It is AmeriStar Award season once again, and the Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) has announced the competition’s 2019 winners. A panel of 12 judges (including our own Executive Editor Lisa McTigue Pierce) evaluated more than 50 packages entered into 17 categories, ultimately awarding the top three 2019 AmeriStar Awards to:

• Clinique iD by The Estée Lauder Companies—for Best of Show.

• O-I : EXPRESSIONS—for Design Excellence.

• Krylon Industrial Quik-Tap Aerosol by Sherwin-Williams—for Sustainable Packaging.

(Click here to view all 23 winners in the 2019 AmeriStar Awards, along with the four student award winners.)

Here are exclusive details on each of these three top winners.

Best of Show: Clinique iD by The Estée Lauder Companies

Clinique, a brand of The Estée Lauder Companies, took home the Best of Show award for its dual-pump Clinique iD package. The packaging concept enables consumers to combine a hydration base product with a specialty booster serum and dispense both formulas with one press of the actuator.

The base product is filled into a bottle that is similar to the iconic Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion (DDML) container in proportions and shape. The Clinique iD bottle’s mouth is larger, however, to accommodate the insertion of a tube-shaped cartridge containing booster serum.

The consumer removes the closure from the Clinique iD base bottle and screws the serum cartridge into the bottle. The cartridge houses the dual-pump mechanism, which includes a dip tube for dispensing the hydration base.

Consumers have a choice of three Clinique Dramatically Different base products, and five serums in color-coded cartridges; the various serums address skin issues such as lines and wrinkles, uneven skin tone and fatigue. In all, 18 Clinique iD combinations are possible.

The dual pump dispenses different doses of the two products (base and serum), for optimal mixing at the time of use. “It is unique to have a dual-chambered pump with different dosages,” says Bob Crescas, executive director, Clinique skincare packaging. “The lotion is 230 microliter, and the serum booster is 30mcl.”

He add that the “pump design is very tight and compact, meeting the goal of keeping the overall package in proportion to existing DDML [stock-keeping units]. The dual-pump/bottle package solves the problem of getting two formulas with one push of the actuator, boosting hydration and addressing individual skin concerns.”

The brand owner also redesigned the secondary packaging for Clinique iD products, to boost on-shelf appeal. DDML cartons have historically been green, but the Clinique iD cartons are white with a four-color process image of the hydration-base bottle or the brightly colored serum cartridge.

The Clinique iD bottles and cartridges are recyclable; the cartons, which are made from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) paperboard, may be recycled or composted.

“The most challenging part of commercialization was managing a global supply chain,” Crescas notes. “We are a global company, so it was not a new challenge; however, we sourced components from three continents, bringing them all together to our final manufacturing plants both in New York and London. We had a whole team of people in Korea, Europe and the U.S. working to make this launch a success.”

NEXT: O-I’s Design Excellence Award

Design Excellence: O-I : EXPRESSIONS

This year’s Design Excellence Award honors Owens-Illinois Inc. for O-I : EXPRESSIONS, a technique that uses direct-to-glass digital printing to decorate bottles. The O-I : EXPRESSIONS RELIEF version of the technology takes the concept a step further, creating tactile effects on glass packaging.

O-I : EXPRESSIONS, which is positioned as a late-stage packaging design option, offers the benefits of flexible production volumes and nimble response to market demands. The technology is also environmentally friendly, using organic inks that do not hinder the glass package’s recyclability. Packagers’ ability to maintain smaller inventories also helps reduce packaging waste.

“In my opinion, the premium version of O-I : EXPRESSIONS, called O-I : EXPRESSIONS RELIEF—named after the sculptural technique—is the most innovative feature of our personalization service offering,” says Yolanda Fernandez, marketing communication specialist, O-I Europe Sàrl.

She explains that the digital/relief technology “takes brands a step beyond what was previously thought possible in terms of customization and premiumization,” via customized three-dimensional printed effects such as embossing and colored embossing.

“This will enable brands to interact with consumers through the sense of touch. This is the feature that is generating the most ‘wow’ responses from customers, not only because of how it looks, but because it really opens up new opportunities for smaller volumes,” Fernandez adds. Those smaller runs may include limited-time package designs, seasonal packaging and promotional bottles.

“In our opinion, digital printing should not be seen as a solution that will replace existing offerings and solutions, but rather it offers new opportunities for personalizing glass packaging and transforming packaging design through late-stage differentiation,” Fernandez says. “Our O-I : EXPRESSIONS service transforms a bottle into a canvas with speed and ease and helps brands create consumer experiences.”

NEXT: Finally, Sherwin-Williams’ Sustainable Packaging Award

Sustainable Packaging: Krylon Industrial Quik-Tap Aerosol by Sherwin-Williams

Sherwin-Williams won the Sustainable Packaging Award for its Krylon Industrial Quik-Tap paint package, which is an aerosol package design in which the valve and actuator are separate from the aerosol can.

The concept pairs aerosol cans with the reusable Quik-Tap tool. The user screws this device onto a Quik-Tap can, puncturing the sealed can and enabling the paint to flow to the valve and actuator for spraying.

Sherwin-Williams developed the package for a customer that uses spray paint for underground-utility identification. Technicians mark the ground above buried utility lines so contractors and others don’t accidentally damage the lines when digging.

Environmental benefits of the Krylon Industrial Quik-Tap design include hazardous-waste reduction and improved recyclability. Disposal of conventional aerosol paint cans typically requires diversion to a hazardous-waste stream, as the used cans remain sealed and pressurized, and they often still contain liquid paint.

In contrast, a spent Quik-Tap can—which is no longer sealed or pressurized after the Quik-Tap tool is unscrewed—may be recycled or disposed of with regular, non-hazardous waste.

The Quik-Tap packaging also produces less packaging waste than conventional aerosol paint cans, because the cans do not contain actuators or valves. The cans don’t need a protective overcap, either, because they can’t accidentally spray during shipping and handling.

Quik-Tap cans offer cost savings for users, as well. Sherwin-Williams reports that its ground-marking/utilities-locating customers use several million aerosol cans of paint each year. With conventional aerosol cans, this has required industrial users to pay for hazardous-materials dumpsters for can disposal. The new package design eliminates that expense.

Users find their paint going further with the Quik-Tap design, as well, because the package provides maximum evacuation of the product. After the residue remaining inside the used cans has dried, they are ready for recycling or trash.

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