During Labelexpo Europe 2019 in Brussels, FINAT presented the winners of the #L competition. This competition was launched by FINAT in 2018, at the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the European label association.
The project was developed in response to the growing need of all companies in the European label industry, to attract next-generation talents in design, engineering, and product development.
Winners combine design and smart technology
Alessia Guerra from Italy won the Design category award, and Lucas Debock and Niels Hyde – both from Belgium – won the award in the category Smart labels and the award for the sustainability category. The jury praised the overall innovative and open-minded approach of students in this competition and noticed how several entries combined both design and smart technology.
Future workforce challenge
As the industry innovates, the need for young generation professionals with both traditional graphic skills and new digital skills is growing. In the past editions of FINAT’s RADAR market report, respondents from the entire industry in all countries in Europe, place next workforce challenges in their top-5 priorities.
As FINAT President Chris Ellison phrased it “Attracting next-generation professionals is not something that will materialise without substantial efforts from all stakeholders, and of our sector as a whole.”
Labelicious (#L) competition
The #L competition invited young engineers and designers in the broad field of packaging and brand management, to share their dreams about the future labels in 2025 in the categories: Smart labels, Design and Sustainability.
With nearly 100 young talents from 22 different countries in Europe registering for the competition, this first edition was successful.
During the Award ceremony of #L, FINAT Managing Director Jules Lejeune highlighted the success of collaboration between label business and educational institutions in Spain, Greece, and Belgium. “This proves to be the winning formula and we cannot thank these partners enough for their efforts to reach the higher goal of creating label experiences for students.”
FINAT will evaluate the results of this competition to decide about the ongoing efforts to develop the future workforce with this competition and additional projects.
The three winners of the #L competition received not only their trophy and a financial prize, but will also enjoy a full week of work experiences provided by the Platinum partners Avery Dennison, Gallus, and HP.
