DuPont Announces 2015 Packaging Innovation Award Winners
Wednesday, July 1st, 2015
Wilmington, Del. (PRWEB) May 15, 2015
The 2015 DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation will be remembered as the year of design as 77 percent of the winners are being honored for design excellence in enhancing the users’ experience. Canada-based IPL, Inc., earned the Diamond Award, the program’s highest honor, for SkinnyPack™ Technology. This mono-material package marries flexible and rigid packaging to create a thin, light, strong structure that uses less material, enables recycling and allows more message space.
“This year’s winners stand out as leaders in packaging innovation,” said William J. Harvey, president, DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers. “They exemplify how collaboration, innovation and packaging excellence converge to generate game-changing solutions that positively impact our lives.”
The DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation is the industry’s longest-running, global, 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 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.
“The winners demonstrated the power of integrating precision engineering, design and technology in a way that brings multi-sensorial yet functional packaging to delight consumers,” according to Yasmin Siddiqi, DuPont Packaging Awards program leader.
“The novelty this year lies in the fact that we saw packaging designs that added intuitive functionality in a way that was both simple and meaningful for the user,” said David Luttenberger, CPP, global packaging director, Mintel Group, Ltd., USA and lead judge. “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.”
Click here for complete descriptions, list of collaborations and high-resolution images.
2015 Diamond Winner
● Salsa Container Blends Rigid and Flexible for a Myriad of Possibilities, IPL, Inc. – Canada; Ana’s Foods – USA
Honored for Excellence in Technological Advancement, Responsible Packaging, and Enhanced User Experience
IPL’s new hybrid container is allowing Ana’s Foods to be a standout on store shelves. Through collaboration with IPL, Ana’s Foods replaced its rigid salsa containers with the SkinnyPack™, a flexible-rigid container that combines the advantages of thin, flexible film (lightweight, flexible, and printable) and the advantages of a strong, rigid frame (sturdy, structural component).
The SkinnyPack™, developed by IPL, is an injection molded polypropylene container that is made by fusing a thin, flexible in-mold label (IML) film to a sturdy, rigid frame. This process ensures that a strong adhesion exists between the film and injected plastic, allowing the packages to remain sturdy and strong throughout production, filling, transport, distribution and consumer use.
The lighter-weight, thin-walled SkinnyPack™ uses 54.8 percent less plastic than the original salsa containers. The mono-material packaging structure allows the container to be 100 percent recyclable. Prior to use, the empty SkinnyPack™ is nestable to maximize warehouse space. After use, the SkinnyPack™ can be easily crushed to optimize space during the recycling process. On each salsa package, Ana’s Foods communicates their commitment to sustainability with their consumers: “Tub made with less plastic for a greener world.”
The uniqueness of the SkinnyPack™ helps to differentiate itself on store shelves. The high-clarity film windows offer a look inside to give consumers confidence in the product prior to purchase. The in-mold labeling offers high-resolution graphics for high-impact shelf appeal.
The round mouth gives consumers easy access to the product inside while the square edges of the bottom provide better grip and handling.
The unique squround (square-round) shape of the container ensures distinction on store shelves while providing ease for food manufacturers to adopt the new package. The squround shape is compatible with most current packaging equipment, whether it is for square or round containers.
In developing the SkinnyPack™, IPL and Ana’s Foods took existing technology to a whole new level. With the properties of both flexible and rigid packaging, the SkinnyPack™ highlights the world of possibilities that exists for packaging.
2015 Gold Winners
● Squeezable Mascara Tube Ends Product Dispensing Frustrations, AmorePacific – Korea
Honored for Excellence in Technological Advancement and Enhanced User Experience
An eye-opening innovation, AmorePacific’s squeezable mascara tube eliminates consumer frustrations with inconsistent delivery, dried out product and inability to extract mascara from the tube.
This squeezable mascara tube is the first matte silicone mascara tube in the world. A hybrid package made of a silicone tube with an aluminum laminated inner pouch, the tube looks like a traditional mascara tube at first glance but surprises users with its enhanced features that address known market needs for functionality and consistent dosing.
With traditional mascara tubes, the high viscosity mascara tends to accumulate along the inner wall, becoming unreachable or dried out. The squeezable mascara tube allows users to soften, reposition the remaining mascara, and transfer the mascara to the applicator with just a light squeeze of the tube. This enables a consistent amount of mascara to be delivered every time so that users will get the same great experience with each application.
