IoPP reveals winners of 2017 AmeriStar Awards

May 24, 2017

The Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) is pleased to announce the winners of its 2017 AmeriStar Package Awards Competition. 

Judges considered more than 80 packages for 12 category awards, four student awards and AmeriStar’s top three awards. A roster of nearly 20 judges from various segments of the packaging industry evaluated this year’s entries in person, examining package innovation, product protection, economics, performance, marketing and environmental impact.  

The top three AmeriStar awards include the the Sustainable Package Award, the Design Excellence Award and the Best of Show Award.  

 

BEST OF SHOW AWARD WINNER:

Category: Drug and Pharmaceutical 
Locked4Kids Certified Child Resistant and Senior Friendly Reclosable Package 

Locked4Kids 

The Best of Show Award honors a package that surpasses all judging criteria and that judges unanimously rated “outstanding” in every category. 

This versatile packaging is difficult for young children to open, but easy for adults. Its interlocking components require the user to squeeze both side tabs simultaneously with one hand, and pull the tray out with the other hand. If the tuck flap is left open, the package contents are still not accessible with the tray locked in place. The AmeriStar judges were very impressed with this innovative way to make medicine packaging both child-resistant and senior-friendly. 

 

DESIGN EXCELLENCE AWARD WINNER:

Category: Industrial/Commercial 
Eaton’s Neo-Ray Light Fixture 

Transparent Container Company

The Design Excellence Award recognizes the package that best integrates structure and graphic design. Judges look at in-store presentation and how the improved package functionality can persuade consumers to think about the product in a new way. 

This clamshell packaging protects Eaton's architectural lighting fixture from assembly to final activation. It allows testing and installation to be done without taking the product out of the package.  

Transparent Container Company accommodates two- and four-foot light fixtures with a single design by including an integrated connection joint, which allows two two-foot sections to be snapped together for a four-foot fixture.

 

SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING AWARD WINNER: 

Category: Industrial/Commercial 
TempGuard Insulated Liners

Sealed Air Corporation

The Sustainable Packaging Award honors the most resourceful package in the AmeriStar competition. Judges consider how packaging can reduce its impact on the environment, evaluating efficient energy usage; recycling efforts; and effective use of reusable, recyclable and eco-friendly packaging materials.

TempGuard curbside recyclable, paper-fiber-cushioned box liners give 48 hours of thermal protection for perishable goods from warehouse to doorstep. They can be used efficiently inside boxes made from board stocks, or any other type of packaging material, to insulate with an R-value of 3.7 per inch—similar to EPS material.

 

AMERISTAR AWARDS

Category: Beverages, Alcoholic 
Clasper Bottle Technology

Plastic Technologies, Inc.

The Clasper blow-molded bottle technology provides a solution for products that cannot be premixed or must be consumed in sequence. The first commercialization of this new technology is Yumix, a shelf-stable line of cocktails. The Clasper™ technology combines two polyethylene terephthalate (PET) containers, with the bottom container snapping into the base of the larger bottle. The smaller bottom container holds 50-ml of premium alcohol while the main bottle contains 6.5 ounces of hot-filled, shelf-stable juice. Although the package was originally designed for a hot-fill application, modifications can be made to accommodate other process types. 

 

Category:  Cosmetics 

Urban Decay All Nighter Foundation Bottle 
Fusion Packaging 

This custom airless package is part of Urban Decay’s new All Nighter foundation collection. The bottle overshell has a highly metalized, UV gunmetal effect that embodies luxury. The overshell houses a clarified clear polypropylene airless bottle, which allows for great contact clarity so the user can easily select their foundation shade. Airless technology also improves product preservation and evacuation. To achieve the ornate detail of the asymmetrical window cutouts within the bottle, Fusion built a tool that could precisely mold the size and shape of the windows in mass production. To complete the look, the Urban Decay logo was debossed on both the bottle and overcap.  

 

MAC Mariah Carey
MAC Cosmetics

The MAC Mariah Carey launch was a special decorated collection of 23 MAC products, personally curated by Mariah Carey, the music legend who has been labeled the "patron saint of glitter." Each of the 23 products in the collection has silver glitter and/or metallic gold elements in its packaging. HCP Packaging, supplier of the iconic MAC lipstick package, achieved the look of 22 layers of silver glitter using fewer than five layers with a protective top coat, which made the packaging much more cost-effective to produce. MAC proceeded to successfully match that look on multiple substrates with multiple suppliers.  

