WPO and Better packaging PDF Print E-mail
Written by Peter Roessel   
Tuesday, 18 April 2006 00:00

WPO adds bronze and silver to WorldStar President’s Award Better packaging for more people

The World Packaging Organisation (WPO) came together in Poznan (Poland) at the end of November for its annual WorldStar judging. The new President, Keith Pearson, took the opportunity to present his plans. His main goal is: ‘Better Quality Of Life Through Better Packaging For More People’
WPO President Keith Pearson: ‘We want to put WPO more clearly and more emphatically on the map.’

While the international packaging industry gathered together in Paris at the Emballage trade fair at the end of November, the World Packaging Organisation had a meeting in Poland for the judging of the WorldStars. If WPO President Keith Pearson has his way, such unfortunate planning will not happen again, since he wants to raise WPO’s profile by, among other things, attending as many trade fairs as possible. Emballage, second in the world in terms of visitor numbers, is therefore an important platform for WPO. The WPO meeting in Poznan was about the judging of the WorldStars. Each year, WPO member nations can send in their national packaging prize winners to compete for this packaging prize. Pearson, who has been the new WPO President since April 2006, used this meeting to unveil his plans. ‘I want more structure within WPO and I want to put the organisation more clearly and more emphatically on the map,’ Pearson told his audience. ‘And doing so is possible, because we have good products to offer. In the past years we have not done enough, however, in terms of public relations. We must further reinforce the WPO brand in order to secure more international recognition and achieve more for our members.’
The most important goal being pursued by WPO is ‘Better Quality Of Life Through Better Packaging For More People’. The organisation is trying to achieve this goal by, among other things, stimulating packaging science and development across the globe, contributing to the further development of the international packaging trade and stimulating packaging education and training.

‘We already have some recognition thanks to products like WorldStar, World Student Star and the Global Packaging Market Report that we prepared together with PIRA,’ Pearson explains. ‘We want to further reinforce these products and our brand name, and also launch new initiatives like giving workshops.’

To carry out his plans, Pearson intends to make a considerable addition to the organisation by setting up various international working groups. Among other things, they must bring about greater brand recognition by drawing up and executing a marketing plan, building a new website and representing WPO at packaging conferences and trade fairs. Pearson also wants to set up working groups for the recruitment of sponsors, the expansion and consolidation of partnerships (with IPPO, ITC and PIRA, for example) and the recruitment of new members.

Developing countries
WPO, which was set up in 1968, focuses mainly on developing countries. In the view of WPO’s General Secretary Carl Olsmats, this does not mean, however, that WPO has no added value for developed countries. ‘WPO offers a valuable international network for national packaging institutes. Europe, for example, could still learn a lot from the United States in the area of education. WPO can fulfil a bridging function in this respect. Moreover, WPO is about a longer term strategy that can bear two-way fruit. By supporting developing countries and helping them with their packaging problems, prosperity in those countries will in the long term increase. If their economies grow, they will become significant trading partners for the Western world and buy our products. In addition, many developing countries have fertile soil and a favourable climate in which many crops mature quickly. Coffee and cacao, for example, are significant import products to the West. Good packaging methods and concepts are essential to guarantee the quality of those products. WPO therefore supports developing countries in terms of their packaging education and knowledge build-up.’

Success in Ghana
Ghana and Nigeria are two recent examples of places where WPO successfully deployed its knowledge and expertise. And WPO is also active in Sri Lanka, Tunisia and India. Together with ITC (International Trade Centre), WPO supported the establishment of a national packaging institute in Ghana.

‘Many developing countries do not have infrastructure or a packaging institute yet,’ Olsmats explains. ‘We therefore help them in the development of the packaging sector. For Ghana, for example, we organised workshops for which teachers from all over the world were flown in, and in which they gave lessons in the areas of technology, logistics and marketing, and handled case studies. Representatives of the Ghanaian Ministry of Agro-Industry were also present, and it is probably partly for this reason that the ministry invested money in the packaging sector. Ghana now has a packaging trade fair and institute. Among other things, the institute has a test laboratory and coordinates the issue of barcodes. In addition, Ghana also organises a national packaging competition, and the winning designs have now been submitted for the WorldStar competition.’

Bronze and Silver too
Twenty-six representatives of various national packaging organisations were present in Poznan for this year’s WorldStar judging. As guest of the Polish Packaging Research and Development Centre (COBRO) the representatives of China, the United States, Brazil, Africa and various European countries gather in the Poznan International Fair. In a single day, the jury had to evaluate 265 packagings from 35 countries, of which it selected 130 for a WorldStar. The jury subsequently nominated six entries for the President’s Awards. This special award category was broadened this year so that now, in addition to a gold award, a silver and bronze award can also be won.

The entries clearly showed a worldwide trend towards biodegradable packaging and user friendliness. Nonetheless, biodegradable packagings did not win any first prizes, and it was qualities like design and user friendliness that scored heavily and resulted in a nomination for the President’s Award. The announcement of the winner of this prize and the awarding of the WorldStars shall take place on 15 May 2007 in Chicago, the United States.

Further information: www.worldpackaging.org

WorldStar 2006

The President’s Award nominees are:

Aranesp prefilled SureClick autoinjector

Amgen, United States (category Pharmaceutical & Medical)

Brachia - ‘Olive’

Tridvajedan, Croatia (category Food)

Packaging solution for outboard motor

Yamaha Kumamoto Products, Japan (category Other)


Freshness packaging for fish

Feldmann + Schultchen Design Studios, Germany (category Food)


Emmi Lacto Tab

Emmi Switzerland / Georg Menshen, Germany (category Beverage)

Baking-Tray-System

PAWI Verpackungen, Switzerland (category Food)
Last Updated ( Saturday, 22 March 2008 21:04 )