AIP April 2023 eNewsletter

APRIL 2023

AIP: PEAK PROFESSIONAL BODY FOR PACKAGING EDUCATION & TRAINING IN AUSTRALASIA

inside this BUMPER 2023 PIDA Award Issue...

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

2023

DESIGN OF THE YEAR

WINNERS

POSITIONS VACANT

Page 2-5

BEYOND

4x Job Vacancies Available

NEW

MEMBERS

The AIP would like to welcome the following new Members...

NAME GRADE STATE/COUNTRY

Angela Colafella Associate (AAIP) VIC

Ron Adrian Dionaldo Member (MAIP CPP) International

Ombeline Even Associate (AAIP) NSW

Angela Hanson Associate (AAIP) QLD

Peter Horvat Associate (AAIP) ACT

Angela Jones Member (MAIP) NSW

Col Kavanagh Associate (AAIP) VIC

NAME GRADE STATE/COUNTRY

Vicki March Associate (AAIP) NSW

Phil May Member (MAIP) WA

Hemalekha Nagulan Associate (AAIP) NSW

Anantha Alaganan Sankaranarayanan Member (MAIP) VIC

Russell Saunders Member (MAIP) VIC

Mark Wood Member (MAIP) VIC

AIP Australasian Packaging Conference WRAP UP Page 91

Position Vacant Fonterra: Packaging Technologist

Your Purpose

At Fonterra, they ensure that all their value adding production packing lines are consistently meeting product food safety, regulatory, quality & efficiency standards and therefore meeting and exceeding their customer and stakeholder expectations. Hence this exciting opportunity for a Packaging Technologist based at their Richmond office, on a hybrid model.

The Insight & Innovation team is focused on maintaining the growth trajectory of the business. As a key part of this team, the Packaging Technologist’s responsibility is to deliver both new product and packaging projects from ideation to launch. The role will encompass packaging development, artwork workflow, value engineering, quality improvement and cost optimisation projects. It requires strong project management and stakeholder engagement skills as you will engage with a cross functional team to deliver initiatives collaboratively. You will be working closely with manufacturing, engineering, procurement, technical and quality.

Reporting to the NPD Manager – Cheese, Spreads, Beverages and Milk Powders, this role will expose you to a very exciting innovation agenda and pipeline, in a time where Fonterra are investing significantly on their capabilities, as well as having a front row seat on their sustainability program. Your responsibilities will include but not limited to the following:

• Contribute to the production of sustained significant commercial value for Fonterra Australia through delivering packaging solutions for NPD, cost optimisation and business support projects.

• Execute the technical packaging delivery of projects for the Fonterra Australia business, particularly for projects supporting the Cheese, Spreads, Beverages and Milk Powders team strategy.

• Applying sound packaging development principles to participate in taking a scoped concept through to launch.

• Leading the handover and introduction of any changes to packaging specifications through New Product Development projects.

• Creation and validation of changes to packaging material specifications through implementing packaging initiatives.

• Understanding of APCO and the ARL guidelines, implement on pack to help consumers to recycle correctly and supporting Brand owners and packaging suppliers to design packaging that is recyclable at end-of-life.

• Strong written and oral communication skills.

• Self-motivated, with the ability to work both as an active team member and independently.

• At least 3 years’ experience in a sustainability focussed role or organisation.

• Experience in supporting members or customers, including delivery of training programmes, workshops and event management.

• Tertiary degr ee in environment, sustainability or management.

You will play an integral role in many of their key business initiatives and will develop effective working relationships with stakeholders at all levels of the organisation. Some travel to their Operations sites, located across VIC and TAS, will be required.

What you will bring

Fonterra are looking for someone bright and driven with a passion for the packaging space, ideally with good mechanical aptitude. You will have several years’ experience as a packaging technologist having worked with a wide range of food packaging solutions.

A clear and natural communicator, you will easily be able to share practical and theoretical knowledge about packaging formats and show demonstrated ability to drive change.

In addition, you will have:

• Packaging Technologist degree or other relevant packaging related tertiary qualification.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to think creatively and identify opportunities for process improvement.

• The ability to work autonomously, but also to be comfortable asking questions when required.

• Strong Project Management and prioritisation skills

• Good computer literacy skills, with SAP experience being a bonus.

• Proven practical packaging technologist experience, preferably within the dairy or food industries.

• Proven history of effective contribution as a member of a multi-disciplinary team.

• Proven knowledge of cross functional specification and regulatory requirements.

• Robust organisational ability and attention to detail

• Effect change and build relationships through problem-solving abilities.

About Fonterra

Fonterra is a global nutrition company owned by 10,000 farming families in New Zealand. They employ 20,000 people around the globe and offer amazing opportunities for people who want to join their team.

In Australia, they take the milk they collect from their farmers, and their eight manufacturing sites across Victoria and Tasmania turn this into dairy foods that generations of Australians have grown up with and love, including Perfect Italiano™, Mainland™, Western Star™, and Bega™. At Fonterra, they understand that to attract top talent they need to have the jobs that will make you want to get out of bed in the morning. Diversity, inclusion, and flexibility are a big part of their business, and with a collaborative culture, inspiring leaders and passionate people, this is a great place to work.

Position Vacant Fonterra: Packaging Technologist – Sustainability

About Fonterra

Fonterra is a global nutrition company owned by 10,000 farming families in New Zealand. They employ 20,000 people around the globe and offer amazing opportunities for people who want to join their team.

Your Purpose

This is an opportunity to be part of something truly special. Fonterra are seeking an experienced Packaging Technologist with a passion for sustainability to lead the packaging development, execution, and implementation of Fonterra’s Sustainable Packaging goal of 100% Recyclable, Compostable or Reusable by 2025. Based at their modern Richmond head office and working within a hybrid model with WFH flexibility, this role will see you understand Fonterra Australia’s sustainability plan and work closely with the Project Manager – Sustainability to plan, develop, trial, and implement all required packaging changes to meet Fonterra’s 2025 targets.

As the Packaging Technologist – Sustainability, you will be responsible for leading the development and execution of a robust technical trial plan to ensure successful implementation of any required packaging changes to their existing portfolio.

Operating within a cross functional environment, you will work closely with the NPD, Operations and Procurement functions to identify any synergies with NPD and Operations packaging projects.

You will also:

• Deliver all the required packaging technical documentation as part of the Sustainability program.

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with existing and new packaging suppliers to brief and develop the packaging solutions required to achieve Fonterra’s sustainability targets.

• Work closely with the Specifications team to develop and deliver all necessary administration changes as part of the sustainability program such as SAP Material Master Data changes, and Specification updates in Hamilton Grant.

• Develop and maintain strong relationships at relevant manufacturing sites to ensure successful handover and commercialisation of all changes to packaging through the sustainability program, in particular with the production & quality functions.

You will play an integral role in many of their key business initiatives and will develop effective working relationships with stakeholders at all levels of the organisation.

Some travel to their Operations sites, located across VIC and TAS, will be required.

What you will bring Fonterra are looking for someone bright and driven with a passion for the packaging sustainability space, ideally with good mechanical aptitude.

You will have several years’ experience as a packaging technologist having worked with a wide range of food packaging solutions.

A clear and natural communicator, you will easily be able to share practical and theoretical knowledge about packaging formats and show demonstrated ability to drive change.

In addition, you will have:

• Degree qualifications in Science, Technical or Engineering discipline. Food Science, Food Technology, Packaging technology is preferred.

• 5+ years’ Food/Packaging Technologist experience within Manufacturing/FMCG.

• Packaging sustainability experience will be highly advantageous.

• Demonstrable ability to work cross functionally including machine operators, line leads and senior managers.

• Excellent planning and organisation skills.

About Fonterra

Fonterra is a global nutrition company owned by 10,000 farming families in New Zealand. They employ 20,000 people around the globe and offer amazing opportunities for people who want to join their team.

In Australia, they take the milk they collect from their farmers, and their eight manufacturing sites across Victoria and Tasmania turn this into dairy foods that generations of Australians have grown up with and love, including Perfect Italiano™, Mainland™, Western Star™, and Bega™.

At Fonterra, they understand that to attract top talent they need to have the jobs that will make you want to get out of bed in the morning. Diversity, inclusion, and flexibility are a big part of their business, and with a collaborative culture, inspiring leaders and passionate people, this is a great place to work.

Position Vacant Patties Foods: Senior Packaging Technologist

• Varied & challenging role.

• Pakenham based, with travel between sites required.

• Growing food manufacturing company.

Are you ready for a change of scenery? To say goodbye to peak hour traffic each day? Here is your opportunity to work for an iconic organisation situated in Pakenham, Victoria. As one of the largest Australian food manufacturing companies, Patties Foods owns iconic brands such as Four’N Twenty, Patties, Herbert Adams and Nannas. Making food Australians love isn’t just about creating great recipes, choosing the perfect ingredients or using the best measures or mixers, it’s also about cooking with heart. Passion and pride are their key ingredients, and they never forget to add a generous serve of care.

Patties Foods values of courage, trust, integrity and ownership reflect their origin as a family-owned company. They are the custodians of a unique portfolio of brands that have become household names across the nation. Of course, along with Great Brands, and Great Assets, the other vital ingredient in their recipe for success is – GREAT PEOPLE!

They currently have an exciting opportunity for a Senior Packaging Technologist to join their Marketing & Innovation Team. The role is located in Pakenham but will require travel. This is a great opportunity to work with packaging across the baked, frozen and chilled environments.

Reporting into the Senior Packaging Manager, the role will be responsible for:

• Introducing innovative packaging designs and formats.

• Leading and executing packaging projects across multiple production sites.

• Develop relevant packaging specifications and knowledge management systems (Inc. reporting).

• Highly cross-functional role, across multiple departments and factory sites.

• Engaging with suppliers of packaging material and equipment to autonomously deliver on projects.

• A focus on improving efficiencies across the packaging spectrum, including supply chain.

• A keen priority on optimising (minimising) the impact of their business on the environment.

• Direct input into and approval of artwork.

The role is located at the Pakenham manufacturing site, with regular project-based travel between production sites and head office.

The successful candidate will be passionate about all things packaging related! You will champion the packaging function across the group, with an enthusiastic and pro-active attitude, excellent organisational skills and attention to detail, and the ability to problem solve and provide solutions. Your strong communication skills and drive to make a positive contribution will ensure your success in the role.

FMCG manufacturing experience is required, with a technical understanding of the various packaging streams/formats and their manufacturing processes. A degree or diploma in Packaging Technology / Food Technology / Food Engineering or similar will be highly advantageous.

Evidence is Confidence

• Oxygen Transmission & Water Vapour Transmission Rate

• Analysis of plastic materials & Multilayered Structures

• Tensile Strength, Tear, Impact & Puncture Resistance

• Investigation of plastic materials & supply consistency

www.gunnlab.com

impartial testing of plastics and packaging

We’ve got the tools for the job.

Our reputation comes from over 30 years of technical expertise, backed up with modern laboratory equipment.

Position Vacant Diageo: Packaging Technologist

About Diageo

With over 200 brands sold in more than 180 countries, Diageo are the world’s leading premium drinks company. Every day, over 27,000 dedicated people come together at Diageo to create the magic behind our much-loved and timeless brands including Baileys, Guinness, Gordon’s and Smirnoff.

Join them, and you will collaborate with hard-working people from all corners of the world. You will innovate and push boundaries, shaping a sustainable and more inclusive future that we can all be proud of.

With diversity at their core, they celebrate their people’s individual passions, commitments and specialist skills. In their supportive culture, your voice will be heard and you’ll be empowered to be you. Just bring your ambition, curiosity and ideas, and they will celebrate your work and help you reach your fullest potential.

About the role

As a Packaging Technologist you will oversee packaging development related activities for all assigned Innovation, Renovation and Promotion projects. This role includes technical support to the manufacturing sites through collaboration with the Procurement team for supplier development and identifying cost savings and efficiencies. The role holder is also expected to contribute to the Diageo Society 2030 Sustainable targets.

This position is responsible to design, develop, validate and implement new packaging for Innovation, Renovation, Imports and Cost initiative projects. It will also render technical support to the Huntingwood and Bundaberg supply sites regarding all packaging related issues.

What does this role look like for you?

Are you an innovative individual who would like to design and develop new and improved packaging for a world leading alcoholic beverage company? They are looking for someone with a comprehensive understanding of packaging development as well as a person who can provide technical support to the wider team. You will also be passionate about sustainability and will work closely with the packaging manager on the Diageo Society 2030 projects.

Responsibilities:

• Design, develop and implement packaging for new, changed or promotional products in line with marketing requirement and sustainable guidelines to meet launch dates.

• Provide technical guidance for the application and approval of artworks to packaging components within Diageo formal process to meet mandatories and technical standards.

• Conduct trials and provide technical support to Huntingwood and Bundaberg sites to validate new packaging and processes.

• Liaise with suppliers on alternative packaging materials and technologies for innovative solutions and/or cost saving opportunities.

• Create, document and maintain packaging trial reports, packaging materials specifications and business critical data with SAP.

So, what about you?

• Understanding of packaging materials – preferably glass, cans, labels, paperboard and corrugate.

• Sound understanding of Packaging Development process and Sustainable Packaging Guidelines

• Good knowledge of project management processes and practices and continuous improvement principles.

• 5+ years’ experience in packaging development preferably in consumer goods and high speed production environment.

What are the benefits?

Diageo are an organisation that creates products that are part of celebrations, and their culture reflects this. At Diageo, you will have the ability to work flexibly to ensure you can unlock your own potential through creating bold plans and driving your vision. You will also be rewarded through competitive salary and monetary benefits including bonus, flexible leave entitlements and product allowance as well as being supported via non-monetary benefits including an industry leading parental leave policy, volunteering days and workplace giving, and subscriptions to mental health and fitness platforms.

Diversity Statement

Celebrating their inclusive and diverse culture is core to Diageo’s purpose of “celebrating life every day everywhere”. This purpose is, in itself, inclusive in nature, as it values everybody irrespective of background, disability, religion, gender identity, sexuality or ethnicity. They know that for their business to thrive and for Diageo to realise its ambition, they depend on having diverse talent with a range of backgrounds, skills and capabilities in each of the 180 countries in which they operate and to reflect their broad consumer base. They view diversity as one of the key enablers that helps their business to grow and their values, purpose and standards set the conditions for them to respect the unique contribution each person brings.

Flexibility is key to success in their business and many of their staff work flexibly in many different ways, including part-time, compressed hours, flexible location. Please talk to them about what flexibility means to you and don’t let anything stop you from applying.

Elevate your Packaging Career

Do you have what it takes to become a Certified Packaging Professional?

The Certified Packaging Professional CPP ® is the premier designation in the industry globally, signifying excellence as a packaging professional with the most recent IoPP salary survey revealing that CPPs ® earn up to 10% more than their non-certified co-workers. Using the CPP ® program to assess and evaluate one’s professional competency validates you as internationally proficient as a packaging professional; a cut above your peers.

Isn’t it time that you joined recognised packaging experts from around the world with the industry’s leading professional designation and elevate the packaging profession globally?

Up-Coming Courses, Webinars & Tradeshows

MAY 2023

Interpack

WHEN: 4 - 10 May 2023

WHERE: Düsseldorf, Germany

WHAT: Interpack is far more than just a packaging show. As the world's leading trade fair, it is the major inspiration for the packaging industry and all related process technologies. 2,700 exhibitors from more than 60 countries will present their latest ideas, innovate concepts and technological visions at interpack - not only in equipment and machinery for packaging and processing, but also in production tools for packaging materials, materials themselves, and services for the entire industry.

Interpack

WHEN: 8 May 2023

WHERE: International Lounge, Messe Düsseldorf, Germany

WHAT: They exist - 'Women in packaging', but there are still too few women in the industry, and too few make it to the executive levels.

Especially in times of a shortage of skilled workers, valuable potential often remains untapped. Many women also seek contact with like-minded people. So there are many good reasons for a women's network.

This year, interpack is promoting an exchange for the first time with an event by women for women. Together with the WPO, it is hosting a panel discussion followed by networking on May 8. Female participants have the opportunity to expand their professional network, get inspired by other women and share experiences.

All women who are already working in the industry as well as interested junior staff, trainees and students are invited.

2023 WorldStar Global Packaging Awards 19 Australian Companies to receive awards

WHEN: 6 May 2023

WHERE: Dusseldorf, Germany

WHAT: WPO is happy to announce that the upcoming WorldStar Award Ceremony for 2023 will take place physically on 6th May 2023, in Düsseldorf (Germany), during Interpack trade show (May 4-10 2023).

