At a gala ceremony held on October 16 in London, Pentawards marked the twentieth edition of the competition, which has tracked the development of packaging design since 2007. This year’s competition attracted more than 2,000 entries from 66 countries, with the winning work including solutions for major international brands, local producers and products whose packaging takes on a new function after opening.
Regional studios won a total of six awards for five projects: one Diamond Award, one gold, two silvers and two bronzes. The evening’s highest honour went to Istria, while the other winning projects included packaging for writing instruments, a collectible numismatic edition and coffee.
Studio Sonda won the Diamond Award – Best of Show for the project Label Created by the Wine Itself – Piquentum Brut Nature. This is the competition’s highest honour, awarded to a single project, and the same design also won gold in the Beverages – Wine (light) category.
At the heart of the project is the organic sparkling wine Piquentum Brut Nature, produced by Vinski podrum Buzet. The yeast sediment remaining after secondary fermentation was mixed with paper pulp made from the winery’s paper waste and turned into a label.
Dig studio won two silver awards. The project BRANDO writing instruments was recognised in the Home, Leisure & Other Markets – Stationery category, while Croatian Rulers – King Tomislav won in the Home, Leisure & Other Markets – Entertainment and leisure category.
For the Croatian handcrafted writing instruments brand BRANDO, the studio designed packaging that reflects the character of products made from reclaimed or responsibly sourced wood. A cutout in the box reveals the wood’s texture, while the box itself can be transformed into a pen display stand. Different types of writing instruments are distinguished through three subtle tonal variations: blue, grey and black. Creative and art direction are by Izvorka Jurić and Jurica Kos, with design by Nino Dolenc.
The second silver went to the first edition of the collectible series Croatian Rulers, developed for the Croatian Mint and the Croatian National Bank. The edition dedicated to King Tomislav connects historical symbolism with natural heritage, while the packaging continues the story through olive wood and the shape of a crown peak. The box is conceived as a modular part of a collection that expands with new editions, while also protecting and displaying the medal. The project is by Jurić and Kos.
Leon K. Studio won bronze for the project Sculptura in the Beverages – Casks, cases and glorifiers category, which encompasses special boxes and beverage presentation solutions. Creative direction and design are by Leon Končić, and the project was created for s778 Heritage, with production by STENA Projects and photography by Matej Ščavničar.
Slovenia is represented among this year’s winners by .raw, which won bronze for the project .raw Coffee in the Beverages – Tea and coffee (dry and capsules) category. Creative direction is by Rob Svenšek, with design by Hana Pušljar. The winning project comes from a Ljubljana studio whose work connects branding, marketing and its own space for coffee, design and product displays. Their .store cafe is conceived as an extension of the studio, with the coffee they source and roast themselves forming part of that experience.
Alongside Sonda’s Diamond, the top honours across the competition’s categories, the Platinum Awards, went to Australian Vintage for Poco Vino in beverages, Mutta for Calma & Chicha in food, and Servaire & Co for Darphin – Stimulskin Plus in body, health and beauty.
Platinum awards also went to Even Realities for Mono-Kinetic: AR Smart Wearable Packaging Collection in home, leisure and other markets, The Kraft Heinz Company for HEINZ Dipper in brand identity and connected packaging, Sanopack Innovation for COMBOX in sustainable design, and Abisal Studio for NUDE in professional concepts. The NXT-GEN award went to Anaëlle Van Laer from LUCA School of Arts for the children’s shampoo concept CUBBLY. Servaire & Co was named Design Agency of the Year, with eight winning entries out of ten shortlisted.
The complete list of winners is available on the official Pentawards webpage.
