Among the 31 winning companies from more than 130 entries, Uflex grabbed the lion’s share with 12 awards, while ITC bagged seven and TCPL was honoured with six.

The jury panel comprised of top names from the industry such as packaging stalwart Kiran Prayagi, ex-vice president at FCB Ulka Hemant Randive, Ajay Bapat of Packaging Concepts, Sethunath Padmanabhan of Reproflex 3 and SIES SOP’s Prasad Iyer.

“We have got an encouraging response in this fourth edition on SIES SOP Star Awards amid a pandemic. The award-winning samples showcased the perfect mix of design and technology in the most aesthetic, appealing and in many cases environment-friendly way,” said Prasad Balan Iyer, I/C director, SIES SOP.

The SOP Star Awards was instituted to recognise the packaging sector for its efforts in the industry ranging from primary and ancillary packages to the machinery and equipment. It lauds new concepts and developments backed by creativity and innovation and both professional and academic excellence. Besides these recognitions, the organisation has introduced a new category – the Presidents’ Special Award - to further encourage the work and development in sustainable packaging.

“We are now in the process of also improving our metrics for judging from next year onwards, so that true innovation and creativity gets recognised separately,” added Iyer.

The winners of the SOP Star awards qualify to participate in the WorldStar 2022 honours.