The BEST PACKAGING 2023 winners

May 16, 2023

The 9 winners of the 2023 edition of the Best Packaging competition, dedicated to the theme of Quality Design, received their awards on 21 April during the Milan Design Week. Alessandra Fazio, president of the Istituto Italiano Imballaggio (Italian Packaging Institute) interviewed the innovation and future winners together with the comedian and trainer Diego Parassole.

The Jury, chaired by Professor Valeria Bucchetti, coordinator of the Communication Design course in the Milan Polytechnic, assessed the projects on the basis of the structural dimension, evaluating the innovation of the formal solution and its aesthetic, semantic and sensorial quality as well as the visual structure, considering the originality of the narrative model and the quality of the graphic forms, the attention given to informative aspects through the quality of the graphic solutions aimed at transmitting information referring to the packaging and/or its contents and, finally, the means of use, with particular attention to ergonomic, service and performance improvements. Five solutions, between primary and transport, were chosen for having fully reflected the criteria set out in the competition regulations. The “Special environment prize”, sponsored by Conai, was also awarded to the solution that most demonstrated to have applied eco-design criteria, in terms of prevention at source. Another special prize was awarded for “technological innovation”, sponsored by Ipack-Ima.

Young people: drivers of innovation. The works of university research and innovative start-up projects which design products, services and consultancy relating to the world of packaging were admitted for the first time in almost 60 years of the competition’s history, and which stood out for novelty and originality or the high technological content offered. With the support of the Ethical Packaging Charter Foundation, a special innovation prize was, therefore, awarded both to a service start-up in the packaging sector and a research thesis.

As Alessandra Fazio pointed out, in her dual role of President of the Italian packaging institute and of the Ethical Packaging Charter Foundation: «I was determined to bring student and start-up categories into the competition, because young people are drivers of innovation».

Here are the winners, with the Jury’s motivations:

QUALITY DESIGN SECTION

BARILLA G&R F.lli

The new visual identity for Classici Barilla makes the packaging more essential, incisive and assertive, increasing its media impact. This evolution has been achieved also thanks to the role as “visual cornerstone” attributed to the logotype and the colour variation, now more marked and vibrant. A point of blue pick up on the historical roots of the brand, while at the same time making the packaging highly contemporary.

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COOPITALIA

The new package is an effective example of the potential of packaging able to combine the values of a brand, provide clear information and increase the service offered to the consumer. This is all the more appreciable, as it expresses attention and sensitivity towards categories of consumers with intolerance and food allergy problems, offering a means of protection from forms of contamination during cooking.

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HAPPY

The design of three-dimensional texturing of the bottom of the tray permits air recirculation, offering an important support for the optimal maintenance of the food’s organoleptic characteristics, together with greater effectiveness and simplicity of the packaging processes and a reduction in materials used.

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SIPA

The first bottle in PET on sale for sparkling wines. Created to solve the problem of the shortage and high costs of glass bottles, it has numerous advantages, including filling on existing lines, lightness, unbreakability, while keeping the user experience unchanged thanks to the similar neck and base to the iconic glass version.

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VIMAR

The project involves a dimensional equilibrium and printing that offers excellent graphic and resistance results. The interior of the package is smooth and glossy to avoid damage to the surfaces of the product, thereby reducing breakages and losses. Special pre-slits speed up and facilitate opening, improving product usability and optimizing work processes.

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SPECIAL ENVIRONMENT PRIZE

LATTERIA MONTELLO – Nonno Nanni

The new packaging, with external recyclable wrapping and the tray produced with 50% recycled material, reduces CO2 emissions by 35%, the use of virgin plastic by 29%, the quantity of disposed packaging by 33% and the impact on the water footprint by 61%, guaranteeing analogous performance levels compared to the previous packaging.

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SPECIAL TECHNOLOGY PRIZE

ALTOPACK

The humanoid robot is able to interact autonomously with packaging machines such as boxing machines, cartoning machines and flow-packs, to continuously supply them with the consumables necessary for their operation, lightening the heavy and repetitive work performed by workers.

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ETHICAL PACKAGING CHARTER FOUNDATION SPECIAL PRIZE

START-UP: GENC- I CONE

In line with the edition focused on Quality Design, the start-up’s project, which operates in the cosmetics sector, refers to various values of the Ethical Packaging Charter Foundation: it is balanced and responsible in the design of the product, contemporary and far-sighted in the forms and potentials that it offers, as well as being educational and sustainable in its minimalism.

STUDENTS: POMOPLA2 – Benedetta Rotondo

Master’s degree thesis that contributes to the search for a new high-performance bio-composite that give value to the by-products of food industries, specifically that of the tomatoes sector. Following circular economy principles, the aim is to give a second life to production waste through the development of POMOPLA2, a promising substitute for current fossil plastics. Values incorporated: responsible, safe and sustainable.

All the finalists in the article are published in the ItaliaImballaggio of April 2023

ItaliaImballaggio May 2023