The IndiaStar Awards were the major highlights of the World Packaging Congress, being organised concurrently with the ongoing Indiapack 2015 by the Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP).
On 10 October, during a gala award ceremony for IndiaStar Awards 2014-15, total 262 awards were conferred to 101 companies. Among them, top five winners of the evening were Pragati Pack (32 Awards), ITC (17), Hindustan Unilever (16), Huhtamaki PPL (10), and Jayna Packaging (10).
IIP instituted the IndiaStar Awards in 1972 to promote and encourage excellence in packaging design, innovation and sustainability. This year, IndiaStar attracted 627 packaging entries. This is a record of nominations in a year, out of which the nine member jury picked ‘the Best of the Best’. The jury day was hosted over a two-phase process at the IIP-Mumbai campus.
Since 1992, IIP also confers the Pacmachine Awards to motivate the manufacturers of packaging machinery for the development of Indian packaging machinery. This year, there were 14 entries for the Awards and the institute honoured 12 manufacturers with the Pacmachine Awards. “This year, the number of entries has superseded all earlier records. This made the jury to select more number of winners in each category. On behalf of the institute and on my personal behalf, I wish to express my sincere thanks to the industry players who made this remarkable innovation for the growth of the packaging industry,” Dr NC Saha, director, Indian Institute of Packaging, said.
The Day One of the World Packaging Congress on 9 October concluded with the Sustainability Awards and the IndiaStar Student Awards. The Sustainability Awards 2015 were bagged by four firms, Classy Kontainers, Heinz India, Milan Decore and Ajanta Print Arts. At the IndiaStar 2015 Student Category Awards presentation, students from across India were felicitated for their innovative and sustainable package design. Besides the industry, the event saw the attendance of the IIP alumni in full strength.