The winners of Europe's Tube of the Year 2015 award included a toothpaste tube representing a snake using six-colour printing and a polyfoil tube with a twist-and-use applicator.
The competition, run during Europe's Etma conference, helps develop the tube as a packaging material, providing inspiration and trends insight.
Etma's secretary general Gregor Spengler said, besides tubes that are eco-friendly and produced in a sustainable manner, the particular trends this year were novel application systems and closures, together with “unusual and stunning developments in design”.
A tube from Tubex for Buly 1803, a Paris-based supplier of perfumes and other luxury articles, was the winner in the Aluminium Tube category. It produced a tube for a toothpaste based on mint from Morocco, with a “fascinating” representation of a snake, according to Spengler.
“The extremely realistic reproduction of the reptile is achieved by using six-colour printing in unbelievable quality,” he said.
“The inscription ‘Buly 1803’ appears embossed on the shoulder of the tube, offering excellent optical and haptical product differentiation of the highest order. The persuasive overall appearance of the winning tube is crowned by a relatively heavy and very valuable looking metal closure, with a gravure that implies luxury and exclusivity.”
The Laminate Tube category was won by a Polyfoil tube with a so-called Twist `n` Use applicator produced by Hoffmann Neopac of Switzerland for Safersonic. The sterile ultrasound gel was previously supplied in small pouches. This medicinal application involves small needles for anaesthetisation, positioned precisely using ultrasonic technology.
“Safersonic chose a tube solution that offers the highest possible safety standards because the packaging and the gel both have to be perfectly sterile,” Spengler said.
“A special laminate is used for absolute sterility and good barrier properties, and tamper evidence is provided by an internal twist-off pin. Special canulas are used for precise and hygienic single-dose application, two small wings on the cap offer ease-of-opening.”
