World Star Awards reveal bevpack innovations

The World Star awards, organised by the World Packaging Organisation, revealed a number of innovative packaging concepts and designs for alcoholic beverages. The following were among the 38 World Star winners in the Beverages category:

Gujinggong Liquor Year Puree created by Shenzhen Oracle Creative Design Co., China. The core design concept for this product was a visual expression of fashion and internationalisation based on traditional oriental culture. The material is bone china. The ‘year’ in the concept ‘year puree’ corresponds to the concept of ‘time’. In the design, they have brought in the ingredient of Tai Chi. The overall tone is white, representing purity, philosophy and wisdom in oriental culture. The style of the box is quite consistent with that of the bottle. Minimalist, modern fashion style overturns the classical style of the traditional white wine container. 

Absolut Originality Limited Edition bottle by Ardagh Group, UK. Absolut created another astonishing experience for its customers through this limited edition Originality bottle that uses partial colouring for the first time on a commercial scale in the glass industry, achieved with a drop of cobalt blue infused into the molten glass at the hot-end of the production process. The decoration is within the glass container, rather than added to the outer surface after production. Using a carefully prepared cobalt colour compound (frit) and specialised hot end equipment, the colouring process was perfected over the course of several demanding trials, and four million bottles were made over three weeks. See the bottle launch report and images.

Bruichladdich Black Art canister by Crown Aerosols & Speciality Packaging, UK. The tin, dark with understated whispers of the unknown is a true masterpiece in its creation, not only in its contents, but in the way it reflects the latter. A true work of art (Black Art?) the tin is magical in its quality and its allure is undeniable. The metal pack reflects the values of the brand and is enhanced by the embossing and excellent print quality adding to the shelf stand out and consumer appeal. Metal is great because it is a permanent resource and can be recycled forever without loss of quality, a positive sustainability flagship.

Cachaça Yaguara bottle by Owens-Illinois, Brazil. The design of the Yaguara bottle was created by British artist Brian Clarke and it was inspired by the Copacabana Boardwalk. The packaging was designed to assist in changing perceptions of the category of cachaça and communicates through its bold design, a historical and modern product. Brian Clarke spent three months in Brazil listening to bartenders about their needs, desires and perceptions with respect to a bottle to reach the proposed concept. The biggest challenge to reach the desired result was the high complexity painting scale waves, embossed, alternating waves painted in blue and transparent. Read the bottle launch report with bottle image.

Chinese Charm Humanity Series liquors by Shenzhen Oracle by Creative Design Co., China. The Chinese Charm Humanity Series shows oriental characters and Chinese traditional customs by depicting in the patterns world famous Chinese festivals: Spring Festival, Tomb - sweeping Day, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid - Autumn Festival.

Torres Brandy Selection by Savia Design, Spain. For the Cannes TFWA exhibition, Miguel Torres presented its guests with a special gift - a premium case with three test tubes filled with brandy. 

Pierre Lecat Cognac decanter by Stölzle Oberglas, Austria.  Stölzle has transformed one of its standard decanters into a marvelous Cognac decanter with simple classic and elegant lines. The outstanding brilliance of the glass colour is further enhanced by fire polishing. The limited edition bottle reflects the exclusivity of the product and its luxury positioning in the market. See the launch report with images of the bottle.

Piquentum wine Brazda, a limited edition, by Sonda, Croatia. The label has been produced from old news papers. But they have been picked with a meaning: Although the wine was bottled in 2014, the label production started in 2012 by collecting issues of the regional newspaper printed on the day of the harvest, 21/09/2012, thus symbolising time, space and honesty. The pages are deprived of all extras, reflecting the character of the wine itself, unique because it is produced from a vineyard that for 80 years had been cultivated using natural methods. The graphic element of the newspaper text resembles a cultivated field, and recalls the wine name Brazda (furrow).

Pulp mould wine package by Zhejiang Salfo Package Co., China. The pulp mould is light and very good for product protection and it also fully embodies green environmental credentials. The wine glass-shaped cut-out in the mould displays the product branding and an opening ‘zipper’ tape seal adds brand security.

Tekirdag No 10 by Tasarim Ussu, Turkey. To emphasise that the product was distilled in the copper still number 10, the crystal effect glass bottle (pictured below) has a real copper jacket cladding and copper graphics.

Xifeng Liquor by Bene Packaging Design Co., China. The boxes offer good protection for the bottle. The outside box and inside box are fixed by spindle. The bottle is rotated to remove it from the outer box. The red and black bottle and box combination are a work of art.

The total number of winners, by category, was: Beverages 38 (out of 71 entries); Food 36 (69 entries); Health & Beauty 13 (27 entries); Household 12 (16 entries); Pharmaceutical & Medical 14 (16 entries); Electronics 8 (9 entries); and Other 25 (46 entries), Point of Sale 2 (out of 10). The country that received the most awards was the US with a total of 21 WorldStar winners.

10 December 2014 - Felicity Murray The Drinks Report, editor