A host of packaging innovations were rewarded at the gala 2006 Starpack Awards evening on July 5 at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel.
Some 500 guests gathered to fete the winners of the Supreme Gold and Technical Innovation, and a further 15 Gold and nine Sponsored Starpack Awards.
From the 867 individual category entries the judges also awarded 27 Silver Stars and 34 Bronzes. The 47th Starpack Awards were presented by top BBC sports commentator Hazel Irvine, with several new award categories introduced, including Best Flexible Innovation, Best Inclusive Pack, Best Shelf-Ready Pack, Best Packaging Component, and Best Use of Innovative Materials.
The 2006 Supreme Gold went to a “beautifully designed and innovative” bottle for Diageo’s Oronoco Rum. The most innovative feature of the slender glass bottle is an embossed bonded leather wrap showing the Brazilian map. The leather incorporates a latex additive which enables the material to bend around the bottle and ensures good custom colour matching and embossing.
Designed by Gordon Smith, Smith & Co, and manufactured by Saverglass, France, the bottle also won Gold Stars for Best Consumer Pack – Food, Best Use of Innovative Materials, and Best Designer/Design House of the Year.
While technical excellence was apparent throughout, the ultimate winners of the 2006 Technical Innovation Award were (jointly) Astra Zeneca, Jones Garrard and Perlos Corporation for the Zoladex SafeSystem syringe, described by head judge Terry Robins as “a brilliant piece of technical, innovative design to create a one-piece syringe developed to prevent accidental stick injuries.”
The pre-filled single-use aseptic packaging and delivery system is designed to contain and protect the therapeutic drug during transit and storage; provide an effective means of drug administration, and offer automatic protection against accidental injury during the post-injection and product disposal phases.
With environmental issues increasingly to the fore, the evening also saw the award for “The Best Packaging Innovation Leading to a Significant Reduction in Household Waste”, sponsored by Government-backed WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme), presented for the Simple Oven Foamed CPET tray from Sealed Air – Cryovac Food Packaging Division. The pack uses new foaming technology to cut the amount of CPET used in the manufacturing process by 30% in a robust, stiff container cool to the touch after cooking.