The Liderpack Awards -the most prestigious awards for packaging and point-of-purchase (PoP) displays in Spain- honoured 27 innovative products manufactured in 2017, plus two projects designed by students.
Among all the winning proposals, the jury also awarded the Best in Show distinction to two projects: the sleeve for dressing Mojito Karibeño bottles and the cardboard lorry for PoP use for Carlsberg beer. The competition is organized by the Graphispack Association and Fira de Barcelona's Hispack trade show.
Participation in Liderpack continues to grow. This year a total of 142 projects were submitted from companies and design schools in 17 Spanish provinces, an increase of 25% compared to 2016. The categories with the largest number of entrants were once again packaging for food and beverages.The jury awarded 22 awards in the packaging category, five in the PoP segment and two for ‘Young Design', the category reserved for design students. Among the winners in the packaging category, the jury chose eleven works to represent Spain at the 2018 WorldStar Packaging Awards, the packaging industry's most important global event.
Determined to stand out
In the beverage packaging category, the solutions provided went for originality and personalisation with the aim of showcasing the product image. The winner was the flexography printed sleeve using high gloss inks for the cocktail shaker-shaped Mojitos Karibeño bottle, presented by the Madrid-based company Overlar. Other winners included the bottles for ‘L'Amphore' and ‘Strike Wine' created by the Zamora-based design studio headed by Javier Garduño. The first consisted of a container made from glass, milled clay and wax for holding a single bottle of wine aged in clay casks. The second was a visual metaphor of eye-catching bottles clad in a synthetic white lacquered sleeve to replicate a row of bowling pins. And the final winner was Bottelo, an original and practical protective wine skin in the form of an ice bucket for transporting wine or cava bottles, patented by Smartbag.
In the food packaging category there were five Liderpack winners. Murcia-based graphics company Flexomed took away two awards for their collection of textured Doypack bags for salts and seeds, and for a completely white opaque bag printed with texts in negative to highlight the product contents. Another award winner was the packaging for ‘Burgo de Arias Trío' cheese manufactured by ITC Packaging in a smooth, oval shape from which the product can be easily removed with zero cheese wastage and whose manufacture uses 15% less plastic. The list of winners was rounded off by the packaging designed by Supperstudio for ‘Chocolocuras' truffles, whose image can be changed just by turning the lid and whose use of colour and naming gives the product outstanding presence and visibility at the point of purchase; and the label printed by Codintec for the charcuterie products made by Casa Sendra to highlight the quality of these gourmet items.
Closely associated with food packaging is the ‘Save Food' Liderpack category which distinguishes packaging that helps to reduce food waste. A case in point was the compostable tray by OneWorld Packaging, manufactured from cellulose and laminated with a natural film that provides the optimum food safety barrier, similar to those of CPET and PP, while minimising food waste. It is also resistant to humidity and water and suitable for oven or microwave use. In the same category, another award winner was the packaging for the Abaco range of extra-virgin olive oils (AOVE) by F. Faiges which includes a special anti-drip lid to release the exact amount easily and cleanly. This packaging is also lightweight, recyclable and reasonably priced.
In the Premium category the winner was Mattblack with Cordón Negro by Freixenet, a festively decorated sleeve that gives the cava bottle a deluxe, glamorous look, which was presented by the firm Sleever International. Meanwhile, the best packaging for pharmacy or parapharmacy products went to Insdinceutics Flavo-C Ultraglican for a pack with clear, stylish graphics comprising a box in which the ampoules are presented in a pop-up format to surprise users, making it easier to access single doses. This product was made by Durero Packaging.
Transport packaging
According to the Liderpack jury, the best logistics and distribution packaging of the year was the automatically assembled Pallet-Box by Cartonajes Lantegi which prevents back-ups on continuous packaging production lines; the Delivery Box, a hermetic isothermal box for online sales and home deliveries of fresh and frozen products, developed by Flexomed; and the SRP Freskibo, which consists of secondary packaging for transporting and stacking fresh produce on refrigerated shelves, manufactured by SaicaPack. The Liderpack Award for best innovation in packaging processes and/or machinery went to the Cryovac Sealappeal PSF Zal by the company Sealed Air Packaging. This consists of an easy-peel shrink film designed for thermoforming or thermosealing pre-prepared food trays.