Packaging Open Day: Kissel + Wolf Australia

WHEN: 10 May 2023

WHERE: 26 Ovata Drive, Tullamarine VIC

WHAT: Kissel + Wolf are extending an invitation to all AIP Members to visit their Tullamarine premises on the 10th of May. If you are looking to stay ahead of the latest trends in the print and packaging industry and want to learn about innovative technology that contributes to a circular economy and meets the demands of e-commerce packaging then this open day is for you. The upcoming open house event by Kissel + Wolf Australia is a golden opportunity to stay ahead of the curve in the fast-evolving print and packaging industry.

Up-Coming Courses, Webinars & Tradeshows

MAY 2023

AIP Packaging Specifications Training Course: VIRTUAL REVISED EDITION

WHEN: 24 May 2023

WHERE: Via Zoom

WHAT: The packaging specification defines all the necessary packing levels for a product or transport the product. For a product, a packaging specification focuses on the packed product and which packaging materials are being used to ensure safe travels in the rigors of the supply chain. In the course we will cover aspects such as: Why have a specification, the management thereof, how to collect the data, and the fundamentals of drafting a specification. We will discus material types in packaging, as well as sampling plans, testing of packaging, and how best to incorporate all the data into one document. The course will address the importance of auditing suppliers of your packaging. After the course you will be able to know what is key to a packaging specification sheet. You will fully comprehend that the packaging specification is a technical document that contains a series of standard requirements for packaging a product. It includes size, dimensions, weight, materials, tolerances and load related information.

TRAINER:

JUNE 2023

ProPak Asia 2023 AIP to host training course & seminars alongside

WHEN: 14 - 17 June 2023

WHERE: BITEC, Bangkok, Thailand

WHAT: ProPak Asia 2023, the leading Processing & Packaging trade event for Food, Drink, Pharmaceutical, Cosmetics, and Consumer Products brings together exhibiting companies and buyers from around the world.

ProPak Asia is returning in its 30th installment as the Premier Processing & Packaging event of its kind in Asia and continuing in its commitment to provide the industries with the latest advancements in machinery, technologies and innovative solutions. This year, ProPak Asia offers its Hybrid exhibition presents both physical and virtual exhibitions together, where you can visit booths at BITEC and interact with exhibitors on the online platform at your convenience aiming to overcome global challenges and driving industry into the future that will require quality products and efficient solutions to feed a growing population and protect the environment digitally.

2023 Global Packaging Forum

WHEN: 14 June 2023

WHERE: Alongside ProPak Asia 2023, Bangkok, Thailand

WHAT: The Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP), in conjunction with Informa Markets, will be running the fourth Global Packaging Forum as an in-person event during day one (14 June) of ProPak Asia 2023.

Each session will bring together expert global presenters who will be discussing various topics within the packaging realm including circular and sustainable packaging design, designing out waste through packaging, the shift towards mono material recyclable materials and packaging, how to maintain a balanced approach between the environmental impacts of packaging and food and what is on the horizon for new innovations.

Speakers confirmed so far include Sealed Air, TetraPak, Plantic, Amcor Flexibles, Close the Loop Group, Contech and industry associations from across the globe including the World Packaging Organisation, PMMI, UCIMA and AIP.

All of industry is invited to attend, so book your place today. The seminar will be conducted in English and all attendees will attain 1.5 CPD points per session towards the global Certified Packaging Professional designation and a certificate of attendance.

Prof Pierre Pienaar MSc, FAIP, CPP Education Director Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP)

Up-Coming

Courses, Webinars & TradeshowsPACKAGING OPEN DAY

Attention, packaging enthusiasts! Are you looking to stay ahead of the latest trends in the print and packaging industry? Want to learn about innovative technology that contributes to a circular economy and meets the demands of e-commerce packaging? The upcoming open house event by Kissel + Wolf Australia is a golden opportunity to stay ahead of the curve in the fast-evolving print and packaging industry.

At this event, you will get an exclusive chance to learn about the latest trends and developments in the packaging world, including cutting-edge technologies that can streamline your workflow, simplify your packaging artwork & prepress, and contribute to a circular economy.

The event promises to be an immersive experience, allowing you to collaborate with other industry professionals, build your network, and gain invaluable insights from the experts. You'll learn how to rethink your planning and imposition process with artificial intelligence, create packaging samples using digital cutting and creasing, take advantage of digital inkjet printers for corrugated packaging, and streamline your end-to-end workflow with web-to-pack for packaging converters.

Don't miss out on this exciting opportunity to learn from Kissel + Wolf Australia and other industry experts. Attend the open house to learn how to simplify your packaging artwork and prepress, rethink your planning and imposition process with artificial intelligence, create packaging samples using digital cutting and creasing, take advantage of digital inkjet printers for corrugated packaging, and streamline your end-to-end workflow with web-to-pack for packaging converters.

This is event is exclusive to AIP members and will be held on Wednesday 10. May from 12 – 3 pm, with light lunch served.

Register now and take the first step towards becoming a packaging industry leader!

Up-Coming Courses, Webinars & Tradeshows

JUNE 2023

Flexible Packaging: Now & Into The Future: Training Course

WHEN: 14 June 2023

WHERE: Alongside ProPak Asia 2023 , Bangkok, Thailand

To be held alongside

WHAT: One of the fastest growing segments of the packaging industry, flexible packaging combines the best qualities of plastic, film, paper and aluminium foil to deliver a broad range of protective properties while employing a minimum of material. Typically taking the shape of a bag, pouch, liner, or overwrap, flexible packaging is defined as any package or any part of a package whose shape can be readily changed.

Leading the way in packaging innovation, flexible packaging adds value and marketability to food and non-food products alike. From ensuring food safety and extending shelf life, to providing even heating, barrier protection, ease of use, resealability and superb printability, the industry continues to advance at an unprecedented rate.

The life cycle attributes of flexible packaging demonstrate many sustainable advantages. Innovation and technology have enabled flexible packaging manufacturers to use fewer natural resources in the creation of their packaging, and improvements in production processes have reduced water and energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions and volatile organic compounds.

The Flexible Packaging: Now & Into the Future training course will cover the basic fundamentals of flexible packaging, its benefits, how you chose the specific structures to match the product, its performance, marketing challenges and how the packaging is manufactured.

With the latest challenges facing us regarding sustainability in packaging the course will discuss the options, pros and cons of Compostability vs Recyclability, moves to mono material recyclable packaging to meet CEFLEX standards and other innovative alternative materials now available. As an add on, the course will be looking at the future plans for flexible packaging and available closed loop collection programs, kerbside collection development, advanced recycling options for circular design and many others to meet Packaging and Food Waste Targets.

Course Objectives:

The objectives of the course are to provide participants an understanding of:

• A good broad understanding of the benefits of Flexible packaging.

• The process of manufacturing.

• Where the future lies with flexible films and the changes ahead.

• Snap shot of some of the latest packaging trends and what are the driving forces.

• Understanding the challenges facing us with the sustainable packaging race toward.

LECTURER:

Joe Foster FAIP Education Team Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP)

ProPak Asia 2023: Fibre and Flexibles Workshops

WHEN: 15 June 2023

WHERE: Alongside ProPak Asia 2023, Bangkok, Thailand

WHAT: The Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP), in partnership with Informa Markets, will be running two interactive workshops on the 15th of June that will be discussing the Future of Flexibles & soft plastics and the Future of Fibre and Renewable Materials. The workshops will bring together leading experts in these materials in a panel discussion format with interaction from the attendees. All of industry is invited to attend, so book your place today. The seminar will be conducted in English and all attendees will attain 2 CPD points per session towards the global Certified Packaging Professional designation and a certificate of attendance.

* = 12.5

CPP PTS

To be held alongside

* = 2

CPP PTS PER SESSION

Up-Coming Courses, Webinars & Tradeshows

JULY 2023

Foodpro 2023

WHEN: 23 - 26 July 2023

AIP to host training course & more alongside

WHERE: Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre

WHAT: foodpro, Australia's most trusted and proven trade event in the food manufacturing industry, is back for the first time in 6 years.

Returning 23-26 July 2023 at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, foodpro provides the first opportunity for the industry to celebrate the contribution of Australian food producers, distributors, and manufacturers. Showcasing the latest packaging and processing solutions, foodpro is where the food industry gathers to make big business deals, network and explore ways to create an efficient future for manufacturing. Generate leads and close deals at an action packed four day gathering attracting premium and qualified buyers.

AIP Sustainable Packaging Session for the Meat & Proteins Industry

WHEN: 23 July 2023

WHERE: Smart Food Lounge, Foodpro 2023, Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre

WHAT: AIP Sustainable Packaging Session for the Meat Industry: Showcasing innovative award-winning sustainable and circular packaging solutions that have won PIDA Awards and WorldStar Packaging Awards for the meat/proteins side of the industry. This session will bring together a number of experts in this field that have recently been recognised for their unique, innovative and sustainable packs.

Active & Intelligent Packaging: Training Course NEW COURSE

WHEN: 24 July 2023

WHERE: Alongside Foodpro 2023, Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre

WHAT: Printed Packaging will NEVER be replaced even though nearly every other printed medium has shifted to digital and now sits on a smartphone or PC. Likewise, email and social media platforms are a crowded space where it is difficult to stand out.

To be held alongside

To be held alongside

We use smartphones and smart appliances, drive smart cars, and we increasingly purchase consumer goods that are supplied and transported in smart packages. So, what makes all those things ‘smart’ and how can 'smart packaging' be implemented?

This course is designed to assist anyone who is responsible for packaging, marketing, operations, logistics in the consumer goods and broader supply chain seeking to stay relevant in their consumers lives by using smart packaging solutions that offer out-of-the-box business value.

The course will provide attendees with a better understanding of the smart packaging solutions currently available to transform the way they package, deliver and market their products and connect directly with consumer or offer value that will ensure customers ‘come back for more’. Best Practice examples of award-winning packs from the PIDA awards and WorldStar Awards across Active & Intelligent Packaging will also be discussed in the course.

Discussions will cover Active & Intelligent Packaging in easy to understand terms, and will highlight applications being embraced by brands across various industries who are trying to leverage the benefits of smart packaging solutions to enhance their operations whilst at the same time providing an unparalleled customer experience. Is your business prepared for such transformations?

Course Objectives:

• Develop a better understanding of Active & Intelligent Packaging solutions and the core technologies involved in their delivery.

• Understand the global standards the underpin the smart packaging revolution

• Learn how various smart packaging solutions could be implemented and developed

• Understand applications and use case examples of active and intelligent packaging from inventory management, to customer interaction as well as recycling, brand protection and product recall

• Learn how reducing food waste is possible via smart packaging

• Understand how to use data for insights and increased sales for your products

• Learn how to utilise smart packaging platforms to stay relevant in consumers lives and increase sales

• Learn how smart packaging can help mitigate loss events in the supply chain

LECTURER:

Michael Dosser MAIP Education Team Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP)

* = 12.5 CPP PTS

Up-Coming Courses, Webinars & Tradeshows

JULY 2023

Flexible Packaging: Now & Into The Future: Training Course

WHEN: 24 July 2023

WHERE: Alongside Foodpro 2023, Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre

WHAT: One of the fastest growing segments of the packaging industry, flexible packaging combines the best qualities of plastic, film, paper and aluminium foil to deliver a broad range of protective properties while employing a minimum of material. Typically taking the shape of a bag, pouch, liner, or overwrap, flexible packaging is defined as any package or any part of a package whose shape can be readily changed.

Course Objectives:

The objectives of the course are to provide participants an understanding of:

• A good broad understanding of the benefits of Flexible packaging.

• The process of manufacturing.

• Where the future lies with flexible films and the changes ahead.

• Snap shot of some of the latest packaging trends and what are the driving forces.

• Understanding the challenges facing us with the sustainable packaging race toward.

LECTURER:

Joe Foster FAIP Education Team Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP)

AIP Sustainable Packaging Session for the Food Industry

WHEN: 25 July 2023

WHERE: Smart Food Lounge, Foodpro 2023, Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre

WHAT: This session will showcase innovative packs that have recently award-winning PIDA Awards and WorldStar Packaging Awards including certified compostable packs, fibre based packs, packs made out of renewable materials and smart packaging. This session will bring together a number of experts in this field that have recently been recognised for their intuitive packaging that can potentially save food loss and waste across a value chain and also are more sustainable.

Australasian Waste & Recycling Expo (AWRE) 2023

WHEN: 26 - 27 July 2023

WHERE: International Convention Centre, Sydney

AIP packaging sessions alongside

WHAT: The waste, recycling and resource recovery industry is continuing to transform and has quickly become the nucleus for driving Australia towards a cleaner, more sustainable future. AWRE is THE premier national platform for waste professionals to join forces and work towards this common goal. The event will include three exciting elements for visitors and exhibitors alike.

AIP AWRE Sustainable Packaging Design Session

WHEN: 26 July 2023

WHERE: Alongside AWRE 2023, International Convention Centre, Sydney

WHAT: The AIP will be running a session at AWRE that will be focussed on how to design out waste, create more circular and sustainable packaging with lower environmental impacts. The unique innovations that will be discussed in the session will be award-winning PIDA and WorldStar examples. The Sustainable Packaging Design session is free for all of industry to attend so book your place today. All attendees will attain 1 CPD point per session towards the global Certified Packaging Professional (CPP) designation.

Up-Coming Courses, Webinars & Tradeshows

JULY 2023

AIP AWRE Sustainable Packaging Design Session #2

WHEN: 27 July 2023

WHERE: Alongside AWRE 2023, International Convention Centre, Sydney

WHAT: The AIP will be running a session at AWRE that will be discussing the balance required between the environmental impacts of food waste vs packaging waste. The session will discuss the trade-offs, unintended consequences and also showcase award-winning best practice examples of intuitive and innovative Save Food Packaging Design that can minimise food loss and waste across the value chain. Speakers will be recognised designers in the field and will be discussing their most recent PIDA and WorldStar award winning packs. This Food Waste vs Packaging Waste session is free for all of industry to attend so book your place today. All attendees will attain 1 CPD point per session towards the global Certified Packaging Professional (CPP) designation.

SEPTEMBER 2023

AIP 60th Anniversary Dinner

WHEN: 1 September 2023

WHERE: Aviary, Crown Promenade, Melbourne

Save the date

PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2023

WHEN: 11 - 13 September 2023

WHERE: Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada

WHAT: Every two years, PACK EXPO Las Vegas brings together all packaged goods and life sciences industries for the most productive week of the year. This is where suppliers showcase their latest innovations and end users discover game-changing solutions to packaging and processing challenges. With thousands of solutions on display, PACK EXPO Las Vegas 2023 is the one show in North America where consumer packaged goods and life sciences companies can count on finding the right solutions for their next project.

26-27 July 2023

ICC SYDNEY

AIP to have a stand and run 2x packaging forums alongside of AWRE

Driving a World of Solutions

The waste, recycling and resource recovery industry is continuing to transform and has quickly become the nucleus for driving Australia towards a cleaner, more sustainable future.

AWRE is THE premier national platform for waste professionals to join forces and work towards this common goal. Discover the latest innovations and solutions and connect with like-minded experts as we propel Australia to lead the charge to global and national waste targets – together.

FoodTech PackTech 2023

WHEN: 19 - 21 September 2023

WHERE: Auckland Showgrounds

Up-Coming Courses, Webinars & Tradeshows

SEPTEMBER 2023

AIP to host training course & more alongside

WHAT: New Zealand’s foremost food and packaging technology exhibition where New Zealand’s food manufacturing sector encounters new materials, processes and technology from the world’s top suppliers. FoodTech PackTech (FTPT) is New Zealand’s largest food manufacturing, packaging and processing technology trade show. Running strong for over 20 years this free to attend event brings industry professionals and decision makers together providing a forum for education, discussion and the sharing of knowledge and expertise, critical in the sustainability and growth of the industry.

The AIP are a supporting association of the FoodTech PackTech New Zealand again this year and as a part of the partnership the Institute will be hosting four hours of packaging sessions on Day One, a training course on the Future of Flexible Packaging on Day Two and an exhibition stand.

We hope that you will join us as this will be our first time in New Zealand since the pandemic started..

AIP & FoodTech PackTech Sessions

WHEN: 19 September 2023

WHERE: Alongside FoodTech PackTech 2023, Auckland Showgrounds

WHAT: The AIP will be running a series of packaging sessions which will be designed as panel discussions covering a broad range of topics including packaging targets, waste directives, Sustainable & Circular packaging innovations and designs, incorporating recycled content into packaging, the future of soft plastics and flexible packaging, how to embed the 10 Sustainable Packaging Design Principles into your business, the role that packaging plays in minimising food waste, the future of fibre and renewable materials, the important role that the Australasian Recycling Labelling program plays across ANZ and updates for ANZPAC. The speakers will also include a number of our NZ winners of the ANZ PIDA Awards and the WorldStar Packaging Awards.