 

Category:  Drug & Pharmacutical  
Locked4Kids Certified Child Resistant and Senior Friendly Reclosable Package 
Locked4Kids 

This versatile packaging is difficult for young children to open, but easy for adults. Its interlocking components require the user to squeeze both side tabs simultaneously with one hand, and pull the tray out with the other hand. If the tuck flap is left open, the package contents are still not accessible with the tray locked in place. The AmeriStar judges were very impressed with this innovative way to make medicine packaging both child-resistant and
senior-friendly. 

 

Category:  Electronics 
Cox Communications Modular Self Install Kits 

Veritiv

Cox has saved millions of dollars in operation costs and increased their NPS score by shifting from professional installation to a do-it-yourself solution. The new DIY packaging design provides an improved modular kit for 20 electronics devices, and the setup and instructions are intuitive for consumers. The universal design minimizes SKUs, and the environmentally responsible packaging makes use of PaperFoam to minimize labor and corrugated to brace heavier items.

 

Category:  Food, Refrigerated  

Farmhouse Culture Kraut 
ProAmpac 
 
Kraut needs to off-gas, and in this redesign ProAmpac has provided a one-way leak-resistant degassing valve on a flexible, reclosable stand-up pouch. A press-to-close zipper allows the consumer to put the package back in the fridge rather than transferring uneaten sauerkraut to a secondary container. The pouches are also laser-scored for a clean and easy opening. A window on the back of the package lets consumers see the product before purchasing it. 

Good Foods Grab & Go
Display Pack, Inc.

These easily stackable packages up the game in the highly competitive single-serve convenience foods aisle. To reduce the risk of pathogen contamination, the dip cup portion of these packs is high-pressure-processed after being filled and sealed with lidding film. The chip cup portion is filled and sealed with a foil lid on a separate machine, and then the two cups are snapped together and sealed together with a shrink wrap label. The thermoforms are made with 30-ml rPET to take advantage of the material’s clarity, recyclability and rigidity to withstand high-pressure processing.

 

Category:  Food, Shelf-Stable
Hidden Valley Dip & Pour Cups 

The Clorox Company

Unlike existing Hidden Valley® Dip Cups, Hidden Valley® Dip & Pour Cups feature not only a peel-back lid, but also a patented Snapsil® pouring feature. The shelf-ready display tray has a false autobottom platform, enabling the single serving cups to sit at a height on par with their Hidden Valley® Ranch dressing bottle counterparts.  

The single-serve cups reduce product waste and entice customer trial of a flavor variety without the risk associated with opening a standard bottle of dressing. AmeriStar judges also enjoyed the shape and graphics of each package, which clearly identify each flavor variety. 

 

Category: Health and Beauty Aids
John Frieda Sheer Blonde Brilliantly Brighter Ultra Illuminating Conditioner  

Viva Healthcare Packaging

This package marries an injection-molded tube with an in-mold label. The holographic package surface is printed and protected with a matte overlaminate to prevent scuffing. The flip-top cap was also redesigned with a lower profile, including a hot-stamped ring and two drainage holes to evacuate cold water. The tube is 100% recyclable and made with polypropylene. 

 

Category: Household Products
Brita® StreamTM packaging

The Clorox Company

Brita® Stream with Filter-As-You-Pour™ technology allows consumers to quickly fill the water filtration system and pour immediately. By offering a sustainable alternative to bottled water, the system replaces up to 300 plastic water bottles with each filter.

Unlike the standard Brita® package, this minimalistic packaging no longer features a corrugated band wrapping around the pitcher. The clear PET thermoform base both displays the filter at shelf and provides a cushion to prevent damage within the supply chain. All of the Stream™ packaging components are clearly identified with How2Recycle tiles, which help the consumer responsibly dispose of the packaging. 

 

Category: Industrial/Commercial

TempGuard Insulated Liners 
Sealed Air Corporation 

These curbside recyclable, paper-fiber-cushioned box liners give 48 hours of thermal protection for perishable goods from warehouse to doorstep. They can be used efficiently inside boxes made from board stocks, or any other type of packaging material, to insulate with an R-value of 3.7 per inch—similar to EPS material. 

