2011 National Paperboard Packaging
Competition: Results
Administered and hosted by PPC and judged by a jury of packaging professionals, industry experts, professors, and magazine publishers, the 68th annual National Paperboard Packaging Competition is the premier competition for carton manufacturers involved in the concept, design, print, performance, and shelf appeal of paperboard packaging.
Entries are submitted from both major corporations and small, family-owned box shops and all are weighted evenly, with the names of manufacturers unknown to the jury. This year, 31 PPC members submitted 117 packages for awards consideration in the overall competition. 13 entries competed in the Innovation category and 15 in the Eco category. Jury members evaluated package samples and their accompanying write-ups to select this year’s award winners.
To see the top winners, just scroll down the page. (Click on each photo to view a larger image.)
To see photos of the gold/excellence winners, click here.
To download a pdf of the top award winners since 1974, click here.
To download a pdf of a complete list of this year's award winners, click here.
To see details for submitting entries to the 2012 competition, visit www.ppcnet.org/CC.
Paperboard Package of the Year
Cheerios Bring on the Gold from Graphic Packaging International
This limited edition cereal box for the 2010 Olympics Hockey Shoot Out featured a 3D interactive hockey game on its back panel. Even though the intricate game has many complex pieces, the carton was designed in such a way that it could be run through General Mills' high-speed packaging line, thus keeping costs to a minimum and getting the product to market quickly.
Rigid Box of the Year Award
Sobel Westex Towel Box from Taylor Box Company
This package impressed the judges with its complex design that required multiple diecutting and laminating steps before being painstakingly hand-assembled.
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Folding Carton of the Year Award
Mars Chocolate Valentine Heart Boxes from from Graphic Packaging International
Each unique, heart-shaped box was glued to hold a bag of M&M's in place and then hand-locked via a tab on its back panel. To keep the smallest carton from tearing when loading the M&M's bag, Graphic Packaging designed an innovative diecut relief area that was glued for added strength.
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Innovation Award
Mars Chocolate Valentine Heart Boxes from from Graphic Packaging International
Each unique, heart-shaped box was glued to hold a bag of M&M's in place and then hand-locked via a tab on its back panel. To keep the smallest carton from tearing when loading the M&M's bag, Graphic Packaging designed an innovative diecut relief area that was glued for added strength.
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Eco Award
Crest Complete Toothpaste from PaperWorks Packaging Group
Holographic effects are usually achieved by laminating non-biodegradable PET to boxboard, which makes the package unrecyclable. PaperWorks, however, achieved an equivalent holographic effect by micro-embossing a common reflective coating to the boxboard. This process not only cost less to produce but also eliminated the need for the additional lamination step at an off-site facility, thus saving money on transportation, energy, and raw materials.
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Judges' Award
Origin's Plantscription Anti-Aging Cosmetics Display by DISC
New this year is the Judges' Award, which was introduced by the jury to honor an exceptional example of paperboard packaging that was neither a folding carton nor a rigid box. This cosmetics display for Estee Lauder was created by laminating 28 layers of .024 SBS, and then trimming it on a guillotine cutter. Paperboard was selected over more traditional foamcore and wood because it could be easily recycled after use.
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