Historically, the purpose of packaging has been quite simple: deliver the product safely, ensure it maintains product efficacy over time, and provide convenience. While relatively new, sustainability is today a given, an expectation, and a built-in attribute or component of nearly every package.
During the past 20 years, “disruptive” package innovation – that which wows the consumer at the point of sale — has been the driver behind package R&D and commercialization efforts. The drawback to disruptive package innovation is that if the consumer does not intuitively understand why it is different from what they are used to and, more importantly, what that difference means to them, then it is truly just that – a disruption to their shopping experience and use occasion.
Conversely, solutions-based package innovation – that which still wows the consumer at the point of sale, but which visually, physically, or financially makes an emotional connection as to why it is different and what that difference means to their shopping or user experience – has entered the fray and quickly distinguished itself as a North Star of package innovation efforts (sustainability notwithstanding).
The dozens of packaging competitions hosted annually around the world are a showcase for leading-edge and fast-follower innovations raw materials suppliers, converters, printers, designers, and even brands have to offer. Certain competitions are sponsored by trade organizations representing a specific pack format (flexibles, paperboard, glass, metal, tubes, caps and closures, labels, etc.) and play a valuable role in the promotion of a specific segment of packaging. These competitions are paramount to the self-promotion of those segments and manufacturers and converters operating in them.
Competitions as the World Packaging Organisation’s (WPO) WorldStars highlight package innovations from WPO member companies globally. While the long list of WorldStar winners is representative of impressive package innovations globally, it is limited to WPO members only. Here again, the promotion of WPO member companies’ best efforts is a necessary cog in pushing global package innovation forward.
Equally important are competitions that focus exclusively on one component of packaging. Two of the best examples are the Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s Innovator Awards and Packaging Europe’s Sustainability Awards. These competitions celebrate and showcase both commercial and pre-commercial advancements in sustainability. At the risk of sounding redundant, such technology-specific competitions also play a vital role in the continued development of package innovation, but with a focus on just one aspect within the greater context of packaging.
Inside the judging process at Dow’s Packaging Innovation Awards
Competitions as Dow’s Package Innovation Awards (PIA) offer a unique format. While sponsored by global materials science company Dow, this annual competition (which will move in 2025 to a bi-annual event to reflect the pace of global package innovation) is the world’s longest-running “independent” package innovation competition. This year, 2024, marked the 35th year in which the PIA has been held. It also marked the 12th consecutive year in which I have had the privilege of serving as the Lead Juror.
The key to the PIA’s format is its independence. While hosted by Dow, no Dow employee, at any level, takes part in the judging nor has input to or influence over naming winners. Entrants are not required to be a Dow client nor even include a Dow product in the package innovation.
As the Lead Juror, I am tasked with assembling a panel of jurors representing all links in the global packaging supply chain – from experts in materials chemistry to academics; from industrial designers to brand managers; from NGOs to trade association executives. This blended panel representing all regions of the world, all end-use categories, all materials and pack formats, direct sellers and e-commerce retailers, physically gathers and spends four rigorous days in spirited discussions about the merits of each innovation on its own, and then against the best from around the world.
Packaging as a means of communicating value proposition
This year, this esteemed group of 18 industry professionals sequestered itself at Bangkok’s True Digital Park and evaluated more than 300 individual food, drink, beauty, household, consumer, healthcare/pharmaceutical, industrial, and e-commerce packages from dozens of countries around the world. Each entry was dissected, discussed, and ultimately judged on three pillars of innovation: technological advancement, sustainability, and enhanced user experience.
For the past few years, there has been no denying the surge in entries claiming one aspect or another related to innovation in sustainability. Most recently, innovations have become incremental – or evolutionary vs revolutionary; higher percentages of recycled content; better barriers in mono-layer structures, and reductions in dissimilar component materials.
Beyond the underlying sustainability innovations to one degree or another found in nearly every entry, the Dow PIA jury, which retains a core group of “veteran” judges while being infused with new blood each year, has seen a shift to innovations rooted in that idea of “solutions.” Those that make a consumer’s life easier, safer, less stressful, or make their purchase decisions more confident because they see the value proposition of a solution vs a disruption, have risen to the surface.
This is not to say we’ve not seen revolutionary innovations. We have. But the most intense jury discussions and the deepest secondary research are into those that are seen as solutions. These are innovations that consumers can see, can experience, and which become “hyper-actionable” – meaning, what do they mean to the consumer and how do the product and package work in harmony to make their life easier, safer, or just better in some way?
One standout this year was Macada’s paper box for its macadamia nuts. It was designed with inclusivity in mind, applying universal design principles. Braille letters were been added to the points of the opening to facilitate access for the visually impaired. The use of a zipper perforation allows the box to be easily opened, allowing elderly consumers to open the box independently. Convenience is another key feature of this box – its front panel can be extended, transforming the packaging box into a container in which consumers can dispose of macadamia shells. Meanwhile, product quality is preserved by vacuum sealing the macadamia nuts. The transparent window cut into the carton also facilitates product visibility.
Another standout came from Alltrista. In the beverage and plastic packaging industries’ efforts to reduce plastic, beverage cap profiles have been reduced to the point of being difficult to grip and twist open. Alltrista’s solution was able to rethink this “source-reduction” effort and produced a cap with a higher profile but without adding back plastic. Besides creating a cap with less plastic, it created a visual, tactile, and physical solution to hard-to-open beverage bottles.
A third standout was Aptar China’s Star Drop bottle. It’s a state-of-the-art squeeze bottle for ultra-fluid formulas. The top of the squeeze bottle features a graceful drip-like shape, imparting a distinctive visual allure to the product. The packaging is ergonomic, with a small tube and sleek lines, making it easy to carry and squeeze with just one hand. The nozzle is designed with a patented recyclable soft silicone valve technology, which helps users control dispensation while preventing contamination and excess allocation. Upon releasing pressure on the bottle, product flow is automatically cut off, sucking the liquid back to prevent splattering and residue on the nozzle. This ensures good hygiene and protects the contents from drying and solidifying.
In my 34 years in the business of packaging, I have had the privilege of serving in many package competitions on three different continents. The privilege of being the Dow PIA Lead Juror for 12 consecutive years has been a highlight of my career. It has allowed me to not only engage with dozens of packaging industry thought leaders but also allows me to share those jury conversations, insights, and innovations with Mintel converter, brand owners, retailers, and agency clients around the world. In turn, this translates to a deeper Mintel packaging analyst/client relationship that results in new product and package innovation ideation and commercialization that helps them better understand what consumers want and why, and better meets consumers’ packaging wants, needs, and desires.
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