AmeriStar 2013 winner

The Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) has announced the winners of the 2013 AmeriStar Package Awards Competition, with top honors going to The Clorox Co., for Best of Show; NewPage Corp., for Sustainability; and Microsoft Corp., for Design Excellence. 

Entrants competed in 15 categories, and judging was based on package innovation, sustainability, protection, economics, performance and marketing. In addition to the competition's 30 commercial winners, there were five student AmeriStar winners this year. 

Presented below are details of the competition's top three winners plus two wild cards that struck our fancy for their ingenuity: Sherwin-Williams' "All in 1" package and Staples' Smart-size Packaging Program. 

To see the full list of 2013 AmeriStar award winners, visit www.packagingdigest.com/2013AmeriStars.

Best of Show: Clorox cleans up with Smart Tube
Creative design, an improved consumer experience and a healthy dose of "why hasn't anyone done this before?" are apparent in Clorox Smart Tube Technology. Entered in the Household Products category, the package won this year's Best of Show Award. It was also the cover feature in Packaging Digest's June 2013 issue (www.packagingdigest.com/SmartTube).

Developed by The Clorox Co., the technology lets consumers get all the cleaning solution out of a spray bottle thanks to a blown-in dip tube that reaches the absolute bottom of the bottle. Users don't need to angle the bottle or pour out last drops of product, as with a conventional spray bottle, because the package dispenses everything in the package.

In addition to assuaging that frustration, the package design makes it easier to spray. The bottle's bayonet-style trigger is easier to pull and control than the previous design. The company is using the new package for Clorox, Formula 409 and Tilex products.

To communicate the Smart Tube innovation to consumers at the point of purchase, Clorox chose a full-body shrink label that uses graphic elements and a clear window to display the integral dip tube and explain its benefits.
Clorox sources Smart Tube components from several suppliers: Alpla and Graham Packaging, for bottles; Guala, for triggers; American Fuji Seal, for shrink sleeves; and Ronchi, for filling equipment.

Alpla, 770-305-7213
www.alpla.com

American Fuji Seal, 800-489-9211
www.fujiseal.co.jp/americas

Graham Packaging, 717-849-8500
www.grahampackaging.com

Guala Dispensing, +39-0131-213411
www.gualadispensing.com

Ronchi, 201-802-1901
www.ronchipackaging.com

Sustainability: Flexible material is completely compostable
NewPage Corp. earned the competition's Sustainability Award for its LittleFoot 100 percent-compostable barrier material, which was an entrant in the Food, Shelf Stable, category.

LittleFoot is a multilayer material made of paper laminated to metallized polylactic acid (PLA) or metallized cellophane. The structure also includes a sealable layer, for converting the material into barrier packaging.
The structure's paper and metallized layers are selected to provide appropriate oxygen and moisture barrier for the food to be packaged; the material complies with FDA food-contact guidelines.

According to NewPage, LittleFoot provides good aroma barrier and oil/grease resistance. In addition, the high-opacity laminated material offers a strong barrier to ultraviolet and visible-light, which can degrade foods.
LittleFoot can run on existing converting equipment, including form/fill/seal machines. It can be used to make wrappers, bags, sachets and stand-up pouches and is compatible with features like breather valves and resealable closures. NewPage reports that the material also prints well, with dimensional stability that supports print registration plus stiffness that aids in brand presentation. 

By incorporating a metallized layer, LittleFoot eliminates foil and petrochemical-based films. The USA-made material is about 70 percent fiber and is industrially compostable, based on Biodegradable Products Institute standards. NewPage has filed a patent application (currently pending) for the technology.

NewPage Corp., 937-242-9345
www.newpagecorp.com

Design Excellence: Microsoft packaging balances form and function
Microsoft Corp. won this year's Design Excellence Award for its PC Accessory Landscape packaging system, an entrant in the Electronics category. The packaging combines creative structural design with sustainability features and a focus on consumer engagement. 

