Best Packaging 2020: ... Oscar it is!

Struck by the events that are turning the world upside down, but not overwhelmed by them... The Italian Packaging Institute is likewise developing a “plan B” to promote the Best Packaging 2020 contest and with it the 42 companies involved. The initiatives planned, with the hope that… #andratuttobene [allwillgowell].

Hence the Best Packaging 2020 contest numbers 42 finalists. 42 products that have passed the first technical selection and that compete to win the packaging Oscar for innovation. Because it is all-round innovation that is the keystone of the judging of products and packaging systems in the competition, featuring increasingly “responsible” design and sustainable projects.

The key points of the competition

> This year, for the first time in the long history of the contest (set up in 1957, Ed.), technological innovation of the machines will also be part of the judging criteria, and this thanks to a renewed partnership with the Ipack-Ima trade fair organization.

> The 2020 edition will reward the best examples of innovation in terms of design in the broadest sense of the term, i.e. the project as a whole, starting from the choice of new materials to the shapes and methods of use, designed to improve and simplify the user experience... A user experience guided by the latest digital technologies and apps, which enable the conveyance of information in real time, but also by the need of companies to communicate their brand values, their company history, offers, promotions, and implement new ways of engendering customer loyalty.

> Steadfast partner for “Quality Design” as ever the Milan Polytechnic which, bolstered by its expertise in the field and many years of experience in support of the competition and the Italian Packaging Institute, will also provide the President of the Jury. Also reconfirmed the sponsorship of the Brera Design District, expression of one of the most dynamic and exclusive districts of Milan’s“Fuorisalone” Design Week.

> Observing the 42 contestants, a common thread uniting the different projects clearly emerges: the marked attention to environmental and economic sustainability.

The sizeable investments made in this field by packaging companies, but also by brand owners and largescale retailers, feature material innovation, not only in relation to disposal, recycling and composting activities, but also in view of better performance in terms of shelf life, communication and product image.

What awaits us

Forced to revolutionize times and methods in choosing the finalists, the Italian Packaging Institute has hypothesized some valid alternatives, which entail a roughly half-year postponement of contest activities and events.

> The press and social media campaigns will be concentrated in the first half of the year. This holds true for the contributions of the magazine ItaliaImballaggio which, in this issue, gives an initial overview of the finalists, focusing attention on the sustainability characteristics of the products entered, in line with the contents set out in its 2020 editorial plan.

In its June issue, the magazine will focus on the technological innovation and Quality Design aspects of the other finalists.

> The public events associated with the contest have been postponed to the second half of 2020 and the first months of 2021. This is the agenda:

• exhibition of competitors at Best Packaging during the Ecomondo exhibition (Rimini, 3-6 November 2020);
• promotion of competitors at Interpack (Düsseldorf, D, 25 February–3 March 2021);
• exhibition of competitors in a prestigious venue during Milan Design Week 2021.

> Given the persistence of the national lockdown, there is still some uncertainty about the date and place of the announcement of the winners. But the Institute expects to be able to provide this information shortly.