There were also five winners in the Miscellaneous category which covers a range of different packaging: a kitty litter tray by Cartonajes Internacional; the Ecobox container by Cartonajes Lantegi with a capacity of up to 1.1 cubic metres for storing packaged or loose food products; the ‘my way' box for Munich sports shoes by Berneda, used for sending online purchases and manufactured by Miralles Cartonajes, which turns into a practical box for storing shoes in the wardrobe; the Estrella Galicia 0.0 Welcome Pack, designed as a gift for guests of the brewery at the Spanish MotoGP Grand Prix, which stands out for its opening method, presented by AC Pack and Grupo 76 Publicidad y Creatividad; and the Bekinsale, a reusable pack that serves as a stackable drawer and includes five fashion accessories, designed by Manifiesto.
WorldStar Awards
It is worth remembering the significant international reach of the Liderpack awards, as with the support of Hispack and the Graphispack Association, eleven of the winning works will go forward to represent Spain at the WorldStar for Packaging 2017 Awards, a competition featuring the best packaging from more than 35 countries, organised by the World Packaging Organization (WPO).
The jury chose the winning candidates according to criteria of innovation and their relevance to the categories defined for the WorldStar competition. The projects selected this year are as follows: the L'Amphore wine bottle; the Mojitos Karibeño sleeves; the Bottelo portable wine cooler; the Burgo de Arias Trio cheese packaging; the Insdinceutics Flavo-C Ultraglican pack; the compostable tray by OneWorld Packaging; the Abaco AOVE packaging by F. Faiges; the promotional welcome pack for Estrella Galicia 0.0; the hygienic kitty litter; the ‘my way' boxes for Munich sports shoes, and the Cryovac Sealappeal PSF Zal shrink film.
Young design
The Liderpack Awards also include a Young Design category which is exclusively for packaging projects created by design students. The winners this year were: Levitate, an innovative packaging for the secure and practical transport of jams, presented by four students from the Salesians Sarrià School in Barcelona; and La Vall, a line of natural cosmetic products for a hotel chain whose minimalist aesthetic evokes magical elixirs, made using plants with healing and regenerative properties and designed by three students from Elisava Design School. These works will be representing Spain at the WorldStar Student Awards, also organised by the World Packaging Organization (WPO).
Liderpack - Popai Awards for PoP
In the PoP category there were five winners of the Liderpack-Popai Award, a prize recognised by the Global Association for Marketing at Retail, POPAI. The winners are: the Carlsberg Lorry made from easy-to-assemble cardboard, a feature of many Spanish supermarkets, made by Indigo Brand & Retail, S.L.; the free-standing Halloween display for Mars presented by Tot Display, which interacts with the end consumer, giving them a ‘fright' when they put their hand in the placard; the ‘Delimitador Volumétrico' by Danone to highlight the shelving section where the yoghurt packs are located; various PoP elements for stores, including a cylindrical podium for showcasing CH L'Eau perfume, designed by Adaequo; and a table-top display unit for ‘Mureva Styl' switches and buttons, manufactured by Novoprint.
In coming to their decision, the jury—comprising ten expert professionals from different areas of the packaging, design, logistics, marketing and advertising sectors, chaired by Carlos Aguilar, representing Luciano Aguilar, S.A., and the Spanish Packaging Institute (IEEE)—put a particular emphasis on innovation in packaging, considering aspects such as the use of sustainable materials and processes, cost savings, functionality and user experience, design and the power of graphic images, and the improvements they bring to the logistics and distribution chain.
Organized by the Graphispack Association and Fira de Barcelona's Hispack trade show since 1995, the Liderpack Awards are the most important awards in Spain in the packaging and PoP sector. In 2005 they started being awarded annually in order to recognize and promote the innovation and creativity of companies and professionals involved in the design and manufacture of packaging and PoP products.
The awards ceremony will be held at Hispack 2018 in Fira de Barcelona's Gran Via venue between 8 and 11 May 2018.