The enhanced functionalities of the squeezable mascara tube help to dramatically reduce the amount of unusable mascara remaining in the tube and extend the useful life of the mascara, while providing a unique tactile sensation.
● Deodorant Can Engineered to Combine Complexity with Simplicity, Unilever – UK
Honored for Excellence in Technological Advancement and Enhanced User Experience
The Axe and Lynx aerosol cans showcase an outstanding balance of technology and enhanced consumer experience. Every component of the deodorant can is specially designed to play a specific role in maximizing the consumer experience, reducing impact on the supply chain and maximizing efficiencies.
The vibrant aluminum cans feature a squround (half square, half round) shape to deliver a unique look while accommodating the industry standard 1 inch valve. The square body rotates to reveal the valve and trigger button, allowing consumers to experience the same twist-open action of the previous cans. As the body rotates, the button emerges from the flat top and tilts to provide a pleasing opening experience.
To eliminate leakage or accidental activation, the spray channel is designed to engage with the valve only when in the open position. When the valve is closed, the spray channel separates from the valve completely. The button, designed using insights gathered from consumer studies, activates regardless of how the consumer holds the can or where they press on the button.
With this aerosol can, Unilever took precise, high-level engineering and delivered it to the Axe/Lynx consumers in a sleek, yet sophisticated way that differentiates it from competition.
● “Travel-size” Truly Becomes “Carry-size” with New Ultra Slim Spray Bottle, MiiSTS Int’l. Inc.; HotPot Design– USA
Honored for Excellence in Technological Advancement and Enhanced User Experience
Need a blast of mouthwash? Wish you could fit a bottle of hand sanitizer in your designer jeans? MiiSTS™ ultra slim sprays makes it possible to easily carry premium everyday essentials for when you need them most. Helping to bring “Your Personal Care Anywhere,” MiiSTS™ bottles are establishing a new standard for convenience packaging.
MiiSTS™ is the only flat travel-size bottle in the market. The ultimate in portability and convenience, the MiiSTS ™ bottle is the rough dimensions of a credit card and just 5mm thick at its thinnest point. MiiSTS™ is fitted with a pump housing that allows consumers to spray the product while keeping the package leak-proof. The precise engineering of the tight welds on the very thin corners of the injection-molded, polypropylene bottle gives a smooth, virtually seamless, appealing finish.
The sleek and modern MiiSTS™ discreetly fits in tight pockets and bags with virtually no bulge. Each MiiSTS™ contains approximately 11mls (about 150 sprays) of the MiiSTS™ product, including natural hand sanitizer, natural insect repellent, sunscreen spray, lens cleaner, stain remover, burn and bite relief and more.
● Slider Technology Re-engineered to Keep Children Out of Easy-Open Packaging, Pactech Packaging; Reynolds Presto Products – USA
Honored for Excellence in Technological Advancement and Enhanced User Experience
As demand for convenience increases, manufacturers must develop packaging solutions that provide both easy opening and restricted access as needed. With over 20 years of experience producing child-resistant flexible pouches, Pactech Packaging partnered with Presto Products to develop a slider-based closure that has passed the testing requirements set forth in Title 16 CFR 1700 of the Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA). This new technology will allow products that had been previously packaged in child-resistant boxes or bulky plastic containers to be packaged in flexible packaging.
Produced in a variety of sizes from 8.5” x 5” to 13.5” x 18” with and without a standup gusset, the size of the package is scalable to the size desired by the end user. This allows end users to keep a consistent look to their package while sizing it right for their products. Medi-CRREO™ Child Resistant Pouch offers increased graphic billboarding that cannot be seen on prescription bottles or rigid blister packaging. The Medi-CRREO™ with Child Guard™ closure also uses a high strength barrier material that is bite and tear proof.
Markets for the Medi-CRREO™ with Child Guard™ closure include food and consumer products as well as prescription medication, agricultural products and household chemical products.
● Medical Package Plays Vital Role in Surgery Preparation, Medtronic CardioVascular; Prent Corporation – USA
Honored for Excellence in Technological Advancement and Enhanced User Experience
Previous packages for TAVI catheter devices required significant hospital preparation and resources in preparing the catheters for use. The new EnVeo™ R Packaging is designed with added functionality that helps streamline the valve preparation and loading process before surgery.