The company uses the modular packaging system for more than 50 PC accessories, including mice and keyboards. Consistency and robust minimalism are key themes: The system uses the fewest structural components and least amount of packaging material possible while still assuring product protection and positioning the products as premium quality.

The package design evokes a wristwatch gift box. Inside the rigid box is a molded pulp tray with a high-end finish; the product fits snugly into the tray. An articulating hinge on the box adds to the product presentation and to the consumer's out-of-box experience.

The packaging is also environmentally responsible, with all components incorporating pre- and/or post-consumer recycled material. The molded-pulp tray is made from bagasse, a sugar cane-based biomaterial.

Two Chinese suppliers, Sun Union and SuZhou Earth Recycle, supply Microsoft with molded pulp for the packaging. Two other suppliers, also in China, supply the retail cartons and print collateral: Honda Printing Holdings and Shenzhen Yuto Printing (Holdings). In addition, Microsoft consulted with Seattle-based Carbon Design Group on the structural design of the packaging.

Carbon Design Group, 425-424-2424
www.carbondesign.com

Honda Printing Holdings Ltd., +86-755-27992588
www.hongda-p.com

Shenzhen Yuto Printing (Holdings) Co. Ltd.,
+86-755-33873999
www.szyuto.com

Sun Union Environmental Packaging Co. Ltd.,
+86-769-88857678
www.sununion.com

SuZhou Earth Recycle Co. Ltd., +86-512-66615368
www.erigroup.com.cn

Household Products: ‘All in 1' pack makes it easier to fix auto paint
In the Household Products category, Sherwin-Williams won an AmeriStar award for its Dupli-Color Scratch Fix "All in 1" package. The ergonomically designed package combines everything needed to touch up automotive scratches and chips, from prepping the surface to applying a clear top coat that creates a factory-like finish. Previously, Sherwin-Williams sold Dupli-Color automotive paints (matched to car year and model), top coat, prep tool and applicators individually.

Benefits of the All in 1 package include convenience and improved product application. The package's top portion holds the exact match, one-coat, prime-and-paint formula; the bottom portion contains the clear top coat. The paint portion has two applicators-a Flocon NeedleValve pen tip and a tapered bristled brush-and the top-coat well has a triangular foam applicator to blend away brush strokes. 

The plastic NeedleValve pen tip features a redesigned valve that lets users adjust paint flow based on how hard they press the tip against the car. The result is better control and finer, more precise paint application. The brush applicator is designed for larger chips and scratches. 

The Dupli-Color secondary package is a PET carton with text and images that communicate the design and benefits of the All in 1 primary pack.

Flocon Inc., 815-444-1500

Other: "Smart-size" is the right size for Staples
In the Other category, Staples won an award for the Smart-size Packaging Program it implemented in collaboration with Packsize Intl. The program represents a triple win, with Staples, its customers and the environment all benefitting from package right-sizing on orders moving through Staples' fulfillment centers.

The solution leverages Packsize's On Demand Packaging system, which uses small-footprint converting machines to create a custom package for each order. The equipment communicates with Staples' order-management system to create an optimally sized delivery box every time. The company uses up to 180 box designs per machine.

Reducing packaging waste had become an issue for Staples, with consumers remarking on what they perceived as over-packaging. In addition, the company had made it a corporate goal to reduce packaging by 20 percent in the U.S. by 2020. Smart-size Packaging enables the company to meet its weight-reduction objective while significantly improving customer satisfaction.

Since switching to Smart-size Packaging, Staples has reduced its use of air pillows by about 60 percent, reduced average corrugated-board use by more than 15 percent and greatly improved transportation efficiency by shrinking the break-pack cube.

Staples had implemented the sytem in 15 of its e-commerce fulfillment centers by March 2013 and plans to install it in the remainder of its U.S. fulfillment centers by the end of the year.

Packsize Intl. LLC, 801-944-4814, www.packsize.com

Kate Bertrand Connolly is a seasoned freelance writer based in the San Francisco area covering the packaging, food and technology markets. You can contact her at [email protected].

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