Earlier this week, the winners of the 2017 DuPont Award for Packaging Innovation were announced.  At Clearworks, we love to see innovations of all kinds, so the article caught my eye.  This international competition identifies and awards innovations in packaging design, materials, technology and processes. This year’s packaging innovation winners hit on some common elements of sustainability, product personalization and improving the consumer’s experience. The big award winner focused on using packaging innovations to help solve the pressing global issue of clean water.

Here’s a few highlights of some of the winners:

Fritz Water Vest: The winner of the highest honor, the Diamond Award, leveraged innovations in packaging to help solve many of the issues people in developing nations face in securing clean water.  The vest is designed to hold up to 20 pounds of water that, when worn, distributes the weight across the chest and back. This is intended to alleviate the physical trauma many people experience when typically carrying heavy loads of water on their heads and shoulders. The vest’s special nylon material makes it robust enough for use in rough terrain or dry environments. It is also antimicrobial to prevent mold and mildew from growing inside, allowing the vest to be used over and over again.

Zume Pizza Pizza Pod: Zume Pizza has bucked industry tradition and moved away from the typical square cardboard pizza box in the name of sustainability.  End to end they have rethought how the pizza box can work better for the environment, and in turn, the consumer. Each box is made from sustainably sourced sugarcane fiber, making it “tree-free, compostable and biodegradable”. The box is designed to absorb oil and moisture, rather than being absorbed by the pizza, to give customers a hot, crispy pie upon delivery.

Skol Beats Secret Beer Bottle: Skol Beats Secret has introduced its beer in a new red bottle to its Brazilian market, hoping to achieve product differentiation at the shelf, and bring millennial consumers the new and different type experiences they crave.  The red bottle has other benefits besides being a novelty item. The red color blocks UV rays, similar to the commonly used amber bottles, preserving the freshness and extending the shelf-life of the product.

Insignia Freshtag: How often have you wondered whether a certain food was still ok to eat or did it really expire? Insignia Technologies has developed Freshtag to help many consumers confused by sell by and use by dates. The Freshtag has a dynamic shelf-life color indicator designed to change after a specific number of days, based on temperature.  If the product is subjected to higher levels of temperatures, the color will change more quickly. Freshtag is intended to help reduce food waste by giving consumers a more accurate indicator of product freshness, rather than the often-confusing sell by and use by dates.

All in all, there are 21 winners this year chosen from nearly 150 submissions across 24 countries.  Check out the article to learn more about these innovations. Also, feel free to reach out to learn more about how we have helped companies with their package design.

Jennifer Cuthill 
JenniferCuthill@clearworks.net

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