The innovative tray provides a single user complete control and additional functionality during the preparation and loading of the valve onto the catheter. A reflective film strip is located within the integrated loading bath of the tray, giving the nurse a 360 degree visualization of the valve and all the attachment points to provide confidence and comfort of precise valve loading on the catheter.
A unique swivel feature in the tray design, along with locking features, allows the tray to be in a straight configuration during transportation, then manipulated through the swivel feature into a u-shaped configuration during valve loading in the surgery preparation.
With the new tray, aspects of the loading process are streamlined to reduce the burden on the operator, while still maintaining the tray’s primary role to contain the catheter in a sterile environment and deliver it securely to the end user. The tray helps reduce the labor needed for catheter preparation at hospitals by 50 percent.
No longer seen as packaging waste, the EnVeo™ R package has become an essential part of the surgical team.
2015 Silver Winners
● ORS Package Provides Simple, Life-Saving Solution, Mix Pak System S.L.; Interapothek – Spain
Honored for Excellence in Enhanced User Experience
Over 842,000 people in the world die annually from dehydration causes. About 750 million people worldwide lack access to clean water. Mix Pak System’s Oral-Rehydration-Salt (ORS) package addresses these needs to put life-saving treatment into the hands of the people who need it.
Mix Pak System, S.L. collaborated with Interapothek to develop a new product for its comprehensive pharmaceutical portfolio, an oral rehydration salt (ORS) serum.
The ORS package is a dual chamber pouch, with one compartment containing a precise dose of powder supplements and the other containing fresh water. The two chambers are separated by a frangible seal, made with DuPont™ Surlyn® resin, which can be opened by applying pressure on the water compartment. Once the seal is opened, both ingredients mix and the ORS is ready to be consumed.
The separation of the ingredients eliminates the need for refrigeration and increases the shelf life of the product to two years (mixed ORS packages have a shelf life of hours). This very simple packaging solution brings life-saving treatment to people in areas with no electricity, infrastructure or drinkable water.
● Super-sizing Peel-and-Reseal Technology for Club Store Cheese, Bemis Company, Inc. – USA
Honored for Excellence in Enhanced User Experience
The new BelGioioso Mild Provolone package raises the bar for resealable packaging at the club store level. Made up of two individually-sealed compartments, this transformational package provides consumer convenience by allowing the user to easily peel and reseal the package 20 times or more with fingertip pressure. What’s more, the perforation between the two compartments allows the consumer to easily separate without using a knife or scissors.
Bemis’ SmartTack™ EZ Peel® Reseal™ technology allows the individual cheese compartments to be sealed separately, preserving the freshness of the unused portion until opening and reducing food waste – all while creating differentiation at the club store level for BelGioioso Cheese.
● Razor Package Captures Senses with Multi-Dimensional Graphics, The Gillette Company – USA; think4D Inc. – Canada; Placon – USA
Honored for Excellence in Technological Advancement
The multi-dimensional graphics and eye-catching design of the Gillette® Venus® Swirl™ package give consumers a multi-sensory experience right at the store shelves. Printed with think4D technology, the thermoformed lid features a multi-dimensional silver ball printed and formed in precise detail to showcase the new FLEXIBALL™ design of the Venus® Swirl™ razor. The arched bottom tray reflects the razor’s own curves.
Typically, sealing to an arched surface is challenging and results in high scrap rates. This challenge was solved by using think4D’s pack-out system in which the multi-dimensional lids are packed hot right off the thermoforming line. The residual heat enables the lids to maintain the desired arc and lie nicely on top of the arched trays, minimizing spoilage and maximizing automation efficiencies during the heat-sealing process. With this package, Gillette and think4D take thermoforming of a printed substrate to a whole new level.
● Transportation Packaging – Now Stronger and More Responsible, Compadre, LLC – USA
Honored for Excellence in Responsible Packaging
Parcel and freight shipping are now more sustainable with the introduction of the Kübox easy crating system. This paper-based crate fills the need when customers want something lighter, less expensive and easier to use than the traditional wooden crates or plastic cases, but a corrugated box is not enough.
With half the weight of a wood crate and compression strength of over 5,000 pounds, the Kübox is both very light and very strong. Through innovative design, the Kübox can be easily and safely assembled/disassembled without tools and can be shipped/stored flat, saving on space, labor, and transportation costs.
The strength and durability of the Kübox ensure that the contents, from gallery artwork to aircraft engines, stay safe throughout delivery. After delivery, the Kübox can be reused in a variety of ways, most often as furniture and storage by consumers and for repetitive, out and back shipments by businesses.
