And the Oscar goes to...

It’s that time again: time to once again recognise modern, sustainable, eye-catching packaging or packaging that is extraordinary in any other conceivable way. Professional jury members will be present the best in class with awards ranging from the “WorldStar-Pokal” and “Red Dot Award” to the “NL Packaging” prizes. Kicking off these prestigious award presentations in 2016 are the “iF Design Awards”. This coveted prize will be awarded in seven categories on the basis of over 1,800 entries. More than 2,000 guests from the international design sphere are expected to attend the award ceremony on 26 February.

At the end of the day, 58 jury members all agreed: the “iF Gold Award” in the “Communication and Advertising” category goes to the firm Karl Knauer from the German region of Baden for their “notepad sculptures”. The advertising media and packaging experts succeeded in convincing the jury with their versatile eye-catcher: dimensionally stable notepads, which due to their many turning options permit high-quality advertising messages to be presented dynamically at the PoS. These packaging specialists have already received the design award for the eighth time now. Last year saw the company win with their upmarket packaging for Glenmorangie whisky. The fine spirit was presented in equally classy packaging boasting over 16,000 3D hologram lenses, UV hybrid ink, inside print as well as logo relief embossing.

The winners of the 2016 international “WorldStar Awards” have also been selected. They include Bosch Packaging Technology, a subsidiary of the famous German consumer goods and electrical appliance manufacturer. Here the Two-in-One biscuit packaging system was recognised as a particularly extraordinary and flexible packaging line. The jury not only emphasised the innovative nature of this solution but also the outstanding finish of this packaging system. It permits quick changeover from slug to staple packaging without having to change the packaging line. This means the production flow is smooth even if the desired type or quantity of biscuits changes. On top of this, the machine has a particularly small footprint. With this product the Bosch subsidiary managed to outperform nearly 300 other entries from 35 countries. The award ceremony will be held in Budapest in May.

The packaging industry looks forward with anticipation to further award highlights and winners: the Luxury Packaging Award, NL Packaging Awards and the Red Dot Award. The companies receiving the coveted awards are popular with shoppers and do not have to wait long for success. Last year saw Thimm, the system supplier for retail packaging, score points in the Promotional Gift Award contest with its transparent unit 'Dübelrassel'. The company from Niedersachsen received a prize in the Best Practice category – its outstandingly creative advertising campaign during the Football World Cup 2014 merged Brazilian joie de vivre with high-quality fasteners. A caipirinha glass filled with dowels and complete with a plunger as a handle allowed fans to beat the drum for their teams. A copy for the 2016 European Cup in France is more than welcome!