is actually a tie between Opal Packaging Australia (Formerly ORORA Fibre Packaging) for the recyclable moulded paper inserts Sealed Air Brand Protective Packaging for the TempGuard kerbside recyclable packaging for pre-packaged, temperature sensitive goods.
Opal Packaging Australia (Formerly ORORA Fibre Packaging) for the recyclable moulded paper inserts
The Opal Packaging Australia (Formerly ORORA Fibre Packaging) inserts provide superior protection and presentation for fresh produce inside the carton and offer a recyclable alternative to standard, non-recyclable PVC plastic inserts. The recyclable moulded paper inserts are made from responsibly sourced fibre and can be customised with specific colours and branding for a range of products. The individually moulded trays provide shock and vibration protection (no ringing on fruit) and offers ventilation and moisture control characteristics to ensure fresh produce integrity.
Sealed Air Brand Protective Packaging for the TempGuard kerbside recyclable packaging for pre-packaged, temperature sensitive goods
Sealed Air’s TempGuard is a fully Kerbside recyclable and ARL compliant paper pouch liner made from virgin kraft paper and is filled with 100% recycled paper. It is used to line cartons that are used for distribution to deliver exceptional thermal insulation for chilled items including chilled meals, pharmaceuticals, and chocolate. TempGuard™ is fully recyclable through PREP with on pack communication providing clear information to consumers about what to do with the product at the end of life.
The judges awarded a High Commendation for the Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year – Product Protection category to Omni Group for the PerformX 100% recyclable stretch wrap.
2020 Young Packaging Professional of the Year Award
The purpose of the Young Packaging Professional of the Year Award is to provide incentive and recognition to young professionals who are both currently working in and wish to continue their career path within the Packaging industry.
Finalists were Alison Appleby, Member Resource & Program Coordinator, APCO, Christopher Moffatt AAIP, Quality Control Coordinator & Product Developer, Caspak Products and Kelly Wade, Scientist, Scion (New Zealand).
And the winner of the 2020 Young Packaging Professional of the Year Award is.Kelly Wade, Scientist, Scion in New Zealand.
With a Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical and Materials Engineering from the University of Auckland, a PhD investigating intervertebral disc nucleus microstructure and biomechanics relationships Kelly was subsequently awarded a number of awards and postdoctoral research fellowships in spine research which found him studying overseas.
Kelly returned to New Zealand in 2018 to work in the Scion Biopolymers and Chemicals team – applying his background of microstructure and biomechanics relationships to innovative packaging solutions.
Kelly is responsible for managing and operating Scion’s WHITE room – an internationally unique facility designed to replicate the effects of humidity and temperature on boxes under stress in the chilled distribution chain. Knowing the conditions under which packaging is likely to fail allows manufacturers of packaging materials and packaging to design materials fit for purpose. Kelly is working with leading global box companies and leading exporters to make sure their products reach the market in perfect condition.
Kelly is now combining his previous knowledge around intervertebral disc structure-function relationships with characteristics of paperboard products and how their structure responds to loading and environment. Kelly and his team are targeting corrugated board boxes that fail in supply chains and cost New Zealand and international company’s billions of dollars in damaged goods – He is investigating solutions designed to strengthen boxes before they begin to fail. These solutions will be based on novel box designs incorporating biomimetic principles.
The Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP), in conjunction with Packaging New Zealand, would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all of the finalists and the winners for once again showcasing the unique and innovative packaging designs that are created by amazing Packaging Technologists and Designers across Australia and New Zealand. All of the companies who were awarded a PIDA award are now eligible to enter the 2021 WorldStar Packaging Awards.
The AIP would also like to acknowledge the following award sponsors: Platinum – APCO, Viscotec and Wellman Packaging, Silver – Auspouch, Metalprint, Mosca, Platypus Print Packaging, Verix and Westrock, Bronze – Bio-lutions, Caps and Closures, Cemac, JL Lennard, KHS, Konica Minolta, OF Packaging, Planet Protector, Sealed Air, Taghleef Industries, TetraPak, Zipform Packaging, Esko, Supporters – Aeson Material and Ecolean. In addition, Arthritis Australia and Arthritis New Zealand have sponsored the Accessible Packaging Design Special Award and Selerant have generously donated a prize for the winner of the Sustainable Packaging Design Special Award.