Converted packaging products were the top vote-getters in this year’s DuPont Innovation Awards Competition. Honored August 11 during a special ceremony at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Wilmington, DE, two Diamond Award winners, deemed the most inventive by the contest judges, lead the group of 26 international food and non-food packaging developments.

The DuPont competition (www.dupont.com), in its 19th year, annually recognizes leading innovations in food processing and packaging across the supply chain—from technology and processes to equipment and converters to the end-use packagers. Reviewing 135 entries, judges considered criteria such as material specification of the package structure, marketplace acceptance, impact on consumers, function, improvement from current packaging, and the degree of design, engineering or technical innovation.

A. Tetra Pak Research & Development AB: Tetra Wedge™ Aseptic Clear 200 Slim.

The world’s first aseptic transparent standup pouch, the Tetra Wedge Aseptic Clear 200 S is designed especially for childrens’ on-the-go drinks. It has an unusual, soft and squishy feeling and see-through look, which 6-12-year-olds find fun and cool, according to market research in North America and Europe. The aseptic process ensures convenient, safe and portable products with high-quality taste and nutritional value without the need for preservatives or hot filling, said the judges.

Supplied in the US by Vernon Hills, IL-based converter Tetra Pak (www.tetrapakusa.com), the package was used last year by Mexican beverage maker Jumex to launch its Nautix line of kids’ drinks. The response to the new product, distributed initially through Wal-Mart, was highly favorable, and “the response from US consumers we surveyed has been equally promising,” says Jeff Kellar, vice president of strategic business development at Tetra Pak.

The Wedge Aseptic Clear allows for both high- and low-acid applications, making pouch-style, shelf-stable packaging a new possibility for the dairy and soy industries, according to Tetra Pak.

B. Labatt Breweries of Canada: Alliance Labeling, Inc.; and Shikatani Lacroix Design.

Cool2Go™ wrap on Toronto’s Labatt Blue Cold One beer cans keeps the beverage colder, longer. The 30- to 40-mils-thick wrap, made by placing a proprietary polymer insulation between an 80-gauge top layer and a 48-gauge bottom layer of DuPont Teijin Films (Hopewell, VA) Melinex® oriented polyester film (www.dupontteijinfilms.com), protects the beer from heat transferred from warm hands, condensation and outside temperatures. The patented process produces a thin thermal barrier, also making Labatt Blue Cold One cans more comfortable to hold. The laminate is then gravure-printed and shrink-wrapped around each can.

DuPont also got involved in the Labatt Blue Cold One’s six-pack shrink-wrap packaging. Flexographically printed via DuPont Cyrel1® NOW plates, the overwrap’s distinctive blues and gradations were possible through the plate’s compatibility with both alcohol- and water-based inks as well as UV inks, the supplier says.

In addition to the two Diamond Awards, this year’s competition named nine Gold, 10 Silver and seven Special Citation winners. Among these, a golden flexible package stands out.

C. Kraft Foods, Inc.—USA: Sonoco Products Co.; and Spear USA.

Snack ’n Seal high-barrier film packaging for Nabisco Chewy Chips Ahoy! Cookies is a patented system that provides consumers with resealability, ease of opening and increased product freshness, said the judges. Cookies packed into a traditional thermoformed tray are then enclosed in a horizontal flow wrap from Hartsville, SC-based Sonoco Products (www.sonoco.com), which incorporates an innovative recloseable feature to the top panel.

A precision die-cut opening in the flexible package is sealed with a pressure-sensitive label from Mason, OH converter Spear USA (www.spearlabel.com). The label is grasped at the “Lift Here” tab and peeled back, revealing the opening. Consumers can then access the cookies and reclose the package without having to tear open the end seals. The package contains a widely used high-barrier film structure (very low moisture-vapor transmission rates) with technology that had formerly only been used for baby and home-care wipes.