The DuPont award winners illustrate consumer product trends on a global scale: “Ascending to new heights in packaging innovation, this year’s winners show how collaboration, innovation and packaging excellence converge to generate game-changing solutions that positively impact our lives,” Dale Outhous, VP of DuPont Ethylene Copolymers, says in a press release about the 2016 Packaging Innovation Award winners.
“We are inspired by the breadth of advances, including interactive user experiences, clean labeling, advances in safety and sustainability, and expanded manufacturing options and lower production costs, especially with digital printing.”
Beauty contest
One sun care package won a DuPont award this year, and one cosmetic package won.
Coty Brazil won a silver award for developing the transparent DuPont Surlyn tube. The innovation here is two-fold. The new container doesn’t use PET but rather DuPont’s Surlyn material. And, the design is such that existing filling technologies and companion materials can be used with the new tube.
The company, not surprisingly, sees further potential for its Surlyn material in the cosmetics market place: “The cosmetic industry has been developing products with colors and micro particles to meet the market demand for packaging with high transparency, which allows consumers to view aesthetic appeal of the cosmetic product,” notes the press release. “DuPont Surlyn more than meets this need by creating transparent packaging solutions.”
PHD skin care won Gold for its Never Miss a Spot sun care application technology. The packaging design incorporates a wand mist sprayer engineered to let a single user put sunscreen everywhere they need coverage without the help of a friend.
This design won for its “technological advancement and enhanced user experience,” according to the press release. Also relevant, “the sprayer...has an easy-to-use lock that prevents inadvertent discharge during transport and storage.”
Sharing ideas
The winning designs from other industry sectors are inspiring too. And perhaps some could be adapted for use with cosmetics and personal care products, as consumer expectations readily cross categories.
In fact, the competition’s lead judge David Luttenberger, CPP, global packaging director of Mintel Group, observed worthwhile similarities among the 2016 entrants. “Noticeable this year was a strong commitment to the greater good, with a focus shift from just package functionality to more solutions-based packaging, which provides consumers greater access to products that make their life better,” says Luttenberger, in the DuPont press release.
“We also are seeing a real demand from consumers for on-pack communication that is authentic, not overwhelming,” he adds.
The complete roster of winning designs from personal care to health care and from fitness to food, are online here.