Flexible Packaging: Now & Into The Future: Training Course

WHEN: 20 September 2023

WHERE: Alongside FoodTech PackTech 2023, Auckland Showgrounds

WHAT: The Flexible Packaging: Now & Into the Future training course will cover the basic fundamentals of flexible packaging, its benefits, how you chose the specific structures to match the product, its performance, marketing challenges and how the packaging is manufactured.

With the latest challenges facing us regarding sustainability in packaging the course will discuss the options, pros and cons of Compostability vs Recyclability, moves to mono material recyclable packaging to meet CEFLEX standards and other innovative alternative materials now available. As an add on, the course will be looking at the future plans for flexible packaging and available closed loop collection programs, kerbside collection development, advanced recycling options for circular design and many others to meet Packaging and Food Waste Targets.:

Course Objectives:

The objectives of the course are to provide participants an understanding of:

• A good broad understanding of the benefits of Flexible packaging.

• The process of manufacturing.

• Where the future lies with flexible films and the changes ahead.

• Snap shot of some of the latest packaging trends and what are the driving forces.

• Understanding the challenges facing us with the sustainable packaging race toward.

LECTURER:

Joe Foster FAIP Education Team Australian Institute of

Packaging (AIP)

* = 12.5

CPP PTS

Up-Coming Courses, Webinars & Tradeshows

19 - 21 September 2023

Auckland Showgrounds

New Zealand’s foremost food and packaging technology exhibition where New Zealand’s food manufacturing sector encounters new materials, processes and technology from the world’s top suppliers

See us at stand 160

The AIP will have a stand, run multiple packaging sessions and a training course alongside FoodTech PackTech.

Up-Coming Courses, Webinars & Tradeshows

OCTOBER 2023

thinkfood LIVE AIP & AIFST Content Partners

WHEN: 25-26 October 2023

WHERE: Carriageworks, Sydney

WHAT: Introducing thinkfood LIVE, ‘the food NPD event’, showcasing the ideas, ingredients and innovation of the food manufacturing, retail and FMCG industries. An exhibition and conference established specifically to support the new product development cycle, the event will cover everything from consumer insights and packaging, to design agencies and test kitchens. There will be a key focus on ingredients and flavour houses, who can help emerging and established businesses curate the perfect launch pad for their new product or brand. An independent event, aiming to deliver innovative solutions and novel ingredients alongside an unrivalled education program – thinkfood connects select vendors, content creators and service providers with the professionals that bring new food products to life. Stand bookings are also now open.

Waste Expo Australia

WHEN: 25-26 October 2023

WHERE: Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre

WHAT: Waste Expo Australia is the country's largest gathering of waste management and resource recovery professionals. Alongside our largest ever conference program, running across 4 different tracks with 60+ individual sessions and over 100 leading national and international experts, Waste Expo Australia will feature 100+ brands with presence from both local and international exhibitors, providing a platform to discover the latest breakthrough innovations shaping the future of the waste, recycling and resource recovery industry. Attracting more than 6,000 industry professionals, Waste Expo Australia is a must-attend event in the industry's calendar. Be part of this free-to-attend exhibition and conference from 25-26 October 2023 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Australian Institute of Packaging

Helping small to medium-sized enterprises adopt the Australasian Recycling Label

The AIP is proud to be partnering on a new campaign helping SMEs to put the ARL on their packaging.

Small businesses can access:

The ARL Marketplace: new educational hub featuring free AIP training videos and the Packaging Impact Calculator.

Expertise from four campaign partners: the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation, the National Retail Association, and the Australian Food and Grocery Council.

Weekly ARL drop-in session: Register for the online sustainable packaging discussion.

COMING SOON: a new online directory of approved packaging that’s ready to label with the ARL.

To find out more register* today at arlmarketplace.org.au

1. 2.

3. 4.

Unique Women in Packaging forum at interpack 2023 - 8 May

By women for women: interpack will be launching a new Women in Packaging event for the first time on the 8th of May and everyone is invited to attend.

interpack is proud to support women with their own event, and within the framework of the trade fair, to contribute to a diverse industry, to provide opportunities for more young talent to come in to the industry and for better chances for developing a long term career in a global community.

Under the title 'Women in Packaging', interpack will be hosting an inaugural event on the 8th of May explicitly designed to learn more about the women in the wider packaging and processing industries and Nerida Kelton , Vice President Sustainability & Save Food, World Packaging Organisation will be the moderator for this exciting panel discussion.

Historically the packaging and processing industry has been predominantly shaped by men and until the last few decades women in leading positions are especially rare across the globe.

Globally we are seeing a scarcity of trained professionals in the industry and the 'Women in Packaging' forum at interpack will draw attention to barriers, challenges and opportunities for all women across the world to see the industry as an attractive place to establish a long-term career.

The five panelists are Unique Women in Packaging that are internationally successful, pioneers in their areas, marketing experts and founders of companies, role models and inspirations for others in this exciting industry we all work in.

This event will allow attendees to not only learn from the panelists successes, challenges and career pathways but you will also be able to profit from their advice, learnings and recommendations.

Sharing their experiences on the panel are Valentina Aureli , CEO of Aetna Group in Italy, Dr. Afsaneh Nabifa r, Group Leader for the global market development of biopolymers at BASF, Australian Nadia Taylor , co-founder and Director tna solutions, Marjo Halonen , Vice President Communications at Metsä Board Corporation in Finland and Gabi Bauer , Head of Marketing & Communications at Uhlmann Pac-Systeme.

The 'Women in Packaging' forum will take place at interpack on 8 May at 12:00 h in the International Lounge on the ground floor of the trade fair skyscraper and all of industry is invited to attend this very important inaugural event for the global processing and packaging industries.

The event is supported by the WPO – World Packaging Organisation.

Click here for free registration. Book your place today!

UltraGuard™ Solutions for improved barrier properties in polyethylene

UltraGuard™ Solutions by Milliken is a line of performance additives that brings value to polyethylene parts by improving barrier properties. It can be used in films, and in injection molded, compression molded, and blow molded parts.

These additives cut by up to 50% the transmission rate of any substance (such as moisture or oxygen) that passes through the polyethylene bottle.

White opaque HDPE bottles are commonly used for OTC (over-the-counter) drugs, prescription drugs and nutraceutical products because they have good moisture barrier and light protection properties. Barrier enhancement in HDPE pharma bottles is particularly valuable because it can help to extend the potency of drugs toward the end of their shelf life.

As an added benefit, UltraGuard Solutions also provide sustainability benefits. To meet the barrier requirements, pharma bottles typically have much thicker walls than needed from a purely functional point of view. PE resin formulated with these additives enables bottle makers to reduce the weight of these bottles by up to 20% while still providing enhanced barrier properties. These lighter-weight bottles, therefore, use significantly less material and lessen their overall impact on the environment.

Polyethylene with UltraGuard Solutions provides controlled crystallization allowing for enhanced properties.

up to 60% improved barrier downgauging increased shelf life

For more details and information please contact us at asiachem@milliken.com or visit us online at chemical.milliken.com

Reduced (20%) Wall Thickness

Celebrating the barcode's 50th birthday with next-gen promise

The BBC has called the barcode “one of the 50 things that made the modern economy”, and rightfully so. Since its creation in 1973, the symbol is now present on over 1 billion products, and the ‘beep’ at the checkout counter of every store is instantly recognisable worldwide.

The barcode has changed the way we have shopped over the past 50 years. Although all barcodes may look pretty similar, the power lies inside, with a simple scan connecting a physical product to digital information that flows across the entire supply chain thanks to global standards.

The organisation behind the barcode and its global standards — GS1 — has evolved over the last five decades from a standards organisation towards a standards and services organisation currently present in 116 markets.

As the barcode turns 50, GS1 is now launching a global transition from traditional barcodes to next-generation barcodes that may once again change our lives in new ways.

“As consumers rightly demand more and better product information, and the planet requires us all to maximise the power of data for smart and efficient decisions, we are now launching a global transition from traditional barcodes to next-generation barcodes and we welcome everybody on board for this journey,” a GS1 spokesperson said.

Next-generation barcodes

Next-generation barcodes, such as two-dimensional QR codes, can capture large amounts of data for businesses, regulators, consumers and patients, offering more than just links to web pages. They may tell a product’s story, its origins, if it contains allergens, if it is organic, how it can be recycled and what its environmental footprint is. This transparency will help people make decisions about what they buy and use.

GS1 is building a coalition of industry leaders to deploy next-generation barcodes globally, putting technology at the service of efficient trade, more sustainable shopping and patient safety.

It launched a global initiative to transition from traditional to next-generation barcodes with key players in the retail sector at the end of 2020. Over 20 countries and districts, including Australia, China and Brazil, have already started successful pilots. In 2021, GS1 China promoted 2D barcodes and 20 major key branches, including the Zhejiang Branch of GS1 China (Zhejiang Institute of Standardisation), joined the project. In Australia, a 2D program designed to increase awareness, capacity and adoption is in full execution.

“The GS1 barcode is globally recognised and ready for new business. We have experienced 50 years of the barcode transforming how we buy and sell things. As consumers rightly demand more and better product information, and the planet requires us all to maximise the power of data for smart and efficient decisions, we are now launching a global transition from traditional barcodes to next-generation barcodes and we welcome everybody on board for this journey.”

Image credit: iStock.com/LadadikArt

This article was published with permission by foodprocessing.com.au

WPO launches latest Sustainability Perspectives position paper

The WPO (World Packaging Organisation) is pleased to announce that the new Position Paper ‘Sustainability perspectives across the globe is available for free download on the website https://worldpackaging.org/resources/28/ or via the PDF link https://worldpackaging.org/Uploads/2023-02/ResourcePDF51_1675967696.pdf

“Looking through the lens of WPO members, sustainability is ever-evolving, dynamic and in a flux of change”, states Nerida Kelton, WPO Vice President Sustainability & Save Food. She explains the document is the result of recent discussions among 21 countries, WPO members (Finland, Austria, Italy, Poland, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, England, United States of America, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Vietnam, United Arab Emirates, Israel, India, China, the Philippines, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand), about the latest trends, barriers, challenges and initiatives within their country and region.

”What is interesting is that the sentiment is the same in every corner of the globe. Whilst a lot is happening in circular and sustainable design, a lot more needs to be done to realistically be able to meet packaging and waste targets globally, regionally and locally”, adds Nerida.

“The common themes are designing out waste at the start, eliminating problematic materials, phasing out single use plastics, incorporating more recycled content into products, and ensuring that the materials and packaging that is put out into the market is in fact capable of being collected, sorted, recycled, reprocessed and put back into other solutions.”

Key initiatives and programs that are being developed across the WPO member countries include:

1. Moving soft plastics and flexible packaging to mono material formats that can be recycled and/ or reprocessed through Advanced Recycling facilities, Kerbside collection or Return to Store programs.

2. Developing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Regulations.

3. Establishing Plastics Pacts and roadmaps for the country or region.

4. Creating Deposit Return Schemes/Container Deposit Schemes.

5. Building facilities for recycled content.

6. Establishing Single Use Plastics (SUP) Regulations.

7. Improving Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) capabilities and technologies.

8. Building Advanced/Chemical Recycling facilities.

9. Developing Consumer Education for Recycling.

10. Creating on-pack labelling programs to help guide consumers to recycle correctly.

“With so much happening across the world, WPO offers a unique platform to be able to bring developed and developing countries together, in one room, to regularly and openly discuss what is happening globally, regionally and locally”, celebrates Prof Pierre Pienaar, CPP, WPO President.

According to Pierre “The Sustainability & Save Food working group is a strong and passionate team of packaging experts from across the world who are all working towards circular design. The group learns from one another, and we hope that members take some of the ideas and programs back to their own country to implement. WPO recognises that no country can do this by themselves. By sharing knowledge, on not only the positive sides of sustainability, will enable all of us to have a clearer view on what needs to be done in our own regions to meet global, regional and local packaging and waste targets.”

“Everyone has a role to play to ensure that packaging is being designed to provide the lowest environmental impacts wherever possible and that the materials and formats are fit-for-purpose, functional and truly capable of being collected, sorted, recycled and reprocessed in the country that it is sold in”, ends Nerida.

DIPLOMA IN PACKAGING TECHNOLOGY

Internationally recognised as the premier qualification in the packaging industry.

The Diploma in Packaging Technology is a Level 5 PIABC, 51-credit foundation degree-level qualification that prepares students to take responsibility for packaging operations at any level through the supply chain and can also lead to higher level study.

What’s in it for me?

Completion of the Diploma in Packaging Technology demonstrates your commitment to your career and to the industry. Students who successfully complete the course and achieve the qualification are equipping themselves for senior positions within the packaging industry.

CERTIFICATES OF MERIT (listed by country)

ENTRY ENTERED BY Dentia

Josephine Collins

University of New South Wales

2022 WorldStar Student Award Winner

ENTRY ENTERED BY Dentia

Josephine Collins

University of New

ENTRY ENTERED BY Packaging Design of a Fast Single Drug Delivery Bottle

LianKai Sun

Hunan University of Technology

This is a packaging design of quick single drug delivery bottle.The bottle bodyis made of medical high-density polyethylene. The structure comprises a medicine bottle shell, an internal medicine storage screw, a rotating shaft, a

Dentia is a refillable and recyclable toothpaste system. Consumers press the large, accessiblepump head to dispense the recommended amount of a low viscosity toothpaste through the mono-material pump. Users can refill the dispenser when needed by purchasing the recyclable bulk sized refill pouch.

I am honoured to have been awarded a Certificate of Merit for the 2022 WorldStar Student Awards. As a starting Industrial Designer, it is not only a wonderful international platform to showcase my work and skills, but a way to celebrate innovative and environmentally conscious design practices amongst up and coming designers. I would like to thank my teachers at UNSW for their guidance and encouragement, and I am grateful for the opportunity to have participated in an internationally recognised program. I am excited to see what doors this can open and where this takes me in the field of packaging. Thank you!

ENTRY ENTERED BY Packaging Design LianKai Sun

Hunan University EDUCATIONA L IN S TITUTIO N

This is a packaging design of quick single drug delivery bottle.The bottle bodyis made of medical high-density polyethylene. The structure comprises a medicine bottle shell, an internal medicine storage screw, a rotating shaft, a fixed shaft, a three-layer rotary table, etc.

Josephine Collins

Dentia

2023 AUSTRALASIAN PACKAGING INNOVATION & DESIGN ( PIDA ) AWARDS GALA DINNER

28th March 2023

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

Winners for the 2023 round of the annual Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards have been announced in front of 330 people at a gala awards evening at the Crown on the 28th of March.

Coordinated by the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) the PIDA awards are designed to recognise companies and individuals who are making a significant difference in their field across Australia and New Zealand.

The Packaging Innovation & Design of the Year company awards recognise organisations that have designed innovative packaging within six categories:

1. Food Packaging Design of the Year

2. Beverage Packaging Design of the Year

3. Health, Beauty & Wellness Packaging Design of the Year

4. Domestic & Household Packaging Design of the Year

5. Labelling & Decoration Design of the Year

6. Outside of the Box Design of the Year

There are five special awards also available:

1. Marketing Design of the Year

2. Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year

3. Industry Packaging Professional of the Year

4. Young Packaging Professional of the Year

5. ABA Scholarships

The PIDA Awards are also the exclusive feeder program for Australia and New Zealand for the prestigious WorldStar Packaging Awards run by the World Packaging Organisation. All 2023 PIDA winners will be automatically eligible for entry into the 2024 WorldStar Packaging Awards competition.

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

Winners crowned at PIDA 2023 night of nights

It was an evening to remember for the 350 packaging professionals gathered at the Crown Promenade in Melbourne for the long-awaited in-person gala dinner presentation of the Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design Awards. PKN was there.

The awards evening followed a successful first day at the AIP's Australian Packaging Conference, where many of the ideas shared on sustainable design and innovation were reflected in the winning entries.

MC for the night was Damian Walsh, with co-host Lindy Hughson, publisher of PKN Packaging News and Food & Drink Business, the exclusive media partners for the awards since the programme's inception. The duo presented the winners and category commentary in tandem, with presentation of special prizes made by senior AIP board members, Jason Fields FAIP, CPP, Pierre Pienaar FAIP, CPP and Ralph Moyle FAIP, CPP.

The AIP presented a surprise award on the night, which brought the audience to their feet in a standing ovation for Nerida Kelton, as they recognised the significant contribution the Institute's executive director has made to the AIP and the wider industry.

