UFlex with 18 and Huhtamaki with four win IFCA Awards
The IFCA Star Awards 2021 was hosted in December 2021 at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. IFCA received 130+ entries for all categories of the Star Awards. The award winners were: UFlex who picked up a record 18 awards; while Huhtamaki India bagged four IFCA Star Awards.
04 Feb 2022 | 4776 Views | By Mansi Gupta
The Star Awards 2021 event on 3 December saw more than 105 attendees from all over India. Chandrasekhar Rajagopalan, the president of The Indian Flexible Packaging and Folding Carton Association (IFCA) welcomed the delegates. Later Suresh Gupta, chairman of IFCA talked about his own passion for packaging and in a speech laced with anecdotes he highlighted the need for packaging to be a continuous innovator and enabler of value for the customer.
In the words of Jay Nair, one of the judges for the Star Awards, "It was an amazing performance by the dedicated packaging professionals. In an overall depressing environment of the Covid pandemic, these professionals continued to think out of box and creatively.”
Later, the gathering was addressed by Manmeet Aneja AVP, Head of Procurement and Milk Sourcing, South Asia Region at Nestle. he dwelled on the trends which are re-shaping the packaging industry. He emphasised the role played by packaging in product differentiation leading to better consumer connect.
This was followed by a presentation by Pravin Nadgoundi, Brilliant Polymers who talked about food safe innovative developments in the adhesive industry. And finally, Anant Gadre of 3D Technopack talked about how packaging is a continuous enabler of value creation.
In addition to UFlex and Huhtamaki, the other companies that bagged awards were Multiflex Polybags, Parksons Packaging, Michelman, Umax Packaging. Brilliant Polymers won a Star Award for its product S745 in the innovation category. Brilliant won the Star Award for the fifth consecutive year. The Brilliant S745 is an innovative single component moisture curing solvent free adhesive and has been designed for extremely fast cure in laminates, while maintaining user friendly characteristics.
Huhtamaki awards - at a glance
Huhtamaki's KitKat Celebreak Glow in Dark pack introduces fresh creativity in integrating glow in dark experiences for brand interaction. Launched quite aptly during Diwali, each pack features two unique printed messages, one that is read in the light while switching to a glowing surprise message in the dark!
Likewise Huhtamaki's sticker in laminate is a first-of-its-kind format in India to combine flexible packaging and labelling into one pack solution, to offer dual benefits of hassle-free and secure brand promotions. The sticker features precise registration of food-safe stickers inside every pack, it improves productivity by eliminating the need for additional manpower and machine time through automation. The pre-fixed stickers also serve as a strong anti-counterfeit feature and help lower pack waste without the need for an outer covering.
Huhtamaki's interactive both side printed flow wrap addressed the customer requirement. The pack was developed as limited-edition packaging with the clever configuration of multiple print elements using a gravure press and a Unique Random Coder (URC). It incorporates a combination of surface and reverse registered printing of variable text to expand scope for further brand communication. It demonstrates excellence in print registration of varied artwork elements – outer branding, inside text and URC codes. The pack also includes a registered cold seal that offers compatibility with high line-speeds along with good seal integrity. Overall, this pack solution offers scope for brands to enhance consumer experiences.
And finally, Huthamaki's coconut paste bottoms up pouch. This pack was developed to serve as a light-weight, mess-free and sustainable alternative to rigid bottles. It features an inverted format with disruptive shelf-appeal. The flat and inverted pouch closure offers superior dispensing performance with stand-up stability. The pouch is reclosable with a convenient flip top lid and built in pull
ring for tamper evidence. It is printed with a HP Indigo digital press, achieves complex colours and metallic look without metallic inks. It improves the eco – impact of packaging through reduction in material, energy, water usage and greenhouse gas emissions. Overall the pouch invites an eco-friendly and trendy shift.