Iggesund awards prizes to packaging designers

August 2015 – ‘Iggesund Paperboard’, one of the leading European manufacturers of high-quality paper and cardboard packaging, launched a competition in February this year. Designers throughout the world were asked to submit their designs for especially sustainable sales packaging. The Swedish company was more than surprised by the response that its appeal received: About 200 designs were submitted – three of which were now awarded a prize. What’s more, discussions are under way with the other participating designers on the potential future use of their packaging ideas.

1st prize: Maikel Roberts’ packaging for toilet paper and paper towels.

Participating in the design competition was worth the effort for Stockholm students Jessica Bergdahl, Moa Ahlström and Linnea Löfgren. Their three-in-one packaging was awarded second prize in the competition.

‚Alpha Design’ from Bulgaria was awarded third prize for its e-book-reader cover design.

Iggesund awards prizes for sustainable packaging designs

The first prize went to Madrid. The jury was very impressed by the innovative packaging for toilet paper and paper towels. According to packaging experts, its design not only saves time and money by ensuring optimal pallet loading, but also presents everyday objects in a sophisticated style at the POS.

Runner-up was the joint work of three Swedish students. Their innovative packaging for chips is a veritable three-in-one design – it helps keep chips, which are commonly served in paper bags, fresh longer, can be used as a soup plate when unfolded with the top serving as a dish for dips.

A design agency from Bulgaria came in third with their e-book-reader holder. Apart from its protective function, its easy adaptability to individual reader needs gained positive acclaim. All three designs were made from ecological cardboard.

With this design competition for sustainable packaging, ‘Iggesund’ not only propelled one of its main targets, but was also spot on, as an ever increasing number of consumers look out for eco brands.

There are no country-specific differences in Europe

This design competition was also launched with the idea in mind to possibly find country-specific differences regarding packaging. However, in this regard the initiators of the competition drew a blank: European consumers prove to be more similar to each other than expected. Among others, the current 'Environment Research 2015' consumer survey commissioned by ‘TetraPak’ shows that the majority of European households has high demands on the sustainability of every-day packaging, irrespective of their place or residence.

Some 6,000 consumers in twelve EU member states were surveyed, whereby some 75 percent claimed to be prepared to pay more for ecological product packaging. Parallel surveys conducted showed identical results. They also proved that environmental aspects play a major role in consumers’ buying decisions in developing countries, such as China or Brazil. By contrast, less than one fourth of US consumers are influenced by sustainable packaging in their buying decisions.

Most producers have already accounted for this demand in their production processes; they use raw materials from environmentally-friendly resources and reduce their energy consumption in production and filling plants.