Nerida Kelton was recognised as a Fellow of the Institute, joining a special group of AIP leaders and contributors, many of which were in attendance on the night.

Kelton, who was overcome by emotion, said she was humbled and honoured to be made a Fellow.

Nerida Kelton, the newest AIP Fellow, with PKN publisher Lindy Hughson.

PIDA 2023 celebrates: A wonderful night for winners.

Lindy Hughson co-hosted with MC Damian Walsh.

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

FOOD PACKAGING DESIGN OF THE YEAR

The Food Packaging Design of the Year award recognises organisations that have designed innovative packaging and/or materials, within food packaging and processing including fresh, frozen or other.

GOLD WINNER

Gold award winner is JBS Swift Lamb Cutlets CRYOVAC Darfesh Mono-PET rollstock (Sealed Air)

GOLD WINNER

2023 Food Packaging Design of the Year

SILVER WINNER

2023 Food Packaging Design of the Year Silver award winner is EarthPouch High Barrier Quad Seal (Mikro Coffee Roasters & TCL Hofmann)

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

FOOD PACKAGING DESIGN OF THE YEAR

Australian

Watch the FOOD PACKAGING DESIGN OF THE YEAR winning video here.

HIGH COMMENDATION WINNERS

2023 Food Packaging Design of the Year High Commendation award winners

DualPakECO compostable food trays (Confoil & BASF)

BRONZE WINNER

2023 Food Packaging Design of the Year Bronze award winner is Vitor Grapes ‘hippie punnet’ (NAVI Co Global)

Organic Food Co. Minestrone Soup mono material retort pouch (Flavour Makers & Toppan Inc)

PIDA 2023: Food Packaging Design of the Year

The Food Packaging Design of the Year award recognises organisations that have designed innovative packaging and/or materials, within food packaging and processing including fresh, frozen or other categories.

"The food manufacturing sector is one of the biggest end users of packaging, accounting for over 70 per cent of all converted packaging," said PKN managing editor & publisher Lindy Hughson, who was co-host of the 2023 PIDA awards.

"It's also a highly competitive sector, where trends are a moving feast, and a constant stream of product innovation is required to feed consumer’s changing tastes and maintain shopper interest, and thus market share.

"But the biggest demand driving packaging design comes from the requirement to package food in sustainable materials - which includes designing for recyclability and compostabitlity, while also designing to prevent food waste.

"As a result, we're seeing a rise in new sustainable, high barrier structures, across fibre-based; compostable; and monomer plastic materials, as well evidenced in this year's selection of finalists."

And the winners are...

There were two High Commendations awards for the category: Australian Organic Food Co. Minestrone Soup mono material retort pouch by Flavour Makers and Toppan Inc. ; and DualPakECO compostable food trays by Confoil and BASF

The Bronze winner was Vitor Grapes ‘hippie punnet’ by NAVI Co Global , while the Silver winner was EarthPouch High Barrier Quad Seal by Mikro Coffee Roasters and TCL Hofmann .

Topping the category with the Gold was JBS Swift Lamb Cutlets Cryovac Darfesh Mono-PET rollstock by Sealed Air

About the Gold winner:

JBS Foods Australia is Australia's largest meat and food processing company, and its Swift brand of quality lamb products have been enjoyed by families since 1855.

The winning innovation is described as a "purposefully simple design where less is more". On retail shelves dominated by printed or black

packaging formats, the clear recyclable pack allows the product to be the hero and allows consumers to see both sides of the product. This, the company believes, is another reason consumers have come to trust this 168-year-old global brand. "What you see is what you get", and there's no need to dispose of a soaker pad that can commonly be found in fresh lamb retail packs.

Cryovac Darfresh mono-PET vacuum skin pack offers the combination of high barrier (low oxygen environment) together with the top web contouring the protein allowing for extended shelf life. An 18day fresh-chilled shelf life was achieved with this pack, which equates to less product waste across the value chain.

For processors, it means efficient batch manufacturing, further product distribution and enhanced sales. For retailers, it means longer merchandising periods, less retail markdowns and less waste. While for consumers, it means a longer window to consume product as the product can be frozen.

While this pack is designed to protect against food waste, it also offers sustainable packaging principles such as optimising material efficiency and design for material recycling. JBS switched to a mono-PET rollstock to address both recyclability and material efficiency. The company says the new design has proven to deliver the optimum level of protection against abuse and spoilage, without compromising product quality or safety.

PIDA 2023 Food Packaging Design of the Year: The Gold winner is JBS Swift Lamb Cutlets Cryovac Darfesh Mono-PET rollstock by Sealed Air.

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

BEVERAGE PACKAGING DESIGN OF THE YEAR

The Beverage Packaging Design of the Year award recognises organisations that have designed innovative packaging and/or materials, within packaging and processing for liquid or dry tea, coffee, water and soft drinks including wine, beer and spirits.

GOLD WINNER

2023 Beverage Packaging Design of the Year Gold award winner is Banrock Station Eco Bottle (Accolade Wines)

GOLD WINNER

READ THE WINNER'S FULL STORY HERE

Watch the

BEVERAGE PACKAGING DESIGN OF THE YEAR winning video here.

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

BEVERAGE PACKAGING DESIGN OF THE YEAR

SILVER WINNER

2023 Beverage Packaging Design of the Year Silver award winner is Penley Sustainability Range (Cutler Brands)

BRONZE WINNER

2023 Beverage Packaging Design of the Year Bronze award winner is Wine Protector (Planet Protector Packaging)

PIDA 2023: Beverage Packaging Design of the Year

The Beverage Packaging Design of the Year award recognises organisations that have designed innovative packaging and/or materials, within packaging and processing for liquid or dry tea, coffee, water and soft drinks including wine, beer and spirits.

"Next to food, the beverage category has to be one of the most visibly creative in its presentation of packaging design, both in labels and primary containers, again with a strong focus on sustainability," said PKN managing editor & publisher Lindy Hughson, who was co-host of the 2023 PIDA awards.

"The designs moving successfully from shelf to trolley are those combining sustainability with functionality, visual appeal, clear on-pack messaging and smart packaging utility - thus engaging consumers in a crowded category where there is a veritable proliferation of new products, both in the alcoholic and non-alcoholic sector.

"The ground has certainly shifted for beverage bottlers in terms of consumer pushback on singleuse plastic, leading to a strong drive toward the use of post-consumer recycled plastic, a growing uptake of aluminium, and innovation in paper-based containers."

And the winners are...

The Bronze winner was Wine Protector by Planet Protector Packaging , while the Silver winner was Penley Sustainability Range by Cutler Brands

Topping the category with the Gold was Banrock Station Eco Bottle by Accolade Wines

About the Gold winner:

The Banrock Station bottle shape has taken a smart cross sectional design of a traditional Bordeaux wine bottle. This means that the bottle has the silhouette of a Bordeaux wine bottle face on, however, when turned to its side, it is flat. This innovative change in shape allows the same volume of wine (750ml) to be packed into a bottle that is 30 per cent more spatially efficient than it’s round, glass predecessor.

By being flat, and having a long neck, the bottle stands tall and proud on retail shelves. Banrock Station’s eco wine bottle is in fact slightly taller than round glass wine bottles when placed side-by-side.

The eco bottles are made from 100 per cent recycled PET (which is sourced in Australia) making them 84 per cent lighter than the average Australian round glass bottle.

In addition, the bottle has a key call out on the front of pack says 'Hey! I'm a 100 per cent recycled bottle'. The bottles use an active oxygen scavenger barrier technology to offer advanced shelf-life performance (19 to 21 months based on real-time and modelled data) over PET with no barrier.

The design offers significant lightweighting - the new pack is 63g, which is 84 per cent lighter than the average 400g glass bottle.

The pack offers spatial efficiency as the bottle flat packs like books, and means wine companies can fit up to 50 per cent more wine on an Australian pallet (1152 vs 768 round glass bottles). This design feature in turn drastically reduces freight costs and transport-related CO2 emissions.

The packaging provides a reduction in energy and emissions through production of material - virgin PET outperforms glass by producing 77 per cent less GHG emissions and using 59 per cent less energy to produce.

The Gold winner was Banrock Station Eco Bottle by Accolade Wines.

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

HEALTH, BEAUTY & WELLNESS PACKAGING DESIGN OF THE YEAR

The Health, Beauty & Wellness Packaging Design of the Year award recognises organisations that have designed innovative packaging and/or materials, within cosmetics, toiletries, personal hygiene, supplements, vitamins, perfumes, hair body and oral care. This award also covers packaging of all medicines including over the counter medicines, medical equipment packaging.

2023 Health, Beauty & Wellness Packaging Design of the Year Gold

award winner is KOi refillable foaming handwash starter kit and 4 pk refillable handwash tablets (Coles Group)

Watch the HEALTH, BEAUTY & WELLNESS PACKAGING DESIGN OF THE YEAR winning video here.

GOLD WINNER

GOLD WINNER

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

HEALTH, BEAUTY & WELLNESS PACKAGING DESIGN OF THE YEAR

BRONZE WINNER

2023 Health, Beauty & Wellness Packaging Design of the Year Bronze award winner is BioShield (Caps & Closures)

Active Silver Ion Technology

Reduce bacteria by 99.99%

Deactivate some viruses

Effective against mould

Lifetime protection

Wide compatibility

A

Reduce carbon footprint

Improves performance

Economic advantage

FDA approved food safe

Recycling compatible

100% bio-renewable

PIDA 2023: Health, Beauty and Wellness Packaging Design of the Year

The Health, Beauty and Wellness Packaging Design of the Year award recognises organisations that have designed innovative packaging and/or materials, within cosmetics, toiletries, personal hygiene, supplements, vitamins, perfumes, hair body and oral care. This award also covers packaging of all medicines including over the counter medicines, medical equipment packaging.

"With wellness at is core, this is a category that is closely linked to lifestyle trends, with product choices often influenced by consumers’ values on matters environmental, social and ethical," said PKN managing editor & publisher Lindy Hughson, who was co-host of the 2023 PIDA awards.

"It’s a category where expectations around the brand experience and packaging aesthetics are high, but at the same time consumers will reward brands who take a stand on sustainability, with recyclable, refillable and reusable criteria strongly influencing the purchasing decision."

And the winners are...

At the 2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design Awards (PIDA), the Bronze winner was BioShield by Caps & Closures , while the Silver winner was Habitat Shipper Box by Production Packaging Innovations .

Topping the category with the Gold was KOi refillable foaming handwash starter kit and 4-pack refillable handwash tablets by Coles Group .

About the Gold winner:

This entirely new concept for the KOi brand is the first step towards a reuse model within the Coles Own Brand health and beauty category.

The Handwash Tablets are Australian made, not tested on animals, vegan friendly, and contain no parabens, sulphates, artificial colours or fragrances. The KOi Invigorating Foaming Hand Wash Tablets incorporate a 'naturally derived' formula in an exclusive tablet format for the KOi brand.

The company explains that the customer only has to purchase one refillable bottle and then top up their handwash with the individual tablets. This reduces the use of single-use plastic bottles. The KOi refillable tablets (4-pack) provide approximately

800ml of product when mixed with water, compared to a standard 500ml liquid hand wash bottle (based on purchasing an existing KOi 500ml handwash.)

The primary packaging for the Starter Kit includes a HDPE bottle made from 30 per cent post-consumer recycled content, and a lightweight cardboard tag. To reduce excess packaging, the two tablets included in the Starter Kit are placed inside the bottle without packaging. The Refill Tablets are wrapped in a polypropylene (PP) wrap and outer cardboard box.

The refillable tablet packaging is smaller in size and approximately 85 per cent lighter in weight than a traditional single-use handwash bottle. This has reduced the overall pallet weight by 47 per cent and increased the quantity of cartons per pallet by 38 per cent.

The Handwash Starter Kit Bottle clearly outlines to customers the sustainability benefits including a ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ label on front of pack, the ‘Australian made’ logo on back of pack, and the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) on back of pack to help customers recycle the cardboard tag correctly.

The Gold winner was KOi refillable foaming handwash starter kit and 4-pack refillable handwash tablets by Coles Group.

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

BELIEVING IN PRINT

The print market is changing, and the transition from analogue to digital technology is accelerating. Creating inkjet technology that drives the industry forward, we introduce a level of quality, speed, and usability that exceeds expectations and gives creative control to the user. We develop our products so customers can effortlessly reach the future and achieve their own goals.

With over 80 years moving forward, we never stop improving and creating value from innovation that helps change the world.

With print, the possibilities are endless.

• High performance mode of 5,400 sheets per hour

• High quality mode for 3,600 sheets per hour of near offset quality prints

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

DOMESTIC & HOUSEHOLD PACKAGING DESIGN OF THE YEAR

The Domestic & Household Packaging Design of the Year award recognises organisations that have designed innovative packaging and/or materials, packaging within domestic and household items, toys, stationary, gifts, clothing, garden equipment, decorating.

GOLD WINNER

2023 Domestic & Household Packaging Design of the Year Gold award winner is 10:PM Mattress Box (Production Packaging Innovations - Karl Joyce, Anjelo Tsoutsoulis and Vaughan Taplin)

READ THE WINNER'S FULL STORY HERE

Watch the DOMESTIC & HOUSEHOLD PACKAGING DESIGN OF THE YEAR winning video here.

GOLD WINNER

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

DOMESTIC & HOUSEHOLD PACKAGING DESIGN OF THE YEAR

SILVER WINNER

2023 Domestic & Household Packaging Design of the Year Silver award winner is Easy Pour (DuluxGroup – British Paints)

BRONZE WINNERS

2023 Domestic & Household Packaging Design of the Year Bronze award winners are...

The Dirt Co Circular Refill Pouch Packaging (O F Packaging/Close the Loop Group)

BioShield (Caps & Closures)

PIDA 2023: Domestic & Household Design of the Year

The Domestic and Household Packaging Design of the Year award recognises organisations that have designed innovative packaging and/or materials, packaging within domestic and household items, toys, stationary, gifts, clothing, garden equipment and decorating.

"Functional design has a big role to play in domestic and household product packaging, with a strong focus on solutions that have high accessibility, enable ease of dispensing, and maintain product integrity throughout the supply chain," said PKN managing editor & publisher Lindy Hughson, who was co-host of the 2023 PIDA awards.

"Without losing sight of the all-important sustainability angle, the designs making the final cut this year demonstrate the application of highly creative ideas to deliver thoughtful, innovative form and structure with high convenience value."

And the winners are...

There are two Bronze winners – BioShield by Caps & Closures , and The Dirt Co Circular Refill Pouch Packaging by O F Packaging and Close the Loop Group ; while the Silver winner was Easy Pour by DuluxGroup – British Paints .

Topping the category with the Gold was 10:PM Mattress Box by Production Packaging Innovations (Karl Joyce, Anjelo Tsoutsoulis and Vaughan Taplin).

About the Gold winner:

10:PM Mattress Box is based on FEFCO 0201 style box with fully overlapped flaps and secure locking tabs. The box is designed in five sizes, and it is equipped with a pair of wheels and a strap handle for easy delivery and transportation.

10:PM Mattress Box is made of a recycled twinwalled corrugated board, which is an industrial

grade board and able to create a robust structure providing enough cushioning to protect the product during transit.

The differentiating feature of this packaging is the easy installation and removal of wheels and handle. Visually impactful, the box has yellow (which is the brand logo colour) and white print on natural kraft background. The high-quality yellow flexo print on kraft board has created a "very catchy artwork that can grab customers’ attention", the company says.

This bespoke mattress box was designed to provide convenience for both the logistics teams and customers, and the unique design of the top and the bottom flaps creates an easy installation of the handle and wheels, which are robust enough to carry the weight of a king mattress.

The wheels installed in the mattress box are recessed by chamfering the edge between the front and bottom panels, which will enable the box to sit flush on the floor. This innovative feature not only increases the stability of the mattress box, but also optimises the storage and transport processes. This bespoke mattress box is constructed of 100 per cent FSC-certified materials (corrugated board) sourced from renewable resources. The box is fully recyclable, made from 70 per cent recycled material. The wheels and handle can be easily removed from the box by the customers for recycling. The ink used in flexo printing is watersoluble and non-toxic.

The Gold winner was 10:PM Mattress Box by Production Packaging Innovations (Karl Joyce, Anjelo Tsoutsoulis and Vaughan Taplin).

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

LABELLING & DECORATION DESIGN OF THE YEAR

The Labelling & Decoration Design of the Year award is designed to recognise the addition of content to a pack which creates a unique or innovative appearance, function or communication. This may include labels, sleeves, tags, coding/markings, etching, directly applied inks or by any other similar process.

