Introduction
It is estimated that there will be 9 billion people in the world by 2030, which raises concerns about food shortage. In the UK we throw away 7 million tonnes of food and drink from our homes every year, the majority of which could have been consumed. It’s costing us £12.5bn a year and is bad for the environment too. Fresh fruit and vegetables, homemade and prepared meals and bakery items are the most wasted foods by the consumer.
The Brief
Selecting from one of the following categories – bakery; convenience; food-to-go; protein or vegan protein alternatives; or fresh produce – can you create a total plastic packaging solution that is recyclable and contains recycled content which helps reduce food waste by the consumer?
Printed graphics on a separate card sleeve or paper label can be used to communicate the brand and share key food information to enhance the pack and help educate the consumer while encouraging them to recycle and avoid food waste.
While bio-degradable and compostable plastics appear to be a good solution they are difficult to thermoform into a shape and not readily recycled at home or on-the-go. We would like you to consider easy to recycle polymers for your pack, like PET or PP.
Points to consider
- Consider the product inside – is it protected, is it preserved to extend it’s shelf life and how will the packaging and product stay and look the same after transportation
- Does the packaging solution reduce food waste? Consider size of pack, volume of product, portion size, etc. For example, number of days in the week and number of people consuming the product
- Who is your target customer? Consider who does the shopping and if it’s appealing to them
- Consider the global megatrends of a growing population, the increase in single households and the rise of convenience shopping (little and often or on-the-go)
- Visibility of the product is key. Consumers buy with their eyes, consider polymer colour and visibility
- Efficient use of space, how would several of the products look on a supermarket shelf, can they stack for example
Materials to be used
Solution to predominantly include plastic thermoformed (vacuum formed is fine for prototyping) optionally with flexible film as the primary packaging. Other materials such as carton board sleeves or labels can be used as secondary packaging to help visualize a total pack solution.
Click here for product samples
Submission Details
Online registration must include upload of the developments boards and photographic evidence of the final model
The development boards (uploaded as a single PDF document) need to include the following:
- A3 Research Board
- A3 Design Exploration Board
- Net of Recommended Design Solution
The photographic evidence should:
- Showcase the front, back and sides of the model
- Be shot against a white background, and in focus. These images will be used in the Starpack Competition Book and may be used for additional promotion.
- A maximum of 4 images to be uploaded
- For students who are unable to supply a final model, 3D renderings and drawings are accepted.
Judging Criteria
What the judges are looking for:
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Originality and aesthetic qualities of the design, with consideration to commercial viability
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How the pack delivers the benefits to consumers and that the functionality has been considered as much as the branding
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The quality of portfolio, which must include evidence of research and the development of the design
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Designs which demonstrate awareness of environmental issues, through economic use of the material and recyclability
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Please also check out our past winners to see the standard of work required for winning entries.
In addition:
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Individual briefs may have specific conditions required by the sponsors. Please check each brief description carefully for full details.
Brief G Judges
Ben Elkington
Roxy Walker
Prize
Winning student
£300 cash prize
Awards
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We award Gold, Silver, Bronze and Highly Commended certificates but only give physical trophies to Gold, Silver and Bronze winners. All students will receive a certificate of entry |
About Klöckner Pentaplast
KP is a plastics manufacturer with over 40 years’ experience designing and creating intelligent packaging to optimize the protection, preservation and presentation of food. From clam shell takeaway trays, to minced meat trays and strawberry punnets in the supermarket, we create packaging solutions used by millions of people across 70 countries. Additionally we manufacture barrier films and cling film to create the total pack solution on shelf.
Our products are used in lots of different food categories, such as meat and poultry, fish, bakery, convenience, produce and food to go.
We champion the reduction of food waste with supermarkets, providing them with clever and innovative efficient packaging.
Most of our rigid food trays are made from recycled content (plastic bottle flake), by supercleaning and extruding the plastic flakes into a sheet which goes into our thermoforming ovens in our factories, resulting in the end packaging product.
Contact Details
For guidance with the brief contact Roxy Walker
tel. +44 (0)7810 831 169
Resources
Website: Sustainable Food Packaging Solutions - Klockner Pentaplast (kpfilms.com)
Sustainability Strategy: Investing in Better (kpfilms.com)
Sustainability Strategy Brochure download: kp_Investing_in_Better_Brochure_052021.pdf (kpfilms.com)
Sustainability Report 2020: kp_Sustainability_Report_2020_092021_EN.pdf (kpfilms.com)
Klockner Pentaplast “Positive Plastics Pledge” : flipbook (kpfilms.com)
