The Winners of the SAVE FOOD Awards 2025: The Best Ideas Against Food Waste

Packaging that does more! The SAVE FOOD Design & Sustainability Awards celebrate innovations that help prevent food losses and protect the environment. Each year, the global initiative honors solutions that create impact along the entire value chain – evaluated by experts from FAO, UNIDO and WPO for their level of innovation, sustainability and practical applicability. We introduce the winners who were recognized at swop (interpack China from 2026) and at interpack MEA in Cairo. 

Multivac (Shanghai) Trading Co., Ltd. – MULTIVAC- Cooling@Packing System
Hot from the oven, rapidly cooled in the pack: The MULTIVAC Cooling@Packing System integrates the cooling process directly into the thermoforming packaging machine. Within seconds, baked goods are cooled from 95 °C to 30 °C, using evaporative energy and without bulky cooling spirals. The result: more space, lower energy use, longer freshness and higher line performance.

IPE Pack and Technology from China – AUSTLON-SG Secondary SealGuard™ 
Meat stays fresh for longer and maintains its appetizing appearance: The AUSTLON-SG shrink film from IPE Pack & Technology uses an additional SealGuard™ layer that controls oxygen and moisture. This prevents discoloration, preserves juiciness and ensures a premium look. An EVOH barrier instead of PVDC makes the solution more recycling-friendly thanks to reduced material impact and increased safety. 

HAVER & BOECKER OHG from Germany – AI-Vision Platform 
The AI Vision Platform offers a wide range of applications and detection and control systems designed to optimise the performance of packaging machinery. With functions such as Matex and Seal-Check, it identifies material leaks and faulty seals in real time. This reduces raw material use, prevents waste, ensures consistent quality and shortens cleaning times. 

KOCH Pac-Systeme GmbH from Germany – KMO 
The KMO packaging machine features mechatronic modularity, standardised interfaces and an innovative transport system with magnetically levitated drives. It meets the requirements of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and enables seamless adaptation to new processes, packaging types and capacity levels. 

Starlinger & Co Gesellschaft M. B. H. from Austria – recoSTAR PET art 
With its cleaning technologies, Starlinger ensures the highest level of food safety. The recoSTAR PET art system enables closed-loop bottle-to-bottle recycling and produces pellets with minimal VOCs, a compact design and low energy consumption. The recoSTAR PET FG lines transform PET flakes and production residues into certified food-grade material. 

Mosca Direct Shanghai Co., Ltd. – Digital Load Pass 
The Digital Load Pass brings load security and sustainability into the digital age. The solution uses modern sensor technology and digital tools to document and monitor key parameters. It can be seen as a response to growing market demands. The innovation therefore stands for cost efficiency, packaging integrity and sustainability. 

Afher EUROBELT S.A from Spain – Quickbelt Q50 Flat Top 
The new Eurobelt conveyor system without hinges prevents the build-up of food residues, reducing product loss by up to 20 percent. Thanks to its self-cleaning and self-emptying design, water, chemical and energy consumption decrease significantly.
Typical applications include meat, poultry, fruit and vegetable processing.

Texula from Egypt – Banana-fiber-based Paper 
The start-up transforms banana pseudostems — an agricultural by-product that would otherwise be burned — into high-quality paper and packaging material that is 100 percent biodegradable. The solution saves wood and water, reduces CO₂ emissions and is compostable within 90 days. In addition, Texula creates jobs for women and strengthens local communities. 

Koehler Holding SE & Co. KG from Germany – Paper instead of Glass 
Koehler Paper, a subsidiary of the Koehler Group, has replaced glass packaging with “Koehler NexPlus® Advanced” barrier paper in collaboration with pack&satt, a provider of organic ready meals. The paper-based packaging for convenience products is lightweight, recyclable, machine-processable and offers strong product protection. The result: significantly lower weight and an improved environmental footprint. 

Texula from Egypt – Banana-fiber-based Paper 
The company had originally applied only for the Sustainability Design Award. However, the jury was so impressed by the solution that it additionally nominated the project for the SAVE FOOD Design Award. In the end, Texula won over the jury in both competition categories and secured silver in each — thanks to its circular, carbon-negative alternative to wood and plastics. 

Bischof+Klein SE & Co. KG from Germany – FFS eo 
With FFS eo, Bischof+Klein presents a recyclable packaging solution for bulk materials. The film, made from 100 percent polyethylene, is fully recyclable, reduces material use and lowers transport costs thanks to its lighter weight. The bags feature a carrying handle and a stable base, ensuring comfortable handling without additional tools.