The year 2024 started with a double success for Greiner Packaging. On 9 January, it was announced that the company can pride itself on receiving not one, but two WorldStar awards this year, one for its innovative K3 r100 and one for the sustainability-focused redesign of a yogurt packaging.
The two prize-winning packaging designs have already received national awards in recent years – which is the requirement for eligibility to be nominated for a WorldStar award. Greiner Packaging is one of the leading European manufacturers of plastic packaging in the food and non-food sectors.
A total of 435 packaging products from 41 countries competed for a WorldStar award. Like the submissions, the award winners were equally spread across the globe – including Greiner Packaging.
K3 r100: Self-separation for excellent recyclability
The cardboard-plastic cup was invented by Greiner Packaging over 40 years ago and has been in continuous development ever since. Its thin plastic cup, reduced carbon footprint, and intuitive tear tab make it both a particularly sustainable and visually appealing packaging choice.
The K3 r100 cardboard wrap and plastic packaging separate from each other without human intervention during the waste disposal process. This means that achieving a high recyclability rate (up to 98%) does not depend on proper separation by the end consumer – as with all previous K3 packaging: It happens completely independently. Customers such as the Austrian company Berglandmilch and the Swiss dairy Molkerei Forster already trust in self-separating K3 r100. In 2023, Greiner Packaging received the Green Packaging Star Award for its innovation.
Customized yogurt packaging: Redesign with sustainability benefits. In order to make the packaging design of Olma Pierot’s creamy, fruity yogurts more sustainable, the brand turned to packaging specialist Greiner Packaging. Switching from injection molding to thermoforming and adapting the cup geometry allowed a total reduction of plastic per cup of 29%. This corresponds to a potential annual savings of 48 tons of plastic.
In order to make the packaging design of Olma Pierot’s creamy, fruity yogurts more sustainable, the brand turned to packaging specialist Greiner Packaging.In addition, the packaging is easier to stack thanks to the adjustments made to the cup geometry: The stacking height of 5 cups was reduced by 74.8 mm, which consequently reduces the truckloads required for transport by almost 80% per year. By reducing both the amount of plastic and the number of truckloads required, it is possible to reduce a large amount of CO2e emissions. Greiner Packaging already received the Czech Obal Roku Award “Packaging of the Year 2023” for the redesign in 2023.
“We have already won several WorldStar awards in recent years. However, receiving two awards in one year is something very special and highlights the fact that – together with our customers – we are working hard at all our locations to develop innovative packaging with a view to sustainability. And it is precisely with this mission that we are entering the upcoming fiscal year,” explains Beatrix Praeceptor, CEO of Greiner Packaging, delighted to have received two WorldStar awards.
The WorldStar Awards competition has been held by the World Packaging Organization since 1970. To qualify for a submission, the packaging must have already won a packaging award at the regional or national level for its K3® r100 and one for its optimized yogurt packaging for the Olma Pierot brand.
