Day Three of the PrintWeek Awards 2024 Jury Week, also the final day of the Jury Week, was set for the examination of four categories. They were Packaging Converter of the Year (F&B); Packaging Converter of the Year (FMCG); Packaging Converter of the Year (Pharma); and Packaging Converter of the Year (Rigid Box).

Day Three saw the most number of samples as compared to the first two days — a lofty 350.

The jury to examine the samples included Amit Saurkar, Deepa Naik, Deepti Kshirsagar Nitin Virkar, Peter KA, Rahul Nainani, and Sanjay Ghoshal.

Amit Saurkar is the group packaging development manager at Marico Limited. He is a packaging professional with more than 14 years of experience in packaging innovation and engineering for a variety of consumer product groups like foods, personal care, healthcare and nutrition.

Saurkar noted the shift that quick service restaurant (QSR) chains made from buckets that had barrier coatings, to buckets without. He said sustainability is now a bigger part of the conversation and that small choices like these, ones that make a lot of difference, are slowly being made by companies.

Deepti Kshirsagar is the co-founder and director of strategy and design at TCT Strategic Branding. She has more than 15 years of experience in strategic branding and packaging design and has been a serial entrepreneur in the design industry. She has been instrumental in creating and launching notable brands in both FMCG and FMHC categories.

Kshirsagar noted the use of various processes like 3D drip from the samples on display. She was also pleased with the structural alignment achieved through print on the packaging. She said, “The samples I have seen so far have great finishing for these reasons.”

Rahul Nainani is the co-founder and CEO of ReCircle, a clean-tech organisation on a mission to drive the circular economy. He has forged long-term collaborations with industry giants, including HUL, UNDP India, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, and Mondelez, among others, aiding them in accomplishing their sustainability objectives.

Nainani observed the lack of sustainable choices, especially in rigid boxes. He said, “I’m not seeing much sustainability. I know it is a client requirement but I don’t think many of the samples here are sustainable.”

Sanjay Ghoshal is the head of packaging, packaging sustainability, and strategic packaging productivity at Diageo India. He has held global Leadership roles in the design, development, and execution of packaging, packaging procurement, and value engineering.

Ghoshal observed the sustainable choices that were made by the companies that entered their samples for consideration. He said, “People are not using metPET so much anymore. I also think they are realising the value of packaging as a tool for branding communication.”

Peter KA is the AVP of packaging development at Godrej Consumer Products. He manages packaging development for the India-SAARC business unit. He said, “Something I have noticed is the innovation in texture and craftsmanship in the samples. The finishing is great and impressive.”

Deepa Naik is the general manager of packaging innovation for Hershey India and AMEA. Naik noted the shift to rigid boxes as compared to the previous years. She said, “It is curious to see the shift to rigid boxes from mono cartons. The design and embellishments are great to see.”

Nitin Virkar is the chief creative officer at Therefore Design. He is also a potter and has been invited to design schools in the capacity of a mentor for courses in fundamentals of design.

Virkar observed that companies that submitted samples made of different substrates did a fairly average job in terms of quality and execution. He said this was in contrast to the samples submitted by companies that specialised in specific categories, like rigid boxes. He said, “I don’t know what that means in terms of business, but the companies that specialised in a certain thing did a far better job.”