GOLD WINNER

2023 Labelling & Decoration Design of the Year Gold award winner

is Christmas BioCups (OzHarvest & BioPak)

READ THE WINNER'S FULL STORY HERE

Watch the LABELLING & DECORATION PACKAGING DESIGN OF THE YEAR winning video here.

GOLD WINNER

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

LABELLING & DECORATION DESIGN OF THE YEAR

2023 Labelling & Decoration Design of the Year Silver award winner is Herma InNo Liner Labelling (Result Group & Hanes Australasia)

BRONZE WINNER

2023 Labelling & Decoration Design of the Year Bronze award winner is The Good Smoothie Milk Powder Composite Pack (Nutura Organic & Zipform Packaging)

PIDA 2023: Labelling & Decoration Design of the Year

The Labelling and Decoration Design of the Year award is designed to recognise the addition of content to a pack which creates a unique or innovative appearance, function or communication. This may include labels, sleeves, tags, coding/markings, etching, directly applied inks or by any other similar process.

"In this category we’re seeing an impressive roll-out of new technology for print finishing and pack decoration technologies, using sustainable inks and substrates," said PKN managing editor & publisher Lindy Hughson, who was co-host of the 2023 PIDA awards.

"This investment is driven by demand from brand owners who know that packaging is a powerful persuader, that you have to dress your product for success on shelf.

"Beyond that, the label or printed pack is now recognised as the platform for engaging directly with the consumer via smart technologies, delivering experiences and important campaign messages directly to their smart devices via the QR code on pack. Adding the dimension of intelligent packaging has taken this category to a whole new level."

And the winners are...

The Bronze winner was The Good Smoothie Milk Powder Composite Pack by Nutura Organic and Zipform Packaging , while the Silver winner was Herma InNo Liner Labelling by Result Group and Hanes Australasia .

Topping the category with the Gold was Christmas BioCups by OzHarvest and BioPak

About the Gold winner:

Never before have Christmas-themed coffee cups been used other than to sell coffee. The design itself is unique, with Australian wildlife dressed in Christmas attire, surrounded by Christmas bobbles and strings of lights. This design certainly gets you into the holiday spirit.

The Christmas BioCups were designed to spread cheer this Christmas throughout Australia, while raising money for a good cause. This was delivered in partnership with Australia’s leading food rescue organisation, OzHarvest.

The cups feature Australian animals dressed in festive attire and a prominent yellow panel with the recognisable OzHarvest logo. The message reads,

“for the cost of a coffee, you can feed people in need”. The cup explains that you can scan the QR code to donate to those in need. The Christmas cups had a more impactful purpose by including a QR code to bring consumers straight to the OZHarvest website to donate.

The campaign sold over 500,000 units of these OzHarvest Cups, which in turn helped spreads the message about helping others at Christmas Time and introduce the work that OzHarvest does to new people. In addition to the funds raised through the QR code, BioPak donated five per cent of profits of these cups directly to OzHarvest. The total funds raised enabled OzHarvest to deliver an additional 7662 meals to the community, rescuing over 3800 kgs of perfectly good food from ending up in landfill.

The BioCups are printed using soy-based inks and are certified industrially compostable to AS4736 Australian standards.

The Gold winner was Christmas BioCups by OzHarvest and BioPak.

LIQUID FILLING SYSTEMS

FILL BAG-IN-BOX FROM 1.5 TO 20 LITERS

FILL STAND-UP POUCHES FROM 0.175 TO 3 LITERS

TOOLING FOR ALL TAPS, CAPS & CONNECTORS

FILL RATES FROM 60 TO 1500 BAGS PER HOUR

From small to large scale production. We have the filling solutions to meet your production requirements.

AUTOMATIC WEB FILLERS FOR BAG IN BOX

180

A unique twin fill head assembly with a single bag infeed and box loader provides reliable and consistent filling of 3-liter bags at up to 1500 bags per hour. Servo powered.

145B

Features the same servo powered fill head as the TORRfiller 150. Production rate is up to 900 3-LT bags per hour. Separates bags after fill.

140H

Semi automatic pouch and bag filler. Optional Vacuum & Nitrogen purge. Rates up to 480 bags per hour. Fills from 1 to 20 liter.

150

A single head version of the TORRfiller 180. Production rate is up to 960 3- LT bags per hour. Separates bags from the web before filling. Servo powered.

140W

An economy automatic web feed filler with air operated fill head. The operator separates the filled bag from the web and hand loads into a box or onto a conveyor. The filler paces the operator. Production rates up to 720 bags per hour.

SEMI - AUTOMATIC WEB FILLERS FOR BAG IN BOX

110

Semi manual bag and pouch filler with turbine flowmeter. Manual uncap and recap. Optional Vacuum & Nitrogen purge. Rates up to 200 bags per hour. Fills from 1 to 20 liter.

TORR Industries products are supported in Oceania by AUSPOUCH’s locally based Engineering and Sales team.

Victorian Contact: 0412 597 178

NSW Contact: 0480 254 400

130

Semi manual pouch and bag filler. Automatic uncap and recap. Optional Vacuum & Nitrogen purge. Rates up to 240 bags per hour. Fills from 1 to 20 liter.

Head Office : 02 8852 2660

4, 9 Salisbury Rd Castle Hill NSW 2154

www.auspouch.com.au

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

OUTSIDE OF THE BOX DESIGN OF THE YEAR

The Outside of the Box Design of the Year Award has been established for miscellaneous packs and materials that are not included in any other category.

GOLD WINNER

2023 Outside of the Box Design of the Year Gold award winner is Coola Box (Oji Fibre Solutions NZ)

READ THE WINNER'S FULL STORY HERE

Watch the OUTSIDE OF THE BOX DESIGN OF THE YEAR winning video here.

GOLD WINNER

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

OUTSIDE OF THE BOX DESIGN OF THE YEAR

SILVER WINNER

2023 Outside of the Box Design of the Year Silver award winner is Snell Packaging – Mattress Corner Protector (Oji Fibre Solutions NZ)

BRONZE WINNER

2023 Outside of the Box Design of the Year Bronze award winner is Future Ecology – EmGuard (Oji Fibre Solutions NZ)

PIDA 2023: Outside of the Box Design of the Year

The Outside of the Box Design of the Year Award has been established for miscellaneous packs and materials that are not included in any other category.

"We often talk about being innovative as thinking outside of the box, and this category tests not only that type of thinking, it also represents a broad spectrum of essential packaging that isn’t destined for the retail shelf, but fulfills an essential service in product protection for transit and end-use," said PKN managing editor & publisher Lindy Hughson, who was co-host of the 2023 PIDA awards.

"With fibre the material squarely in the spotlight on all trendwatch platforms, it’s not surprising that the shortlist of innovations for this award are all fibrebased. The packaging selected as finalists push the boundaries of design conventions, while considering product safety and end of life for the sector they are servicing."

And the winners are...

The Bronze winner was Future Ecology – EmGuard by Oji Fibre Solutions NZ , while the Silver winner was Snell Packaging – Mattress Corner Protector, also by Oji Fibre Solutions NZ .

Cleaning up the top spots, the Gold was Coola Box, also by Oji Fibre Solutions NZ

About the Gold winner:

The innovative Coola Box design caters for cool air containment inside the box that is needed for e-commerce deliveries. The box structure is designed to have a snug fit overlapping walls that can assist in better chilled and frozen ingredient arrangements packed with ice packs and appropriate headspace as needed. This design can successfully achieve the

requirement of temperature control needed for all delivery cycles.

This smart, sturdy box in a box design structure achieves better space utilisation and increases the number of items that can be safely packed. This results in a reduction of transit damages.

The box is made from 100 per cent NZ recyclable corrugate board. The end user can now conveniently dispose of the packaging with other recyclable items in their collection bins.

The Gold winner was Coola Box by Oji Fibre Solutions NZ.

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

MARKETING DESIGN OF THE YEAR

Packaging can elicit emotional responses in consumers and should be seen as your best form of marketing. The right packaging design and eye-catching aesthetics can create emotional stimuli that ensures a brand is purchased. The Marketing Design of the Year award considers not only primary packaging but also secondary and tertiary packaging designs.

GOLD WINNER

2023 Marketing Design of the Year Gold award winner is Sustain OzHarvest Cups (Bunzl Australia and New Zealand)

READ THE WINNER'S FULL STORY HERE

Watch the MARKETING DESIGN OF THE YEAR winning video here.

GOLD WINNER

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

MARKETING DESIGN OF THE YEAR

SILVER WINNER

2023 Marketing Design of the Year

Silver award winner is Dulux Jellybean Promotion Pack (Dulux Australia)

BRONZE WINNER

2023 Marketing Design of the Year Bronze award winner is Keen’s Meal Bases (BrandOpus (Australia) & McCormick Foods Australia)

PIDA 2023: Marketing Design of the Year

Packaging can elicit emotional responses in consumers and should be seen as your best form of marketing. The right packaging design and eye-catching aesthetics can create emotional stimuli that ensures a brand is purchased. The Marketing Design of the Year award considers not only primary packaging but also secondary and tertiary packaging designs.

"It’s often said that ‘packaging is the billboard for the brand’, that it carries enormous swaying power from the shelf and once it’s in the consumer’s hand, it’s the final marketing touchpoint in the shopper experience," said PKN managing editor & publisher Lindy Hughson, who was co-host of the 2023 PIDA awards.

"Given this, we can see the importance of tying a brand’s broader marketing campaign messaging closely to the on-pack communication, using the packaging as the primary channel to convey and reinforce those messages.

"The finalists have leveraged their on-pack marketing with clear intention, and have achieved consumer cut through as a result."

And the winners are...

The Bronze winner was Keen’s Meal Bases by BrandOpus (Australia) and McCormick Foods Australia , while the Silver winner was Dulux Jellybean Promotion Pack by Dulux Australia .

Topping the category with the Gold was Sustain OzHarvest Cups by Bunzl Australia and New Zealand .

About the Gold winner:

Sustain’s OzHarvest Collection is a range of eyecatching compostable cups with an aqueous lining. The collection was purposefully designed with the aim of building on the existing brand mission to create more visually and emotionally appealing sustainable alternatives in food packaging that will deliver real change.

The packaging is enticing, attention-grabbing, and features three unique designs encompassing themes that align with the Sustain brand ethos, the OzHarvest mission and the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The hot cups range was deliberately created to contribute to the fight against food waste, leading to a meaningful collaboration with not-for-profit food rescue organisation OzHarvest. Bunzl has pledged that with every carton of cups sold, two meals are supplied to those who need it most, via OzHarvest. The Collection is made from renewable material sourced from well-managed Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified forests. Each cup displays the FSC Mix logo and includes the statement “I have a unique water-based barrier coating” in accordance with EN 13432.

Sustain’s OzHarvest Collection aims to connect with businesses by providing them a quantifiable achievement (with the donation of meals), and supply them a sustainable product to offer customers that encourages further education on food waste using the QR code.

The Gold winner was Sustain OzHarvest Cups by Bunzl Australia and New Zealand.

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING DESIGN OF THE YEAR

The Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year award is designed to recognise companies that have developed innovative packaging or processing solutions that incorporates sustainability considerations. Elements include Social, Material, Source Reduction, Energy and Recovery. Due to the broad array of innovative and sustainable packaging designs in this category the judges have split up the winners into the following categories.

• Recycled Content

• Labelling

• Mono Material Advancements

• Renewable Materials

• Compostables

Watch the SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING DESIGN OF THE YEAR winning video here.

GOLD WINNER

2023 Sustainable

Packaging

Design of the Year - Recycled Content Gold award winner is Coles Finest Carbon Neutral Steak Vacuum Packaging (Coles Group & Plantic Technologies)

READ THE WINNER'S FULL STORY HERE

GOLD WINNER - RECYCLED CONTENT

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING DESIGN OF THE YEAR

SILVER WINNER - RECYCLED CONTENT

2023 Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year

-Rec ycled Content Silver award winner is Banrock Station Eco Bottle (Accolade Wines)

BRONZE WINNER - RECYCLED CONTENT

2023 Sustainable Packaging Design of the YearRecycled Content Bronze award winner is Dulux 50% rPP Paint and Lid (Pact Group & Dulux Group)

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING DESIGN OF THE YEAR

GOLD WINNER - LABELLING

2023 Sustainable Packaging Design of the YearLabelling Gold award winner is Herma InNo Liner Labelling (Result Group & Hanes Australasia)

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING DESIGN OF THE YEAR

BRONZE WINNER - MONO MATERIAL ADVANCEMENTS

2023 Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year - Mono Material Advancements Bronze award winner is Store Operations Fruit & Vegetable PE film (Woolworths Group Ltd)

2023 Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year - Mono Material Advancements Silver award winner is JBS Swift Lamb Cutlets CRYOVAC Darfesh Mono-PET rollstock (Sealed Air)

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

SUSTAINABLE

PACKAGING DESIGN OF THE YEAR

GOLD WINNER - RENEWABLE MATERIALS

2023 Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year - Renewable Materials Gold award winner is Wine Protector (Planet Protector Packaging)

2023 Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year - Renewable Materials Silver award winner is Tempguard Gusset for HelloFresh (Sealed Air)

SILVER WINNER - RENEWABLE MATERIALS

2023 Australasian

Packaging

Innovation

& Design

(PIDA) Awards winners announced

SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING DESIGN OF THE YEAR

BRONZE WINNER - RENEWABLE MATERIALS

2023 Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year - Renewable Materials Bronze award winner is Sustainable Fresh Produce Packaging (Detpak & Woolworths Supermarkets)

HIGH COMMENDATION WINNERS- RENEWABLE MATERIALS

2023 Sustainable Packaging Design of the YearRenewable Materials High Commendation award winner is Priestley’s Gourmet Delights Fibre tray insert (Opal)

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING DESIGN OF THE YEAR

GOLD WINNER - COMPOSTABLES

2023 Sustainable Packaging Design of the YearCompostables Gold award winner is DualPakECO compostable food trays (Confoil & BASF)

2023 Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year - Compostables Silver award winner is Aqueous BioCups (BioPak)

SILVER WINNER - COMPOSTABLES DESIGN

PIDA 2023: Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year

The Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year award is designed to recognise companies that have developed innovative packaging or processing solutions that incorporates sustainability considerations. Elements include Social, Material, Source Reduction, Energy and Recovery.

Due to the broad array of innovative and sustainable packaging designs in this category, this year the judges have split up the winners into the following categories:

• Recycled Content

• Labelling

• Mono Material Advancements

• Renewable Materials

• Compostables

"Sustainability, extended producer responsibility, circular economy... these are the watchwords of our industry, bearing the strongest influence on packaging choices made by packaging technologists, designers and converters who are working in collaboration with brand owners to meet their mutual sustainability commitments," said PKN managing editor & publisher Lindy Hughson, who was co-host of the 2023 PIDA awards.

"We are seeing the rapid development of new material technology to support and advance recyclability or compostability, and the emergence of innovation that enables the reduction of materials, and or the reuse of the packaging itself."

RECYCLED CONTENT

And the winners are...

The Bronze winner was Dulux 50 per cent rPP Paint and Lid by Pact Group and Dulux Group , while the Silver winner was Banrock Station Eco Bottle by Accolade Wines .

Topping the category with the Gold was Coles Finest Carbon Neutral Steak Vacuum Packaging by Coles Group and Plantic Technologies .

About the Gold winner:

In April 2022, Coles became the first major Australian supermarket to launch a certified Own Brand Carbon Neutral Beef range.

Available in all Coles stores, the product range is certified carbon neutral from paddock to shelf to the Australian government’s Climate Active Carbon Neutral Standard.

The PLANTIC RV tray is manufactured using modern technology where locally sourced Recycled PET, is

c ombined with the renewable sourced, high barrier PLANTIC HP sheet. The vacuum tray s made from 70 per centrecycled PET and 20 per cent renewable starch. The LCA study shows that the use of the Plantic packaging will reduce C02 emissions by approximately 13,998kgs, or equivalent to planting 1924 trees when compared to traditional oil-based virgin plastics. Additionally, the use of recycled PET in this product line is equivalent to approximately 273,865 600ml PET water bottles.

During the design process the pack size and weight was reduced, achieving a physical size reduction of 26 per cent and a weight (g) reduction of 28 per cent per pack in comparison to the original pack design. This change resulted in a weight saving of approximately 1.4MT of material since the launch. This modification allowed the product to remain the same in size and weight. This meant that the overall product to packaging ratio increased by 14 per cent. The choice of a linerless label that easily separates from the top film and tray reduces excess material usage.