● Conditioner Container Combines Functionality with Aesthetics to Embody Premium Brand, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd.; Classy Kontainers – India
Honored for Excellence in Enhanced User Experience
Godrej partnered with BBLUNT, a premium Indian salon chain, on the development of their first hair care product line.
BBLUNT conditioners have high viscosity which provides superior product performance, but are difficult to dispense from bottles made of regular polymers. Therefore, polyethylene copolymer with the lowest modulus was chosen for the bottles to provide great squeezability even at high wall thickness. However, the polyethylene copolymer made the surface dull and prone to scratching.
Godrej found that a thin layer of DuPont™ Surlyn® resin delivers superior surface gloss, scratch resistance and a rich feel. Processing the two polymers without a tie layer was a challenge as the difference in material rheology caused variations in wall thickness, parison sagging and improper blowing. Extensive trials were conducted with Classy Kontainers to stabilize the process and get consistent output.
The BBLUNT conditioner bottle conveys the essence of the premium BBLUNT brand through its bold shape and shine.
● Sampling Lipstick Puts Color on Lips and Confidence in Minds, Grupo Boticario; Ycar Artes Gráficas – Brazil
Honored for Excellence in Enhanced User Experience
Single-use lipstick sampling completely changes the lipstick sampling experience in Brazil. Makeup testing can be an unsanitary experience for consumers. The shared sampling pots in stores may become a breeding ground for bacteria and germs that can cause minor to serious skin problems or infections. To solve this issue, Grupo Boticario developed a new way to test lipstick that provides a simple, engaging, and sanitary experience for customers.
The sampling lipstick is a single dose of lipstick “printed” on coated cardboard through a process similar to graphic printing. To test, the consumer simply removes the plastic film, folds the cardboard in half and applies the lipstick directly to the lips, without needing to use fingers to spread the lipstick on. Each sampling lipstick is used once and then disposed. This simple, easy-to-use sampling solution offers consumers in Brazil a realistic preview of the lipstick color and texture and gives them confidence to purchase the product.
● Moisture-Proof Bag Protects India Cement Industry, UFLEX LIMITED – India
Honored for Excellence in Technological Advancement
The cement industry in India is the fourth largest in the world, but more than 3 percent of the cement produced is lost in the supply chain. This loss is largely attributed to the cement bags being stored in open environments across the supply chain, making them vulnerable to damages caused due to exposure of cement bags to rain, unpredictable outdoor conditions and extreme climate.
The Flex SafePack is specially designed to provide a barrier to moisture and water from entering into the bag, helping the cement withstand harsh environments and maintain its full functionality over an extended period of shelf life.
In developing the SafePack, UFLEX had to address two conflicting requirements: providing de-airation holes required for air to escape during filling and prohibiting moisture from entering into the bags during transportation. UFLEX was able to achieve this challenge through optimized nano-embossing over a flexible extrusion layer. This technological achievement also allows high definition graphics of up to 10 color printing, giving a premium look to a commodity product.
DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers manufactures an extensive mix of adhesive, peelable lidding and sealant resins and provides a globally networked development team to work with customers on packaging programs that help protect the product, environment, improve shelf appeal, convenience and reduce cost in the food, cosmetics, medical products and other consumer goods and industrial packaging industries.
DuPont (NYSE: DD) has been bringing world-class science and engineering to the global marketplace in the form of innovative products, materials, and services since 1802. The company believes that by collaborating with customers, governments, NGOs, and thought leaders we can help find solutions to such global challenges as providing enough healthy food for people everywhere, decreasing dependence on fossil fuels, and protecting life and the environment. For additional information about DuPont and its commitment to inclusive innovation, please visit http://www.dupont.com.
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5/15/15
The DuPont Oval Logo, DuPont™, and Surlyn® are registered trademarks or trademarks of DuPont or its affiliates.
SkinnyPack™ is a trademark of IPL, Inc.
MiiSTS™ is a trademark of MiiSTS Int’l. Inc.
Medi-CRREO™ with Child Guard™ are trademarks of Pactech Packaging; Reynolds Presto Products.
SmartTack™,EZ Peel® and Reseal™ are trademarks or registered trademarks of Bemis Company, Inc.
Gillette®, Venus®, Swirl™ and FLEXIBALL™ are registered trademarks or trademarks of The Gillette Company.
EnVeo™ is a trademark of Medtronic CardioVascular.
