2020 Packaging Innovation Awards by Dow: Products from Asia Pacific triumphed at the industry's longest running and independently judged packaging awards

SINGAPORE, Jan. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Dow (NYSE:DOW) recently announced the winners of the 2020 Packaging Innovation Awards recognizing breakthrough packaging achievements in design, technology, sustainability and user experience.

The judges evaluated more than 175 entries from companies around the globe, across categories from personal care and health and hygiene, to food and beverage and industrial innovations. In addition to the distinguished Diamond Award Winner, three Diamond Finalists, six Gold Award Winners and five Silver Award Winners were honored; of which four products developed in Asia Pacific were selected by the judges as winning entries.

Diamond Finalists

ARIEL PLATINUM SPORTS Refill Pouch  

Zacros designed the ARIEL PLATINUM SPORTS Refill Pouch in collaboration with The Procter & Gamble Company of Japan Limited.

The innovation is a unique way to cater to consumer habits and environmental concerns in Japan, where refill pouches for liquid laundry detergent are often used. The stand-up pouch features a spout and inner disk, preventing the detergent from coming out when the pouch is turned upside down. In addition, the unique structure allows the air in the bottle to be replaced by the contents, drastically reducing the time for refilling.

New Thin Film Deposition Technology for PET Bottles

Kirin Holdings Co., Ltd. created the New Thin Film Deposition Technology for PET Bottles in collaboration with Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation. This thin film deposition system for high-performance PET bottles offers high transparency, gas barrier and stability when interacting with neutral aqueous solutions. This was notably impossible with previous PET thin-film gas barriers for bottles. The innovation is created through a process that breaks down raw material gas to construct the colorless, transparent film, and it is designed to provide cleaner, more efficient energy consumption and reduce product waste. 

Gold Award

Kimchi Easy Carry Pouch 

CJ CHEILJEDANG designed the Kimchi Easy Carry Pouch to package the traditional Korean food it produces, which naturally releases gas as it ferments. The pouch features a two-ball handle and has a new maze structure in the top seal to allow gas release while preventing liquid leak. This new design replaces the use of cable ties or clips to control the gas release as was in the previous package design. The innovation was designed to also reduce plastic usage by 15 percent compared to the previous design and is completely recyclable because it doesn't contain any cable ties or clips.

Silver Award

High barrier, retort and easy-peel packaging for Chinese style spiced corned egg

Sunrise Packaging Materials (Jiangyin) Co., Ltd, in collaboration with Guangdong Wuqiong Food Co., Ltd developed the high barrier, retort and easy-peel packaging for Chinese style spiced corned egg. These features combine to deliver nine months of shelf life and an excellent user experience for consumers. 

"The companies demonstrated unwavering purpose for designing packages that fulfills users' need and enhances their experiences, whether it's providing quality refillable pouches or extending a food product's shelf life. Packaging is and will continue to be an important feature of every product we buy as it protects the product and contain important information such as expiration date and ingredients," said Kodak Xiao, marketing director, Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics, Asia Pacific. "While we celebrate the creativity and innovation of the winning entries, we also need to applaud the companies for putting sustainability at the forefront of their designs."

The 2020 Packaging Innovation Awards hosted by Dow is now in its 32^nd year and is the industry's longest running, independently judged packaging awards program. The judging panel consists of professionals from around the world in a wide range of fields, including design, engineering, retail, converting and academia.

A replay of the live awards ceremony and full list of winners can be found here. For more information and images of each winning entry, please visit our virtual winners gallery.

About Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics

Packaging and Specialty Plastics (P&SP), a business unit of Dow (NYSE: DOW), combines core strengths of R&D, worldwide reach, broad product lines and industry expertise to deliver high performing technologies for end use markets in food packaging, personal hygiene, infrastructure, consumer goods and transportation. P&SP is one of the world's largest producers of polyethylene resins, functional polymers, and adhesives, and enabled by Pack Studios, is a leading innovator and collaborator across the value chain on sustainable application development and circular economy life-cycle design for plastics. www.dowpackaging.com

About Dow

Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines global breadth, asset integration and scale, focused innovation and leading business positions to achieve profitable growth. The Company's ambition is to become the most innovative, customer centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company. Dow's portfolio of plastics, industrial intermediates, coatings and silicones businesses delivers a broad range of differentiated science-based products and solutions for its customers in high-growth market segments, such as packaging, infrastructure and consumer care. Dow operates 109 manufacturing sites in 31 countries and employs approximately 36,500 people. Dow delivered sales of approximately $43 billion in 2019. References to Dow or the Company mean Dow Inc. and its subsidiaries. For more information, please visit www.dow.com or follow @DowNewsroom on Twitter.