Each primary unit is packed into a cardboard carton which is fully recyclable via Coles back of house recycling system, contains 74 per cent recycled fibres and is PEFC certified.

The tray is kerbside recyclable. During the recycling process, the thin starch layer uniquely washes away, allowing the PET tray to be recovered. The secondary and tertiary packaging components are recyclable via Coles back of house recycling stream.

PIDA 2023: Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year

• L ess material consumption (No label feed or waste stripping)

• A voidance of torn backing paper

• L ess warehousing space

Both thermal transfer and direct thermal methods are available for printing variable data on the labels, and labels can also be pre-printed in colour using traditional processes, such flexographic or digital techniques.

MONO MATERIAL ADVANCEMENTS

And the winners are...

LABELLING

And the winners are...

The Silver winner was RafCycle by UPM Raflatac . Topping the category with the Gold was Herma InNo Liner Labelling by Result Group and Hanes Australasia .

About the Gold winner: Herma InNo Liner is a new labelling system that enables more eco-friendly packaging through shipping labels that do not contain any liner material. The system is completely recyclable, has no liners, and is silicone-free.

A huge amount of waste is avoided because the HERMA InNo-Liner system can drastically minimise the entire climate-relevant CO2 footprint of labels –by managing the material without any silicon release liner material or even coating, they are 100 per cent removed.

Benefits of Liners compared to self-adhesive labels include:

• R educing shipping costs by 50 per cent

• U sing less down time for the manufacturing process

• M inimising waste sent to landfill

• Sa ving on storage space

• T he saving of the release liner alone ensures 45% less CO2 emissions compared to self-adhesive labels.

• No liner w aste and therefore no waste disposal costs

• L ower transport volume and weight and therefore reduced CO2 emissions

• M ore material on each roll and therefore fewer roll changes

The Bronze winner was Store Operations Fruit & Vegetable PE film by Woolworths Group , while the Silver winner was JBS Swift Lamb Cutlets CRYOVAC Darfesh Mono-PET rollstock by Sealed Air .

The Gold winner was Australian Organic Food Co. Minestrone Soup mono material retort pouch by Flavour Makers and Toppan Inc .

About the Gold winner:

The Australian Organic Food Co Soup package is Australia's first 100 per cent recycle-ready highbarrier mono-material retort pouch that is suitable for heat sterilisation was completely underpinned by material science innovation. This entry is really about the utilisation of break-through materials. The new structure is OPP 20μm, (Barrier) OPP 20μm, CPP80μm. Although the finished product may look and feel like a traditional pouch, everything is different. Maintaining print registration on OPP requires greater precision and attention to tension control. The Toppan team have achieved perfect print registration on this package.

PIDA 2023: Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year

Up until this project Flavour Makers had been unable to achieve a quality seal consistently on our retort filling lines using anything less than a 100μm CPP sealant layer. However, Toppan's specially developed sealant has allowed them to reduce the thickness of the sealant layer to 80μm. The CPP layer was developed specifically for mono-material applications to maximise the sealing window. This improved sealing performance, along with the calibration of the sealing equipment has allowed them to reduce their CPP usage to 80μm. High barrier, mono-material packaging for retort applications was the final frontier in designing recyclability into flexible packaging. Now that this has been accomplished, it demonstrates to other food manufacturers that solutions can be achieved, even in the most challenging areas of food production.

Renewable Materials

And the winners are...

A High Commendation was awarded to Priestley’s Gourmet Delights Fibre tray insert by Opal . The Bronze winner was Sustainable Fresh Produce Packaging by Detpak and Woolworths Supermarkets , while the Silver winner was Tempguard Gusset for HelloFresh by Sealed Air .

Topping the category with the Gold was Wine Protector by Planet Protector Packaging

About the Gold winner:

The Wine Protector has been developed using Woolpack technology. Made from cross bred sheep waste wool the wool is unsuitable for the textile industry and destined for landfill.

The Wine Protector is a sustainable alternative to expanded polystyrene (EPS) shippers used to protect bottled wine from temperature and impact damage throughout the supply chain. Until now, there has not been a viable sustainable alternative in the wine packaging sector that delivers the temperature stability required for supply chains, many of which involve export.

The Wine Protector seems simple, but it is underpinned by science. It took more than a year to research and develop the proprietary fibre specifications and blend. Wine integrity can be compromised through impact damage and as little as 40°c for just two hours during transport. Wine can rapidly reach over 50°c when stored inside a car or on a mildly warm day. Such conditions can have a detrimental impact on shelf life, aesthetics and sensory properties of the wine.

The Wine Protector is made of an insulating wool sleeve used to stabilise wine temperatures and impact resistance to cushion and protect the wine in transit. The packaging reduces materials handling costs. 900 units fit on a pallet which means less pallet movements and lower labour costs which translates to a lesser number of shipments and a lower carbon footprint. This is achieved through a compact design along with compressing the Wine Protectors up to 50 per cent of their size and are easy to assemble.

The Wine Protector requires far less storage space thereby improving utility use as well as logistical efficiencies. Wineries and cellar doors are generally space constrained making this a high value-added design feature. The design supports wine growers to transport their temperature-sensitive wines without harming the planet.

PIDA 2023: Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year

It also offers secure sealing across a variety of film substrates and machinery. The coating with ecovio PS 1606 is applied in a mono-layer extrusion process. The high content of renewable raw materials leads to a reduced material carbon footprint, which allows savings of greenhouse gas emissions.

COMPOSTABLES

And the winners are...

The Silver winner was Aqueous BioCups by BioPak

The Gold winner was DualPakECO compostable food trays by Confoil and BASF .

About the Gold winner:

DualPakECO dual ovenable trays are made in Australia by Confoil and have been created in collaboration with BASF.

DualPakECO trays are certified compostable to Australian standard AS 4736-2006. They are made in Australia with paper coated on the inside with BASF biopolymer ecovio® PS 1606. ecovio is a partly bio-based and certified compostable biopolymer specially developed for coating food packaging made of paper or board.

The paperboard for DualPakECO can easily be formed and allows for printability. The board is lightweight yet rigid enough for in-line production facilities.

This new solution is an alternative to conventional PET packaging for ready-to-eat meals. DualPakECO trays can be used for ready-to-eat meals like lasagne, curries and stir-fries and can be used to store food cold or frozen in supermarkets as well as for catering and hot take-away from restaurants. DualPakECO food trays are ovenable for 40 minutes, up to 180 degrees and also microwavable.

The pack can extend the end-of-life options for paper-based packaging by being organically recyclable. They can be commercially composted with the organic waste collected in organic waste bins including any food scraps left in the packaging. Thus, the new trays support organics recycling of food residues and food-soiled packaging which increases the diversion of food waste from landfill. The trays carry the ‘seedling logo’ to educate consumers of their compostable quality as well as a message to dispose of in an organics bin.

DualPakECO trays go from the table to the composting facility and back to the farm to help provide nutrients for the next crop. Finding a market for any recycled material is critical to the success of a circular economy, ensuring resources retain value through the process. Composting is the ultimate in recycling as the result can be so beneficial to agriculture and viticulture, as well as the environment.

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

PIDA 2023: AIP Founders Award

One of the key objectives of the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) is to recognise individuals who are making a significant contribution to the packaging industry, and this year a special award was presented to do just that.

The AIP Founders Award has been named to honour the Foundation Members of the Institute and to recognise their significant contribution to the development of packaging technology and the industry in Australia and New Zealand. The AIP says the Founders Award is given for outstanding performance, which in a real way enhances the profession of Packaging Technology.

The AIP Founders Award has only ever been attained by five other people - Professor Harry Lovell OAM, FAIP, George Ganzenmuller FAIP, CPP, Llewelyn Stephens FAIP, Pierre Pienaar FAIP, CPP and Ralph Moyle FAIP, CPP.

The sixth AIP Founders Award in AIP's 60th anniversary year goes to Keith Chessell FAIP

About the Award winner:

Keith Chessell has 46 years’ experience within the Food, Beverage & Confectionery industry (Cottee’s, Schweppes, Pepsi, Cadbury, Kraft/ Mondelez) with the innovation and development of new products and the relaunch of existing products and packaging.

In recent years his focus has been on sustainable packaging design, and assisting the AIP and WPO on Save Foods initiatives and training support for educational institutions. Judging packaging designs awards has been a great interest for Chessell over the past 10 years and he has combined this with his ‘Sustainable Packaging Design’ consultancy, and supporting AIP and industry in Sustainable Packaging Design and Save Food initiatives.

He is the AIP representative on the LCA Standards Australia committee and was previously the AIP Board representative for APCO and is on the APCO Technical Advisory Committee. Keith is a Fellow of the AIP, a Life Member of the AIP and a Lifetime Achievement Award winner for the World Packaging Organisation.

He continues to represent the AIP in multiple programs, including the AusIndustry SME program, supporting the ARL Marketplace, supporting the NRA with the Single Use Plastics Regulations, APCO in many working groups and committees including Pulpability, PFAS, compostable packaging and so many more.

"Nothing is too much trouble for Keith, and he always go above and beyond in everything that he does for the industry. He never asks for anything in return, so Keith is being honoured for truly being the

director Nerida Kelton said.

This article was published with permission by PKN Packaging News

epitome of the Founder Award," AIP executive

AIP Founders Award winner: Keith Chessell FAIP

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

2023 INDUSTRY PACKAGING PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR

The Industry Packaging Professional of the Year award is designed to recognise and acknowledge the outstanding achievements and contribution by an individual currently working within the Packaging industry in Australia and New Zealand. The judges look for individuals who have demonstrated vision and leadership, shows innovation and not afraid to take risks. This award is for significant and continued contribution of an Individual to the industry over a minimum period of 20 years.

WINNER

2023 Industry Packaging Professional of the Year is Michael Dossor MAIP, Group General Manager, Result Group

INDUSTRY PACKAGING PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR

WINNER

READ THE WINNER'S FULL STORY HERE

Watch the INDUSTRY PACKAGING PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR winning video here.

PIDA 2023: Industry Packaging Professional of the Year

The Industry Packaging Professional of the Year award is designed to recognise and acknowledge the outstanding achievements and contribution by an individual currently working within the Packaging industry in Australia and New Zealand.

The judges look for individuals who have demonstrated vision and leadership, show innovative thinking, and are not afraid to take risks. This award is for significant and continued contribution of an individual to the industry over a minimum period of 20 years.

The 2023 Industry Packaging Professional of the Year is Michael Dossor MAIP , group general manager, Result Group.

About the Award winner:

AIP president Jason Fields presented Michael Dossor MAIP with his award, while MC Damian Walsh read out this citation: "With over 30 years in the industry, Michael has grown Result Group into Australasia's leading product identification company, specialising in everything from authentication, serialisation, and track and trace, to reducing food waste through technology.

"As a leading expert in Active & Intelligent Packaging, Michael brings unique and innovative solutions to the region. And as a professional is always available to help and assist others, especially volunteering for anything that the AIP and its members need.

"Michael’s dedication and contribution as a volunteer to the industry has been exceptional. He represents the AIP on numerous working groups and committees, and is always there to provide speaking, training and lecturing support to the Institute.

"Michael is now a lecturer in the Master of Food & Packaging Innovation degree at the University of Melbourne, a trainer in the AIP Education team, and a speaker whenever the AIP needs help. Nothing is too much trouble for Michael when it comes to supporting industry associations.

"What also makes Michael unique is his genuine passion to identify new packaging technologies, processes, and materials with the potential to drive innovation, as well as to achieve greater sustainability and food waste control in the packaging space. He is also dedicated to help transform brands' packaging into digital identities and has been responsible for the launch of a number of smart packaging technologies that were previously unavailable in the Australian market.

"Michael is responsible for a number of packaging firsts in Australia. He is the first to develop an Instant Win on-pack promotion (Nestle Kit Cash for Nestle Kit Kat brand), the first to pioneer Unique Coding for Coca-Cola’s Powerade promotion in 2009, and the first to advance the use of the adhesive reseal tab on Wet Wipes.

"In recent years, Michael has started focusing on bridging the gap between Sustainability and Food Waste, and has already implemented technology to deliver on those key drivers."

"He is unique and inspiring, driven and passionate, and a fine example of an exemplary packaging professional."

Michael Dossor MAIP, Group General Manager, Result Group.

2023 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards winners announced

2023 YOUNG PACKAGING PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR

The purpose of the Young Packaging Professional of the Year Award is to provide incentive and recognition to young professionals who are both currently working in and wish to continue their career path within the Packaging industry in both Australia and New Zealand. This can be within any industries such as Food, Beverage, Health, Beauty & Wellness, Domestic & Household.

2023 Young Packaging Professional of the Year is Lars M. Ljung, Sustainability Manager, Planet Protector Packaging

YOUNG PACKAGING PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR

WINNER

READ THE WINNER'S FULL STORY HERE

Watch the YOUNG PACKAGING PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR winning video here.

PIDA 2023: Young Packaging Professional of the Year

The purpose of the Young Packaging Professional of the Year Award is to provide incentive and recognition to young professionals who are both currently working in and wish to continue their career path within the Packaging industry in both Australia and New Zealand. This can be within any industries such as Food, Beverage, Health, Beauty and Wellness, Domestic and Household.

The 2023 Young Packaging Professional of the Year winner is Lars Ljung , Sustainability Manager, Planet Protector Packaging

Citation: Seven years ago, armed with an outstanding academic record, a Bachelor of Business Administration, a Master’s in International Business Management, and a Master’s in Environmental Management Sustainability, Lars Ljung joined the Planet Protector team. As a disruptive startup with audacious aspirations to rid the world of EPS, their vision resonated with Lars and knew that he had found his ‘tribe’. From the onset, Lars has achieved a high level of success and displayed exacting attention to detail and a competency and maturity well beyond his years. What shone through the most was that Lars shared Planet Protector’s mission and a deep passion to create sustainable impact. He was, and still is a visible leader and pioneer of change. Lars motivates and leads by example to inspire others to take smart risks and to learn.

As a young professional, Lars brings to the business a unique value proposition, rooted in the practical application of science and technology. Recently, Lars led the research and development of our building insulation solution. This comes off the back of the vertical integration of the operations, allowing the expansion into new verticals. He believes the development of more sustainable and high-performing natural products is an essential criterion for the building sector to reduce the environmental impacts of construction. Lars is keen on becoming a Green Star and NABERS-accredited professional. This experience would be invaluable to advance his career and to also get a better understanding of sustainability in the building space.

Lars is rewarded by knowing he is making a difference in the world. Lars truly is a leader of sustainable impact.

This article was published with permission by PKN Packaging News

Winner of the Young Packaging Professional of the Year, Lars Ljung.

2023 ABA Scholarship winners announced

2023 ABA SCHOLARSHIPS

The Australasian Bioplastics Association (ABA), in partnership with the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP), is pleased to offer an annual Scholarship program for Australia and New Zealand.

The Scholarship program will enable one eligible candidate the opportunity to undertake a Diploma in Packaging Technology and a second person the opportunity to undertake a Certificate in Packaging.

The Certificate in Packaging Scholarship goes to Jessica Ansell AAIP, Marketing Manager, Of Packaging & Close the Loop Group. Watch

The Diploma in Packaging Technology scholarship goes to Tony Crowther AAIP, R&D Packaging Development Technologist, Lion Co.

PIDA 2023: ABA Scholarship winners revealed

The Australasian Bioplastics Association (ABA), in partnership with the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) awarded its annual Scholarship program for Australia and New Zealand at the PIDA 2023 Awards evening.

The Scholarship will enable one eligible candidate the opportunity to undertake a Diploma in Packaging Technology and a second person the opportunity to undertake a Certificate in Packaging.

The Certificate in Packaging Scholarship goes to Jessica Ansell AAIP , Marketing Manager, O F Packaging & Close the Loop Group .

Jessica is excited to understand more about different types of packaging function, printing methods, and applications. She openly admits that there are multiple packaging sectors that she is not familiar with (namely rigid containers and bottles), and she yearns to explore these.

Jessica hopes to explore how the knowledge of packaging fundamentals can help us shift towards more sustainable, yet tangible solutions that work within our modern, global economy. She is fascinated by the ever-changing landscape of packaging technology and films, and the immense potential for recyclable and bio-based, sustainably sourced materials to expand in scalability and help provide a greener future.

Jessica is someone who always strives for continued personal and professional growth and considers herself a ‘perpetual student’ that always has more to learn.

As an industry-recognised qualification, the Certificate in Packaging provides acknowledgement of her capabilities in the packaging arena, while simultaneously setting an important foundation for any further education opportunities that she may wish to take on in the future.

