The WorldStar competition is one of the most important events of the World Packaging Organisation (WPO) and the most important international award in the field of packaging. A total of 488 applications from 41 countries were received for the 2023 awards, and 223 winners were chosen. 18 of the coveted awards went to Germany and 13 to companies in Austria. The frontrunner this year is Japan with no fewer than 26 awards. Here we present the announcements of the proud winners - in chronological order.
The official award ceremony will take place in May 2023 as part of Interpack in Düsseldorf.
Packaging specialist Mondi took home no fewer than eight awards in the food, fruit and vegetables, e-commerce and transport categories. Among others, Mondi Austria was honoured for a flexible polypropylene packaging for the Austrian food company Handl Tyrol.
Mono Formable PP is a recyclable high-barrier modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) solution made from the mono-material polypropylene (PP). With a printed top film and a complementary thermoformable, semi-rigid bottom film, the fully recyclable packaging weighs around 30 % less than a comparable polyester (PET) tray of the same thickness, while offering the same high level of product protection.
Raja wins in the Transit and E-Commerce categories. The awards went to the recyclable hand-stretch paper on the one hand and the padded paper mailing bag on the other.
The stretch paper is made from PEFC-certified kraft paper, a renewable wood-based raw material. This makes it particularly suitable for packaging standard pallets weighing up to 200 kilograms. The padded paper mailing bag is a sustainable alternative to plastic bubble mailing bags. Both products are 100 per cent recyclable.
A spray head with a PCR component - that was worth an award from the WPO. It was shared by Werner & Mertz and the British company Berry Global.
The Mainz-based company Werner & Mertz seems to have leased a place in the list of winners. The manufacturers of Frosch cleaning products won the 2023 award in the „Household“ category together with the British plastics specialist Berry for a lightweight spray head for cleaning products made from 29 per cent PCR polypropylene. According to the company, the spray head can withstand at least 5,000 sprays, which corresponds to around eleven refills of the bottle.
Only rebranded last year and already winning an award: the Adapa Group is delighted to have won a WorldStar for its „Design for Recycling“ shrink film.
In the „Packaging“ category, the Austrian Adapa Group won an award for its VACUshrink(re) MEX 55 shrink film. The material, which is intended for packaging meat and cheese products, impressed the jury with its design-for-recycling approach, as 95 per cent PE is used in production and a maximum of five per cent EVOH is added. The film is fully recyclable in accordance with CEFLEX guidelines.