Eaton’s Neo-Ray Light Fixture 
Transparent Container Company 

This clamshell packaging protects Eaton's architectural lighting fixture from assembly to final activation. It allows testing and installation to be done without taking the product out of the package.  

Transparent Container Company accommodates two- and four-foot light fixtures with a single design by including an integrated connection joint, which allows two two-foot sections to be snapped together for a four-foot fixture. 

Fill-Air® Flow
Sealed Air Corporation

This compact, automatic inflatable packaging solution produces void fill. Each bag has a one-way valve, which means it can be manually reinflated with a straw while allowing the user to inflate the bag to the extent they desire. One truck of Fill-Air® Flow film is equivalent to 47 trucks of packing peanuts, and one roll of Fill-Air® Flow bags is equal to 3.5 large bags of packing peanuts. The machine requires no maintenance and has universal power.

 

Category:  Medical Device

Aleve Direct Therapy TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) device 
Bayer Consumer Health 

Bayer has improved on Aleve Direct Therapy, Aleve’s first drug-free, non-invasive pain reliever device, released in 2016. Judges viewed this entry as an outstanding example of the product working with the packaging. The product design has few moving parts, and its shape easily fits under clothing and allows the user to have full mobility. The new packaging structure and graphics intuitively walk the user through the treatment experience, from assembly to application and use. An oversized, thermoformed window on the primary display panel locks the device in place during transit while allowing the consumer to accurately judge the size of the device. The layout of the components in the thermoformed tray serve as an impromptu instruction guide. The front panel of the box recloses with magnets, to the delight of consumers, who can use the package for storage between uses, with space for batteries, the battery door screwdriver, the remote control and the device.  

Ureteral Stent Packaging Redesign
Boston Scientific Corp. 

The goals of this redesign were to reduce the package’s overall cost, footprint/size and material use. The previous packaging consisted of a snap-fit, thermoformed rigid tray/lid and DFU inside of a Tyvek/poly header bag. It was considered bulky, consuming too much shelf space, and easily susceptible to damage, among other concerns. The new packaging is a sterile, single-use carton configuration that provides protection for various stents. The products are placed inside the slitted inner poly bag to separate them from the sterile barrier Tyvek/poly pouch, simplifying the removal of the product from the pouch during a medical procedure, without compromising the sterile barrier. The inner poly bag is designed with four sealed sides and an off-center slit that runs the length of the bag. Both the inner bag and pouch poly structure use LD/PET material. The pouch’s Tyvek web is 1059B material. 

The new packaging design has yielded substantial savings in material, with a 69% cost reduction per unit. It also reduces restocking, transportation and sterilization costs over the previous package design, and will remove 77,200 pounds of plastic waste annually.  

 

Category:  Other
Del Taco Fiesta Pack 

Developed by Bell Incorporated in partnership with Del Taco, and produced by Bell

The Fiesta Pack at Del Taco Restaurants consists of six tacos and six half-pound burritos, and is marketed as a family meal or a party-starter meal. A paperboard carton replaces a carton that was made with a litho-laminated e-flute corrugated board. The new carton is thinner than its predecessor, while also larger and able to hold additional weight, thereby accommodating more menu items without the need for the previous solution requiring a heavier corrugated material. The lighter and thinner material doubles the number of cartons in a shipping case while reducing the number of corrugated cases used and lowering distribution costs. The package also includes an inner paperboard tray that divides the burritos on the bottom from the tacos on top, unitizes the tacos to protect their fragile shells and facilitates easy loading and unloading from the carton.   

 

Category:  Promotional/Display
Bubble Wrap® IB Expressions 

Sealed Air Corporation 

Boosting  the customer experience by delighting the senses or adding an element of surprise heightens consumers’ brand experience to rival what they get in-store. The AmeriStar judges found a great example of this with Bubble Wrap IB Expressions, which Sealed Air touts as the next generation of bubble wrap. Bubble Wrap IB Expressions adds custom shapes, colors, logos and even phrases to Bubble Wrap, enabling personalization and customization while still protecting the contents of the package. Bubble Wrap IB Expressions are inflated on demand with multiple pieces of existing Sealed Air equipment.  

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