The current economic climate provides a significant barrier to achieving further education and advancing career aspirations for younger adults such as Jessica. The ABA Scholarship is of immense help to allow her to achieve her goals.

The Diploma in Packaging Technology Scholarship goes to Tony Crowther AAIP , R&D packaging development technologist, Lion Co .

For the past decade, Tony has worked at Lion and in 2022, he was provided an opportunity to join the R&D packaging development team where he soon recognised that there was a whole new world of limitless learning in the realm of packaging.

Learning the technical and performance aspects of Packaging, has dovetailed into Tony’s experience of the packaging process and associated equipment. He champions this experience internally at Lion as a conduit between Brand, Customer Insights and Marketing teams, through to the Supply Chain to demonstrate fast change capability and making quality decisions that have a positive impact on all stakeholders.

Being provided the opportunity to enrol in the Diploma in Packaging Technology degree Tony believes that it will broaden and deepen his knowledge and understanding of packaging and solidify his years of experience within the food and beverage industry.

Tony would like the degree to provide him with the foundations, courage, and heart to make tough calls, and to deliver long-term environmental and sustainable business objectives and legislative requirements.

Undertaking the Diploma in Packaging Technology will provide Tony with the professional development and tools required to springboard his career into a leadership and advisory role within the company.

Winner of the Certificate in Packaging Scholarship: Jessica Ansell, Marketing Manager, OF Packaging and Close the Loop Group

Winner of the Diploma in Packaging Technology Scholarship Tony Crowther, R&D Packaging Development Technologist, Lion Co.

PIDA WINNERS' LIVE COMMENTS FROM THE NIGHT

It was certainly a night to remember for the award winners of this year's Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) awards. The PKN team was on hand to speak to some of the winners on video.

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The AIP Australasian Packaging Conference 2025 and Beyond kicked off with keynote speakers delivering a strong message around the need to balance the scale between reducing unnecessary packaging but maintaining its ability to reduce food waste.

The conference, held on 28 and 29 March, saw industry leaders share their insights and exchange ideas on how to better align with the upcoming 2025 targets for sustainability. Some 280 delegates gathered to hear from 70 speakers across the two days.

In case you missed the event, the PKN Podcast team conducted livestream interviews with speakers and delegates at the conference, you can find links to the interviews on page 97 of this newsletter.

Jason Fields, president of the AIP, opened with a warm welcome and asked the participants to take the opportunity to learn from each other and to network, stating that it has been the first time to meet face to face for a long time. He played a short video from sponsor Aleks Lajovic, MD of Impact International, that showed that for each participant who attended, a native tree has been planted along the bank of Five Mile Creek, just outside of Canberra at Impact's carbon offset forest. This will improve soil retention, reduce flooding and droughts, and provide shelter for native wildlife.

Pierre Pienaar, president of the World Packaging Organisation (WPO) made an impassioned speech on our collective desire to preserve the planet for our future generations. “It’s not about us, it’s about the generations to follow,” he emphasised. Pienaar joked that throughout his extensive travels around the world, people always want to take him to dumpsites. But the reality of that was that he gained much insight into the peril we are all in. His insight from this was that EPR is the most effective tool in combatting plastic waste. He noted that 70 per cent of all packaging could be converted to mono-material right now, the technology already exists. He said we should not focus on the remaining 30 per cent, because 70 per cent will make a significant change to the current waste situation.

Nerida Kelton, vice president of WPO reinforced much of Pienaar’s opening message, while explaining that the WPO has three main goals, which are reducing food waste, reducing packaging waste and reducing problematic materials. Kelton said that what is important to remember, is that there must be a balance struck between packaging which can effectively protect the products inside, while also reducing the unnecessary materials that can make them up. This, she said, should be done through designing with these three prerogatives in mind.

From left, Pierre Pienaar, WPO president; Nerida Kelton, WPO VP Sustainability and Save Food Packaging; Jason Fields, AIP President.

AIP conference keeps sustainability in sharp focus

Aleks Lajovic stands on the site of AIP's future forest

AIP conference keeps sustainability in sharp focus

Gian De Belder, technical director of Procter & Gamble, greeted us online from Belgium, where he had stayed up until 1:30am to talk to the gathering about technological developments the company has been making in streamlining recyclability of materials in Europe, the digital watermark initiative called Holy Grail.

Digital watermarks are invisible to the naked eye but are embedded into either the design on a product, or directly into the material itself, and allow a camera to scan them upon entering a recycling facility so it can be more effectively sorted into the appropriate stream.

While this technology is currently in its testing phase, it is expected to be rolled out in France in 2024 with 30-50 units set up in recycling centres to test how well it can cope with large volumes of waste in

real time. As France has particularly aggressive waste-reduction targets, this technology is expected to accelerate movement towards them.

In the two days of interesting and thoughtprovoking discussions that followed, a very strong message around the need for collaboration emerged, with presenters and delegates of one mind that innovation, and infrastructure development required calls for a united industry effort across the value chain.

This article was published with permission by PKN Packaging News

Gian De Belder, Technical Director, Procter & Gamble (P&G)

2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference Wrap Up

The AIP Australasian Packaging Conference saw close to 300 people in attendance for the first physical conference since before the pandemic. Over the two days more than 70 expert speakers discussed 2025 and Beyond and provided insights in to everything from the future of fibre and renewable materials, food waste, save food packaging, the future of retail, closed loop collection, the ARL marketplace, kerbside recycling, mono material advancements and more.

2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference Wrap Up

Thank you AIP for the 2023 Australasian Packaging Conference where so many interesting and relevant case studies were shared, so many rich conversations were held, so many different ways of doing things were put on the table and the emphasis of making facts-based decisions and collaborate together as industry participants was highlighted. How as competitors, suppliers, customers, retailers or even consumers ourselves, we can tackle the challenges of our time, for raising awareness of the things that matter and bringing speakers from many different positions in the packaging value chain and regulatory bodies to listen to each other’s point of view and encourage one another as peers in this journey to take ownership and lead the future of packaging in Australia and the world.

2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference Wrap Up

Ball & Doggett was proud to experience our first AIP Conference and PIDA awards as not only a Silver Sponsor but also a Gold Corporate Sponsor of the AIP. A extremely well delivered conference and award campaign that created an inclusive experience for all attendees. The well attended conference and awards is a testament to the Australian Institute of Packaging and their tireless efforts to provide access to exceptional speakers and workshops, supporting and educating members in the true light of being the peak body in this arena. The calibre of the speakers and the delivery of the both conference and awards was valuable to our team that attended. The networking and energy in the space was the epitome of our an industry comes together for the greater outcome of all. Congratulations to Nerida Kelton and the team at AIP! We look forward to our partnership in 2024!

2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference Wrap Up

2025 and beyond: Big brands report on progress

In the second keynote session of the Australian Institute of Packaging’s (AIP) 2025 and beyond conference, chaired by AIP president Jason Fields, attendees heard from three large brand owners about the progress they are making towards meeting the sustainability targets.

Bill Heague, GM Mars Food, kicked things off by clarifying he was from Mars the company, not the planet, and said, “it’s great to be in a room of likeminded people who want to solve problems.”

Heague said that the familly-owned multinational Mars has so far invested $1 billion to sustainability, and plans to devote a further $2 billion over the next three years. Mars, he said, has already reduced its carbon footprint by six per cent, and has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement, with plans to one day totally source its power from sustainable means.

With regards to Mars’ progress on sustainable packaging goals, he said that the company still has a way to go, with currently only 20 per cent of packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable, although 43 per cent is designed with circularity in mind.

The company has a goal of moving that first figure up to 100 per cent, while also reducing the use of virgin plastic by 25 per cent and to incorporate 30 per cent recycled content into its plastic packaging.

Heague stated the importance of balancing the

need for more efficient use of plastics in packaging with reducing food waste. Although Mars is rolling out such innovations such as paper packaging for chocolate bars, he still believes that plastic is the best material for preserving foods. With this in mind, the key, he said, is to create a fully circular economy.

His closing statement to the audience was that this is a collective problem we have to solve and asked all those in attendance to start now with a long term view. “It’s happening and so the sooner you start to make a plan, the better.” Later on, PKN spoke to Heague on our podcast, where he gave the example of how one of the products Mars designed was nine years in the making, highlighting just why companies need to start planning early.

Brian McKay, head of packaging at Woolworths, echoed Heague's sentiments, and opened his presentation by conjuring a powerful image: “If we continue what we are doing there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2025.” He said the planet needs sustainable packaging and customers are demanding it.

Bill Heague: It's a collective problem we have to solve; the sooner we start, the better

l-r Bill Heague (Mars Food), Bryan McKay (Woolworths Food), Jason Fields (AIP president and moderator), Karunia Adhriputra (Nestle Oceania).

Customer surveys conducted by Woolworths have shown that customers have put 'less packaging' and 'more sustainable packaging' among their top demands. He said pressure is also coming from the government, and noted that Government is getting ready to step in if significant progress is not shown.

“Customers demand it, governments expect it, the planet needs it,” he stated.

McKay’s advice for other companies was to not design something into a packaging product unless you absolutely have to. He said there are simple things that can be done to reduce the use of unnecessary materials, citing the example of how one home care brand owner took laundry spoons out of their laundry detergent and saved 8000 tonnes of plastic.

In a follow up interview on PKN's podcast, McKay emphasised that all of this work towards using recyclable materials means nothing if there is no uptake, stating "we must close the loop". He also mentioned that Woolworths was proud to win the Gold Banksia Award for its sustainability efforts as a group. Later that evening, McKay went on to pick up two PIDA awards for Woolworths, gold for the Sustainability Award for Mono Material Advancements and bronze for Sustainable Fresh Produce Packaging.

Also joining this powerful session was Karunia Adhiputra, head of packaging Nestle Oceania, who shared the company’s journey so far towards its very ambitious targets.

Nestle has launched some packaging with innovative designs, Adhiputra said, citing the example of Nespresso pods which use 80 per cent recycled aluminium, and the recent paperisation of Smarties packaging. In addition, Nestle has recently trialled paper packaging for KitKat wrappers, as well as for 30% recycled content flexible wrappers produced via advanced chemical recycling. By trialling these kinds of innovations, Nestle hopes to gain insights into consumer acceptance, useability and producibility, among other aspects. During the PKN podcast interview afterwards, Adhiputra said that one of the biggest challenges with recycled material is the limitation of the barrier properties of the material to ensure freshness of the product. He said that it is important to also look beyond 2025 and consider the long term solutions for a fully circular economy. The focus right now, he said, should be on incorporating more recycled packaging materials back into new packaging, and to find opportunities to reduce material and make the entire supply chain more efficient.

Brian McKay: Design to reduce the use of unnecessary materials

Karunia Adhiputra: consider long term solutions

2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference Wrap Up

As a sponsor of the conference & awards we could not be happier with the level of exposure we received. The level of attendance and the quality of the attendees led to a very rewarding experience. The conference keynote/breakout sessions were extremely well attended and the partner area was a hive of activity and discussion through the 2 days. We had some great discussions with a range of packaging professionals from suppliers, customers and other key stakeholders. We got a real sense of industry collaboration and a key takeaway was the quality of conversations that were had. The conference and awards ticked all the boxes and to be honest exceeded expectations, we were very proud to be involved.

2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference Wrap Up

I am so impressed by the AIP community, and the work that you and your committee put in to support and educate our industry.

Yates, OF Packaging partner on 60% rPE pouch

Garden care company Yates has partnered with flexible pouch manufacturer OF Packaging to develop a mono-polymer rPE stand-up pouch, with 60 per cent recycled content. PKN spoke to both companies about the development.

The new material development was discussed at the AIP Australasian Packaging Conference in Melbourne this week, where packaging innovation manager at Yates, Liza Vernalls, explained how OF Packaging’s film material had met Yates’ sustainability criteria.

“We were looking to improve the recycled content of our films, but the material had to meet or surpass the current barrier performance, work on existing forming equipment, and have sufficient rigidity to stand up,” she said, adding that the material also needed to be able to incorporate zipper closures, have no impact on print quality, and of course, meet current cost targets.

“OF Packaging’s highly engineered film with 60 per cent recycled content, which is a mix of postindustrial recycled (PIR) and post-consumer recycled (PCR), was the ideal solution,” Vernalls said.

“The films performed well on our forming equipment with no changes. Print looks phenomenal and as a result we have implemented this on five SKUs across our growing media range.”

Vernalls confirmed there are plans to implement this material across a further 26 SKUs in 2023, noting that Yates will continue to work with OF Packaging to increase the amount of PCR in the films going forward.

Jessica Ansell, marketing manager at OF Packaging, told PKN the company has been been working on redesigning and re-engineering flexible packaging film structures towards mono-polymer for the past number of years, removing problematic plastics that reduce recyclability.

“Having achieved great outcomes in this space, we’ve turned our focus onto achieving the use of recycled content in our packaging formats, which in the flexible space has greater challenges than other packaging formats,” Ansell said.

“Working with Yates on this 60 per cent recycled content, 100 per cent mono PE structure has been

a great milestone for both ourselves and Yates in the mission to decrease virgin material usage while maintaining functionality and shelf-appeal through the Aussie-converted bags,” she added.

“Through our Close the Loop Group network of partners and divisions, we have been trialling the recycling and reuse of Australian-sourced, PCR recycled content mixed from semi-rigids and soft plastics that we will continue to develop. This will allow sustainability-minded brands like Yates the opportunity to utilise higher percentages of Australian-sourced PCR materials for their ranges in the future.”

Vernalls concluded, “At Yates our ambition is to be the most sustainable garden care company in Australia and New Zealand, leading the way in reshaping the category. Scouting for new plastics and alternate materials; incorporating as much recycled content as possible; reducing plastics by lightweighting, resizing and removing unnecessary plastics; and designing plastic packaging to be recycle ready.”

Yates 60% rPE pouch breakthrough: (from left) Joe Foster, CEO Close the Loop Group; Liza Vernalls, packaging innovation manager, Yates; Jessica Ansell, marketing manager OF Packaging/ Close the Loop Group.

2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference Wrap Up

I was absolutely astounded by the amount of passion people have for this space and the wonderful work that is already done toward our common goals. I can safely say I learned a lot just by understanding the packaging space outside of the food service bubble I look at every day. I gathered insights from experts in different industries. All the speakers were extremely knowledgeable, engaging, and provided valuable information on the latest trends, innovations, and best practices we should all be advocating. The conference also provided ample opportunities to network with industry peers, which helped me to expand my professional network and gain new perspectives on the challenges facing the industry. Overall, I left the conference feeling inspired and energised, with a wealth of new ideas and knowledge that I could implement back at work.

2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference Wrap Up

A fantastic event, the passion to come together and collaborate for better outcomes was the key takeaway for me.

2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference Wrap Up

What a great conference! It was so good to catch up and collaborate with past and new connections. There are some big challenges that we face as an industry, but I have every confidence that with the passion and talent that I have witnessed over the past few days, we will solve it!

2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference Wrap Up

The Milliken team was glad to have participated in the 2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference. As well as proud to be a bronze sponsor. It was a great opportunity for us to get to know fellow members of the the industry and learn about what the main areas the industry is concerned about, during this post covid era. The event was well organised by Nerida, and team and we will be looking forward to the next session.

2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference Wrap Up

Women in Packaging panel on 'stepping up'

The second day of the AIP’s '2025 and Beyond' conference saw PKN’s own Lindy Hughson host a panel discussion with three inspirational women from the packaging industry. The discussion was aimed at celebrating the achievements of these women, as well as discussing some of the challenges they have faced and overcome in this traditionally male-dominated industry.

Hughson opened the discussion citing some statistics on gender disparity in the industry supplied by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. In 2022, within the food product manufacturing sector, women made up only 10 per cent of CEOs and 30 per cent of senior managers, but 66 per cent of clerical and administration staff; and across all of industry, women are paid on average $26.6k less than men a year.

She then handed the microphone over to the panellists to share their respective career journeys, after highlighting that not only were these successful professionals all women, but also (Hughson included) all migrants, which she said pointed to the value of diversity in the workplace and the contribution migrants can make.

Maria Becerril Roman hails from Mexico and originally came to Australia to study a master’s degree in 2019. She became a member of the AIP a year later and is currently working for Mondelez International at the Cadbury factory in Ringwood, focusing on packaging innovation. In 2022 she won a silver award in the 2022 Packaging Innovation Design at the PIDA Awards for her Cadbury Roses packaging design.

Anhelly Millan is originally from Venezuela, and having had a colourful career in multiple fields including packaging, has now turned her attention to education. In early 2022 she founded Sustainability for Kids and launched her first book – The World Behind Recycling – which is aimed at educating children on how to bring sustainability to their day-to-day activities.

