DuPont announces 2013 Packaging Award winners

DuPont celebrated the silver anniversary of its global packaging awards program last night, granting top honors to U.K.-based design firm pi global for AidPod, which delivers life-saving medicine to remote sub-Saharan villages. This unique packaging and distribution program captured the premier Diamond and the Special 25th Anniversary ‘Food Security’ award.

“Twenty-five years ago we saw the DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation program as an opportunity to connect with this vibrant industry and to champion collaboration as a critical component in innovation,” said William J. Harvey, president, DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers. “Twenty-five years later – as we look back at breakthrough winners and celebrate this year’s winners – it’s clear that collaboration remains central to bringing innovation to market.”

This year’s top winner epitomized collaboration and showcased how packaging adds value, according to Shanna Moore, leader of the DuPont Packaging Awards program. AidPod was developed by pi global for ColaLife, an independent non-profit organization that leverages The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) distribution network to get medicines and instructions to remote areas. The AidPod is a self-contained anti-diarrheal kit that tucks between bottles in Coca-Cola crates. This winning-generation AidPod has evolved to become part of the kit itself, serving as both a single, measured dose mixing and drinking vessel.

“It’s not just small packages that good things come in – it’s clever ones, too,” U.S. Senator Chris Coons said. “The AidPod is proof that the combination of ingenuity, innovation and inspiration is powerful enough to overcome the world’s greatest humanitarian challenges. ColaLife and pi global’s pairing of smart packaging with an effective distribution platform has enormous potential to make a real difference in sub-Saharan Africa.” Senator Coons is chair of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs.

As part of the quarter-century celebration, DuPont highlighted past winners whose breakthrough projects ushered in significant societal change and looked ahead at how packaging can shape society’s future: access the infographic here. The event also honored past winners who have won 5 or more times with a DuPont Continuing Innovation Award. “The 25th anniversary event was a chance for packaging to shed its ‘silent hero’ role, step into the limelight and accept the accolades,” said Moore.

The DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation is the industry’s longest-running, global, independently judged celebration of innovation and collaboration throughout the value chain. Each year an esteemed panel awards diamond, gold or silver honors based on “excellence” in one or all of three categories: Innovation; Sustainability; and Cost/Waste Reduction. This year the independent judges granted one diamond, four gold and 10 silver awards for packaging in a diverse set of markets. Click here for complete descriptions and high resolution images.

Winners unveiled:

DIAMOND & SPECIAL AWARD FOR ‘FOOD SECURITY’

AidPod for ColaLife Delivers Life-Saving Medicine to Children in Remote Villages through Coca-Cola Distribution Channel (pi global,  United Kingdom; ColaLife, United Kingdom; Amcor Flexibles Europe- USA; Charpack Ltd., United Kingdom)

GOLD AWARDS

Ink Producer, Recovery Company Collaborate on Zero Waste to Landfill Program (BCM Inks, USA; Close the Loop. Ltd., USA)
Easy-Open Venus and Olay Razor Packaging Delivers Convenience (Gillette / Placon, USA; EcoStar, USA; Control Group, USA)
Convenience Salad Bowl Gets More Sustainable (Coop Cooperative, Switzerland; Awtec, Switzerland)
Clorox SMART TUBE Technology Enables Consumer to Spray Every Drop (The Clorox Company, USA; ALPLA, USA; Graham Packaging, USA; Guala Dispensing, USA)

SILVER AWARDS

New Sausage Casings Speed Cooking, Smoking Times; Offer Better Protection (Atlantis-Pak Company, Ltd., Russian Federation)
Amcor Optimizes Cavity Design and Blister Dimensions Using its ’Advanced Blister Design’ Tools in a Formpack Pharmaceutical Blister Pack That Protects Contents from Moisture (Amcor Flexibles, Germany)
Toyo Aluminum K.K. Uses Nature to Create Water-Repellent Packaging Material for Yogurt Lids   (Toyo Aluminum K.K., Japan; Morinaga Milk Industry Co. Ltd, Japan)
Folmex Reinvents Laundry Detergent Packaging While Improving Sustainability, Reducing Cost (Folmex, Mexico; P&G, Panama, Venezuela)
Clearly Clean Products partners with Weis Markets and Launches the World’s Only Recyclable MAP Tray (Clearly Clean Products, USA; Weis Markets, USA)
Innovative 3D In-Mold Technology Provides Multi-Sensory Experience for Consumers (Trexel, USA; PACCOR International GmbH, Germany; Britton Decorative, France; Unilever, Europe)
Pepperidge Farm Debuts Re-Closure Innovation to the Delight of Snackers Everywhere (Pepperidge Farm, USA; Campbell Company, Canada, USA and Sonoco Flexible, Canada, USA)
Campbell’s Go Soup Speaks to Younger Consumers with Convenient Standup Pouch
(Campbell’s Soup Company, USA; C&K Propack, Korea)
Heinz Freshens Iconic Ketchup Bottle (Heinz, USA)
Streamlined CardioFocus Heartlight Medical Tray Cost-Effectively Protects Sensitive Equipment (Beacon Converters, Inc., USA; CardioFocus, Inc, USA; Dahl Packaging Associates, USA)