In the 2023 WorldStar Packaging Awards, Australia and New Zealand region showed its strength in innovation once again, receiving the second highest number of wins in the world, just behind Japan. And in a first for the region, Caps & Closures won four awards for three products.
Overall, ANZ Packaging Innovation & Design Awards (PIDA) winners have been internationally recognised with 19 awards across nine categories, four of those going to the region's highest achiever, Caps & Closures.
PKN spoke to Caps & Closures managing director Brendon Holmes, who said, "To receive this recognition amongst an incredible array of entries is humbling. Our heartfelt congratulations to all entrants and winners of PIDA 2022 and WorldStar 2023 awards. Australians are clearly leading the way in packaging innovation and product design, second only behind Japan."
Holmes said he was grateful to the judges for recognising the vision of ThermoShield, IDShield and EzyGrip, describing them as "sensory products that will change the way we interact with packaging in the future".
"Our vision is to be a global exemplar, and these awards have provided us with the opportunities, as innovators, to push trends and inject value to motivate change on a worldwide scale," Holmes said. "This recognition further aids us in giving our customers world-leading solutions."
ThermoShield's food waste prevention application can extend across all industries; IDShield' offers visual design and anti-counterfeiting opportunities without any material addition; and EzyGrip's ergonomic refinements significantly improve accessibility.
Among other winners, BioPak took out two awards for two separate products. This year also saw Result Group and JBS both being awarded their first ever WorldStar Awards.
The nine categories where designs from the ANZ region were recognised included Food, Fresh Fruit and Vegetables, Beverages, Household, Transit, Medical and Pharmaceutical, Health and Personal Care, Labelling and Decoration, and Other.
“This is the second year in a row that the region has dominated the global awards program, which is a true reflection of the innovative packaging designs being developed in the southern hemisphere,” said Nerida Kelton, executive director of the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP).
The 2023 WorldStar Packaging Awards attracted a record-breaking 488 entries from 41 countries, with 45 judges from across the globe determining 228 winners for this year’s round.
ANZ winners
Food
- Nestle Australia: Smarties paperisation
- Ingham’s NZ and Sealed Air NZ: Waitoa free-range chicken
- Amcor Flexibles: Ecotite R barrier shrink bags
- Goodman Fielder: Praise 100% rPET mayonnaise bottle
- BioPak: FSC rectangle paper containers
Fresh Fruit & Vegetables
- Result Group: Australian Table Grapes Association (ATGA) pilot
Beverages
- Brownes Dairy: Kraft renewable milk carton
- Pact Group: Norco 100% rPET milk bottle
- Coles Group: home compostable coffee capsules
- BioPak: sugarcane pulp hot and cold cup lids
- Caps and Closures: ThermoShield temperature monitoring system
Household
- Earthwise Group: eco laundry scoop
- O F Packaging and Close the Loop Group: KOH kerbside recyclable spout pouch refill pack
Health & Personal Care
- Ego Pharmaceutical: Etch & Ethos
Medical & Pharmaceutical
- Caps and Closures: EzyGrip
- Caps and Closures: ID Shield anti counterfeit system
Transit
- JBS and Opal: dunnage solution
Labelling & Decoration
- Caps and Closures: ID Shield anti counterfeit system
Other
- Macher: Royal Australian Mint coin box
For the full list of 2023 WorldStar Packaging Awards winners, click here.
The WorldStar Special Awards, which includes Sustainable Packaging Design, Accessible Design, Packaging that Saves Food, and Marketing will not be announced until the 2023 WorldStar Awards ceremony, which will be held on 6 May 2023 during Interpack in Germany.
Applications for the 2023 Australasian PIDAs will close on 25 January. Click here for more.