Azadeh Yousefi migrated to Australia in 2017 from Iran, driven by her strong passion for working in the packaging industry. She told of how in her home country there were

many barriers for women in this field, despite having a master’s degree from a top university. She now works full time at Production Packaging Innovations and has won two PIDA gold awards for her designs.

Roman’s main takeaway message was that she wants to encourage more women to get involved in packaging, and that with the 2025 deadline for sustainability looming, there is huge opportunity for innovators to get involved in the industry.

Millan expanded on this by stating that women have an obligation to “step in and step up”, adding that as a woman you will encounter those that want to keep you down, and so you should surround yourself with those who will support and mentor you.

Yousefi felt that many women, despite having excellent credentials, may feel hesitant to apply to work in a company that they perceive as male dominant. However, it is important to be “brave enough and strong enough” to convince an employer you are just as competent as anyone else.

The upcoming print edition of PKN magazine will dive deeper into the insights these amazing women have all shared, including their experiences as migrants, and how that helped them bring new ideas and innovations to the table.

You can hear more from the panel in our PKN Podcast interviews on page 124 of this newsletter.

Women in Packaging share their journey

2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference Wrap Up

I met so many amazing packaging professionals and go to see in person lovely collaborators and friends I had not seen in such a long time. I learnt so much and got inspired by all of the stories and out of the box projects that were shared over the two days. I really look forward to what is coming in packaging design and innovation and of course within sustainable design. Thank you AIP for organising!

2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference Wrap Up

2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference Wrap Up

The level of willingness to collaborate was off the charts this year. Everyone knows we can’t solve the challenges we face without working together. The conference was very inspiring.

2025 and beyond: Leaders discuss next steps

Apanel discussion with leaders of peak industry bodies at the recent Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) 2025 and beyond conference, looked at progress towards the 2025 targets, and important next steps.

The panel comprised Rebecca Gilling, CEO of Planet Ark; Geoff Parker, CEO of the Australian Beverages Council; Greg Griffith, CEO of the National Retail Association; and Chris Foley, CEO of the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation.

Gilling kicked things off by talking about the hierarchy of the three Rs, saying that the top of the list should add a “refuse”, meaning that use of materials should be the first concern – not only refusing a product in its entirety but refusing to have virgin materials within a product.

Redesign should then come second on the list, as in rethinking how packaging is designed to consider the whole of life of the packaging, from creation to use to reuse, she said. Recycling comes further down the list, and recovery is at the bottom.

Parker spoke with enthusiasm about Container Deposit Schemes (CDS). He said that once Victoria and Tasmania get on board then next year Australia will be the only country to be totally covered by such schemes.

The main hindrance to progress, in his view, is the “patchwork” of different policies across the country and even within each state. It is localised policies, he says, which is slowing down progress.

Foley spoke of the need to focus on the long term, beyond 2025, and that a reset was in need. He said a whole of systems approach is necessary, with collaboration across the board in order to tackle the current problems.

Foley later told PKN in a live podcast interview: “There needs to be a reset across the system as far as who takes accountability, how we actually bring product stewardship to life for packaging, and have the right economic levers being pulled to recover the cost or to put money back into the system, to be able to capture, recycle and reuse those materials. Packaging needs to be seen as an asset.”

Griffith explained that the National Retail Association’s purpose is to support smaller retailers and help them to navigate and understand the expectations of government and industry. He said that a lot of retailers are making good decisions, and have positive intentions, however, there is a lot of nervousness around the costs associated with sustainability, especially for those whose business is smaller.

The presentations were followed by a Q&A session, where attendees had the chance to ask their most pressing questions. The AIP’s Jason Fields asked Gilling a short but pertinent question, “paper or plastic?”

l-r: Rebecca Gilling, Geoff Parker, Greg Griffith, Chris Foley

Rebecca Gilling: Refusal should be added to the waste hierarchy

2025 and beyond: Leaders discuss next steps

She responded by saying that despite the increasing demonisation of plastic, it is in fact a “fantastic material” for preventing food waste. She said there is much confusion among the community about this, due to messaging around plastics polluting the ocean.

As a result, she said, there has been an increase in fibre-based packaging, which she maintained can leak toxins into food products via the chemicals in the barrier layer added to make the packaging grease and water proof.

Gilling proposed that rather than abandoning plastic, we should instead focus on using it more sustainably. Foley chimed in and said that plastic is definitely a part of a sustainable economy, but more infrastructure is needed to make it so, and this comes with a cost.

Another attendee said he had to address the elephant in the room and asked Foley for an update on the soft plastics recycling scheme, with reference to the Soft Plastics Taskforce. Foley’s response was guarded, noting that APCO was not actually involved in the taskforce but was an observer.

He said there is a lot of work underway to develop short term fixes over the next 12 months, and there are meetings currently being held with the Australian Food and Grocery Council to engage with the ACCC to finalise a playbook on filling the gap left by REDcycle. Foley stated that in the coming weeks we will hear more about this.

The major challenge, according to Foley, is building confidence that the system will work, especially with investors. “There is also a need for better governance, and so APCO will move in to try to gain access and make sue the scheme actually does

what it says it does, ensuring brands can go in with confidence,” Foley said.

Foley added that they are working on various stewardship schemes to work out who will front the costs, to which Griffith responded that those costs can’t just be put on the consumer.

Closed the Loop Group’s CEO Joe Foster asked whether the targets for soft plastics will be changed if we can’t meet them, to which Foley responded that they won’t.

“The numbers aren’t ‘new news’, and progress is slow at best. The government is looking at it and saying if industry doesn’t engage and support stewardship schemes, they will get involved,” Foley stated.

Gilling noted that she has observed in Australian businesses less willingness to collaborate than in their European counterparts. Her comment came as a pertinent reminder of the crucial need to collaborate, which all speakers mentioned in their closing remarks.

Geoff Parker: The challenge for CDS lies with the "patchwork" of different policies across Australia

Greg Griffith: Supporting smaller retailers This article was published with permission by PKN Packaging News

Chris Foley: The targets won't change

2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference Wrap Up

Wow, what a great (and fully loaded) session we had on the ‘Future Of Fibre’ facilitated by the legendary Keith Chessell. As speakers, we couldn’t have asked for a more engaged audience and the quality of questions reflected that. The opportunity to speak and share information face to face has of course been rare these last few years and for that reason the session was doubly enjoyable. Thanks to the AIP for organising such an awesome event and the opportunity for us to speak on a topic very dear to our hearts. Congratulations to all those who contributed as collectively we delivered a memorable event….certainly a hard (but not impossible) act to follow in 2025.

2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference Wrap Up

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you and your team on an excellent AIP conference. It was a privilege to be part of such meaningful discussions particularly the panel with the three inspirational women from the packaging industry. Thank you for using that platform to amplify women’s voices and to celebrate migration journeys

2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference Wrap Up

2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference Wrap Up

2025 and beyond Sessions: The future of plastics recycling

The final keynote session of the Australian Institute of Packaging’s (AIP) conference 2025 and beyond saw leaders from industry and government come together to discuss the future of plastics recycling. The session was moderated by AFGC sustainability director Barry Cosier.

Andrea Polson, marketing director of Licella, opened the session by stating the importance of advanced recycling in order to meet the demands for the 2025 targets. She cited the example of the paper recycled content KitKat wrapper prototype, in which Licella played an integral role, saying that this validated what is possible when collaboration takes place.

Polson explained the benefits of Licella's Hydrothermal Liquefaction technology and outlined Licella's plans for scaling up its advanced chemical recycling capacity, which will see the first Australian commercial-scale facility built in Altona-Victoria.

Target feedstocks are end-of-life PE and PP from postconsumer packaging, mechanical recycling rejects, and product stewardship schemes.

The facility will be built in three stages, starting with 20,000 tonnes per annum capacity in stage one, and achieving 120,000 tonnes per annum by stage three. Licella is targeting commissioning in the second half of 2024.

Stop calling it waste, it's a resource

In his opening remarks, Darren Thorpe, managing director of APR Plastics, APR Kerbside and Australian Paper Recovery, summed up the entire conference, saying “the major word I have heard here is ‘collaboration’ and I am in the same space,” and then went on to suggest to attendees to “stop calling it waste, it’s a resource… we are not in the waste industry, we are in the resource industry.”

A changing of words may sound simple, but Thorpe’s comment had powerful connotations for how plastics are viewed. He claimed that Victoria alone could potentially see over 100,000 tonnes of plastics being recycled.

APR Plastics is currently engaged in pilot trials with the AFGC's National Plastics Recycling Scheme, converting post-consumer plastic to recycled oil using the pyrolisis process.

Julie Russ of Victoria's Department of Energy, Environment & Climate Action concurred with Thorpe that Victoria is a state on the front foot. She said that Victoria is the first state to talk about the need for harmonisation, citing its ban on single-use plastics, introduction of a container deposit scheme and standardisation of household recycling with a four-stream system. She suggested that soft plastics may also be accepted into the recycling stream at a later date, as well as beverage cartons.

Collecting from kerbside would achieve greater uptake

Andrea Baldwin, team leader for waste management at Albury City Council, shared a pilot program undertaken across Albury and Wodonga, in which households have been provided with a flat pack of 15 bags for disposing soft plastics. The bag is then placed in the regular recycling bin and collected fortnightly. If this was rolled out to 70,000 households, Baldwin said that would equate to 9.3 tonnes or 18,000 bales of soft plastic collected annually.

l-r Barry Cosier, Andrea Polson, Darren Thorpe, Andrea Baldwin, Julie Russ, Richard Smith

2025 and beyond Sessions: The future of plastics recycling

One pertinent point Baldwin made is that people generally don’t like the process of having to take all their soft plastics to the supermarket for collection. Being able to collect from kerbside, in her opinion, would see a much greater uptake.

Against the backdrop of successes Amcor has already achieved in terms of design for recycling – 95 per cent of what Amcor places on market is now meeting APCO guidelines for design – Richard Smith, director sustainability at Amcor Flexibles, said his number one goal in his role is to get plastics out of the environment and oceans.

He believes that advanced recycling is the only pathway available to us today to produce food-grade recycled content, and since the material has the same properties as virgin resin, it enables a drop-in solution. He said the certification Amcor is pursuing for PCR-content materials will mean brand owners can make credible claims on the packaging's recycled content, building consumer confidence in the value

THE

chain.

Smith cited several initiatives the company has invested in of late, saying that Amcor is “trying to demonstrate that a circular economy is possible with circular plastics.”

"At the end of the day, for us it's really all about local waste [resource] going back into packaging."

Smith ended his talk by alerting the audience to the need for collection infrastructure to get up to speed in time for all the projected recycling capacity that will be coming on stream by 2024/25. Without sufficient feedstock, these plants will not be viable, and the recycling system as a whole will not be sustainable, he warned.

As the event wrapped up, everyone concurred that collaboration across the value chain is the cornerstone of building a smarter circular economy, together.

This article was published with permission by PKN Packaging News

AIP WANTS TO HEAR FROM ALL OF OUR MEMBERS

2023 will be a very special year for the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) as we will be celebrating 60 years as the peak professional body for packaging training and education in Australasia.

We are inviting all of our Members to help us celebrate by finding out what you have seen change in the industry, what you have learned along the way and more.

We ask that you please complete the survey using the link below.

Should you have any photos from over the years that you would be able to share please scan them and send them as well.

Thank you in advance

https://forms.gle/58hQKuCziZbR4Qz26

2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference Wrap Up

We are grateful to have had the opportunity to share our journey as an SME with the delegates. Attending the conference has been extremely helpful for us to understand what we should be focusing on now - thank you!

2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference Wrap Up

The AIP 2023 Australasian Packaging Conference was a great opportunity to extend my understanding of the complexity of the challenges facing the Packaging Industry and appreciate how many groups are working so hard to actively solve these problems.

2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference Wrap Up

2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference Wrap Up

2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference Wrap Up

The 2023, post-COVID edition of the AIP Conference was a valuable learning opportunity as well as a delightful chance to catch up with colleagues. Many colleagues I had only met online so having the chance to meet in person was a treat! The organisation of the event was faultless and the array of information stands was impressive. Overall a great event.

2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference Wrap Up

2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference Wrap Up

PKN Podcast LIVE returns at AIP Conference

The PKN Podcast LIVE set up its studio at the recent AIP Australasian Packaging Conference 2025 and Beyond to sit down with industry leaders, and those at the forefront of innovation, to discuss key take-outs from the conference.

Once again, the industry response to the PKN taking its podcast live to an event floor was resoundingly positive, with participants eager to join the conversation to share their news and views on all the latest in the sector. The podcast sessions were sponsored by PKN's partner, Ball & Doggett.

The PKN Podcast LIVE video interviews, conducted by managing editor & publisher Lindy Hughson, and produced by Southern Skies Media’s managing director, Grant McHerron, can be found on pages 95-97, in order of appearance.

Lindy Hughson talks with Nerida Kelton FAIP, Vice President Sustainability & Save Food, World Packaging Organisation

Lindy Hughson talks with Ian Hayes FAIP, Packaging Specialist, APCO

Lindy Hughson talks with Prof. Pierre Pienaar FAIP, CPP, President, World Packaging Organisation

Lindy Hughson talks with Bill Heague, General Manager, Mars Food Australia

Lindy Hughson talks with Chris Foley, Chief Executive Officer, APCO

Lindy Hughson talks with Karunia Adhiputra MAIP, Head of Packaging Oceania, Nestle Australia

Lindy Hughson talks with Sally Williams, Choice for Life

Lindy Hughson talks with John Bigley MAIP, Chief Executive Officer, Zipform Packaging

Lindy Hughson talks with Brendon Holmes, Managing Director, Caps & Closures

Lindy Hughson talks with Lou Tsoukalas, National Manager for Flexible Packaging, Ball & Doggett

Lindy Hughson talks with Maria Becerril Roman AAIP, Packaging Technologist

R&D Packaging, Mondelez International

Lindy Hughson talks with Anhely Milan MAIP, Founder, Sustainability 4 Kids

Bryan McKay FAIP, Head of Packaging, Woolworths Food Company

PKN Podcast LIVE returns at AIP Conference

Lindy Hughson talks with Azadeh Yousefi AAIP, Packaging Designer, Production Packaging Innovations

Lindy Hughson talks with Austen Ramage AAIP, General Manager, Martogg Group and Ben McCulloch AAIP, Account Manager, Martogg Group

Lindy Hughson talks with Michael Dossor MAIP, General Manager, Result Group

Lindy Hughson talks with Dr Nicole Garofano, AAIP, Head of Circular Economy Development, Planet Ark

Richard Smith FAIP, Director Sustainability – Asia Pacific, Amcor Flexibles Asia Pacific

Jessica Ansell AAIP, Marketing Manager, Close the Loop Group and Liza Vernalls MAIP, Packaging Innovations Manager, Yates

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AIP: Peak Professional Body for Packaging Education & Training in Australasia

The Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) is the peak professional body for packaging education and training in Australasia; helping to shape the careers of generations of packaging professionals – from packaging technologists to international packaging business leaders along with a host of people in associated disciplines – sales and marketing, purchasing, production and environment.

The AIP was founded in 1963 in response to a need for packaging technologists to interact and provide a professional identity for individuals within the packaging industry. Having served the industry for 60 years the AIP is the only professional body designed to provide professional and personal development to all levels of the packaging industry; educational offerings include the Diploma in Packaging Technology, the Certificate in Packaging, the Master in Food & Packaging Innovation, Certified Packaging Professional (CPP) Designation, Fundamentals of Packaging Technology course, half-day training courses, conferences, technical forums, site visits, Influential Women’s Mentoring program, internship program and more. The AIP covers Australia, New Zealand and parts of Asia. To find out more email info@aipack.com.au or www.aipack.com.au

Annual Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards

Coordinated by the Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP), the Annual Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards are designed to recognise companies and individuals who are making a significant difference in their field in Australia and New Zealand.

PIDA Categories include: Food

• Beverage

Labelling & Decoration

• Health, Beauty & Wellness

• Outside of the Box

Accessible & Inclusive Packaging

• Domestic & Household

• Sustainable Packaging

• Marketing

Industry Packaging Professional of the Year

• Save Food Packaging

• Young Packaging Professional of the Year

• ABA Scholarships

• AIP President’s Scholarship

The PIDA Awards are the exclusive award program for all Australia and New Zealand entries into the prestigious WorldStar Packaging Awards, which are coordinated by the World Packaging Organisation (WPO). The AIP are the Member for Australia and New Zealand for the WPO. To find out more email pida@aipack.com.au