Despite the tough situation of Covid-19 hitting the global economy for the second year, the WorldStar management and WPO member LibanPack (www.libanpack.org) were able to attract a record number of 440 entries from 37 countries representing a 30% increase compared to the previous year. The WorldStar judging process was conducted over two rounds, and the online judging panel was composed of 36 international esteemed judges representing 36 WPO countries.
“The judges evaluated each entry so diligently, with such intentional focus and spent hours going through 440 submissions before meeting virtually, during WPO week in November, for final deliberations to choose the winners,” explains Soha Atallah, WorldStar coordinator and vice president of Conferences, Exhibitions and Awards. She adds, “Sustainability and convenience were among the main focus for most of the entries in WorldStar 2022 in addition to other post-Covid-19 trends such as hygiene, eCommerce and wellness,” states Soha Atallah.
The 240 winners of the WorldStar Packaging Awards 2022 were announced on 15 December 2021 and posted on www.worldstar.org. The Top 4 most awarded countries of the 2022 edition are Germany, 28 awards; Australia & New Zeeland, 27 awards; Japan, 23 awards; and China,15 awards. The Asia Pacific seems to have extremely well with other winners in the region, including South Korea 13; India 10, Thailand 4, Singapore 3, Sri Lanka 1 and Vietnam 1.
The WordStar Award Ceremony for 2022 will take place physically on 4 May 2022, in Milan during the Ipack Ima show, which is from 3 to 6 May, in cooperation with the WPO local member, the Italian Packaging Institute (www.istitutoimballaggio.org). The winners for the special categories, the President’s Award, Sustainability Award, Marketing Award and Packaging that Saves Food Award, will be also announced during WorldStar Ceremony.
According to WPO President Pierre Pienaar, “The WPO Board of Directors, who deliberated over the entries, were so excited by the high standard of innovation. They were particularly encouraged by the number of entries and some from new member countries. While sustainability remains a key and necessary consideration when designing packaging, the judges were impressed by the focus on design and graphics to enhance the consumer experience.”
