Unboxing This Year’s Award-Winning Innovative & Sustainable Packaging

We are pleased and honored to announce that we have again received numerous packaging awards at the prestigious Paperboard Packaging Council (PPC) 2024 competition, now in its 81st year, celebrating the innovation achievements of the best in the industry. These award-winning packages were developed in partnership with: the ADM Group (Beam Suntory and Goose Island) and BDA, Inc (Dell).

Per the PPC, these designs which blend modern aesthetics with eco-friendly materials, not only push the boundaries of design but also respect and build upon the rich tradition and versatility of paperboard packaging.

We’ll take a closer look at each of these award-winning packages and our client collaborations which are a testament to our world-class solutions to support our clients with creative, cutting-edge, and environmentally friendly folding cartons, promotional packaging and rigid boxes that truly ‘Presses the Limits’.

Dell Custom Lock Box

Gold Award

Dell’s package states that there’s an innovator in all of us. That’s especially true for the design of this interactive custom combination lock box.

The goal was to create a package with a problem-solving or locking mechanism to align with problems and solutions. The all-paperboard and fully recyclable solution features a QR code for the recipient to scan and obtain the combination. Once the sliders are moved and the set is revealed, the handle can be pulled to disengage the lock, revealing the boxed gift. The interior frameview tray also features an easily removable bottom tray for extra storage underneath.

The package was designed to be sturdy yet lightweight by incorporating both the SBS and ESKA boards into the structure. Prominently featured on the package, it states ‘Please Recycle Me. Made from 100% recyclable materials.’

Beam Suntory El Tesoro Mundial Collection

Gold Award

The Mundial Collection celebrates El Tesoro’s tradition of craftsmanship by partnering with likeminded distillers from renowned distilleries around the world to offer novel, rare tequila experiences.

For these two new tequila variants, Beam Suntory was looking for distinctive premium limited-edition series packaging for the Laphroaig (aged in scotch barrels) and Knob Creek (aged in Knob Creek bourbon whiskey barrels).

The package is designed as a two-piece telescoping rigid box. The Laphroaig features pale straw and golden notes while the Knob Creek features wheat brown and golden tones. Initially, the plan was to use camel color material, but the cream banner across the front which matches the bottle labels, wouldn’t be achievable on the dark background. We provided guidance on a better solution to alternatively print the camel and cream colors on beige stock.

To achieve the fine artwork details using foil and PMS colors, the print production involved multiple passes. The print sequence utilized a 1^st pass with black and the PMS colors. The 2^nd pass added the gold foil stamp. The 3^rd pass then printed the PMS plus black and an overall varnish. This pass required critical registration to the previous passes in order to achieve the final print detail. Finally, the 4^th pass added the detailed embossing pattern.

Goose Island Bourbon County Eagle Rare Stout

Excellence Award

Goose Island’s Bourbon County Eagle Rare Reserve Stout epitomizes a proud American legacy. From the carefully selected American oak barrels sourced from Eagle Rare in Kentucky to the distinct combination of their unique climate and original imperial stout recipe crafted there; Bourbon County Eagle Rare Reserve Stout epitomizes a proud American legacy.

For this packaging, Goose Island wanted to capture the spirit of the stout that’s brewed with respect to tradition with a unique story to tell of the barrels and beers that’s meant to be shared.

The tube package features a collar with a telescoping bottom with a die cut window to showcase the ‘Two Years Imperial Stout Aged in Bourbon Barrels’ logo. On the exterior, the Goose Island logo, bottle, die cut, year, Reserve and Eagle Rare logos are highlighted with foil stamping on top of a gloss pattern of the eagle set on a soft touch metallic background. Turning the tube reveals different logos and copy to add interaction with the brand and package.

On the interior, foil stamping highlights the stories of Goose Island and the Eagle Rare Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey for enjoying and sharing.

Beam Suntory Legent Kentucky Bourbon

Excellence Award

Legent was born from the collaboration of two master distillers, Fred Noe of Beam and Shinji Fukuyo of Suntory. The distilled spirit is best known for its unique flavors, as they are partially aged in wine and sherry casks, giving it spicy and fruity undertones.

For this package, Beam wanted to elevate the Legent brand to better align with the collaboration of the celebrated whiskey legends.

As part of the development, a strategy session was held to map out various printing techniques, embellishments and stocks for a press test using client supplied artwork. The test was run on our 15-unit press allowing for maximum print and coating innovation that could be completed in one pass. Our structural design team then created a tile kit housing each of the ten options as a visual aid for evaluating the designs.

The final design was achieved using cold foil, PMS & black colors, coarse reticulating & dull varnish, and gloss UV coating to provide a stunning design cost-effectively.

Goose Island Bourbon County Angel’s Envy Stout

Excellence Award

Goose Island produces an annual release that’s aged in bourbon barrels. For this release, their Bourbon County 2-Year ‘Cask Finish’ stout was carefully aged in Angels’ Envy Bourbon Ruby Port Wine Barrels.

Goose Island wanted a package that effectively embodied the intertwining of the Angel’s Envy Bourbon Ruby Port and the barrel-aged Goose Island Stout. The beer starts in freshly emptied barrels that once held Angel’s Envy Kentucky straight bourbon. After aging in those for a year, the beer was transferred to a second set of Ruby Port wine barrels where it patiently matured for another year. This finishing process refined and amplified the flavors of cherry, spice, and cocoa within this aged stout.

The package was thoughtfully designed with a cutout of the Angel’s Envy Bourbon Whiskey bottle that provides a corner window to showcase the Goose Island ‘Cask Finish’ Stout.

Multiple iterations of the corner window were designed to accurately represent the shape of the bottle when viewed at an angle. The final die cut shape of the Angel’s Envy was intentionally distorted to ensure the silhouette cutout appeared proportionally when the carton is folded and formed. These types of details were carefully considered and executed to ensure brand integrity.

The folding carton also features a flood coat of PMS on the exterior and interior to conveys the cherry and cocoa used in the aging process. The package design is enhanced by an overall soft touch finish with very detailed red and gold foil stamping to decorate the carton designs, logos, Angel’s Envy artwork as well as the stories of Goose Island’s two-year stout and the Angel’s Envy bourbon & barrels. For a very clean and detailed foil finish, the soft touch coating is reversed out of the foil areas.

Learn more about our approach to collaborating with clients to understand their brand direction, product vision and desired high-impact result. From our innovative structural design and sustainable packaging solutions to our robust printing and finishing capabilities, we look forward to continuing to ‘Press the Limits’ with our clients to help them build their brands.