Pro Carton – the European Association of Carton and Cartonboard Manufacturers – and the European Carton Makers Associations (ECMA) have confirmed that the annual European Carton Excellence Awards’ will not be impacted by the coronavirus outbreak and that the deadline for entries has been extended to 4 June 2020.
Recognised as Europe’s most prestigious annual carton award scheme, the longstanding initiative sees partners from all levels of the supply chain – including cartonboard manufacturers, carton converters, designers, brand owners and the retail trade – submit their most creative and successful ideas from across all market sectors.
The competition centres around four main categories with awards for use of virgin fibre and recycled fibre across both Food & Drink Packaging and General Packaging. The highly coveted ‘Carton of the Year’ award will be offered to the overall champion, regardless of category or substrate.
In addition, entrants have the opportunity to win two special awards: The Save the Planet Award for the best carton that has replaced or reduced a less sustainable material, and The Innovation Award for the most innovative carton or material. Further to this, the judges will choose a wider selection of packs that they also believe deserve recognition as either Platinum or Gold Award winners.
Last year, Printpark’s Gabrini In Love EDT – created using cartonboard from Metsä Board – was crowned as the Carton of the Year. With entries too close to call, the decision was made to give the Innovation Award to two winners: Cardbox Packaging Wolfsberg and Stora Enso for its Cuckoo Ice Cream’s packaging, as well as Alzamora Carton Packaging and BillerudKorsnäs for their LatCub® multipack drinks holder. Van Genechten Packaging and Stora Enso scooped the Save the Planet award with BalloonGrip – an ingenious, recyclable, and biodegradable replacement for plastic balloon holders.
For the first time in the award’s 23 year history, winners were distinguished by their use of both recycled fibre cartonboard and virgin fibre cartonboard. Winners included Graphic Packaging International which won the virgin fibre category for Food and Drink with its Bonne Maman Compotée, using BillerudKorsnäs cartonboard whilst PAWI Packaging and Mayr-Melnhof Karton’s Sonett won the recycled category for General Products for the Detergent Dispenser made entirely from cartonboard, which helps consumers to ensure they use exactly the right amount of washing powder.
Tony Hitchin, General Manager of Pro Carton said: “COVID-19 has resulted in a huge increase in demand for essential goods such as food and pharmaceuticals – many companies in these industries rely on paper-based cartons and cartonboard for their packaging. As such, board mills and carton converters across Europe have been working extraordinarily hard to maintain the supply chain. Pro Carton believes it is more important than ever to celebrate and highlight the amazing creativity and technical excellence across the cartonboard industry. We wait in eager anticipation to receive another year of exceptional entries!”
