Aussie packaging innovations shortlisted for WorldStar awards

Two winners of the Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design (PIDA) Awards from 2024 — Don Deli Cuts (George Weston Foods) and Naked Rivals — have been shortlisted as finalists for three WorldStar Packaging Special Awards.

Don Deli Cuts (George Weston Foods) is a finalist in two separate award categories: the Accessible Packaging Design special award and the Save Food Packaging Design special award. 

Naked Rivals is shortlisted as a finalist in the Save Food Packaging special award.

The winners will be announced on 30 May at the 2025 WorldStar Packaging Awards, which is being held alongside the I-Pack Ima trade show in Milan, Italy.

Enveloped with innovation

Don has introduced the flow-wrapped envelope pack with reseal functionality to Australia. The secondary seal and reseal functionality is secured on the reverse of the pack with a resealable label with clear instructions on how to open and close the pack for optimal freshness. The product is designed to help eliminate the need to decant product into sealed containers or use secondary plastic for wrapping in the moisture and flavour.

The pack is designed to be easy to grip, control and manoeuvre between hands; the textured finish on the film provides friction for grip and opening; and the opening does not require an excessive number of actions to open. There are no sharp edges and no tools are required to open the pack. The packaging solution delivers a convenient easy open/close pack that is compact, provides product visibility, minimises the mess of liquid in the pack, and is more sustainable but does not compromise food quality and freshness. The reseal functionality is designed to preserve food freshness, sealing in moisture and flavour, thus reducing wastage due to dry, spoiled product.

Saving imperfect fruit

With a mission to save imperfect fruit and end food waste at home, Naked Rivals has designed a product that can provide consumers with access to frozen 100% lemon and lime juice. Each pack contains frozen cubes of lemon or lime juice. With a shelf life of 2.5 years, the product is designed to extend the shelf life of the fruit and reduce the amount of citrus waste being disposed of in landfill.

The single-serve, portion-controlled product makes use of imperfect fruit by creating pure juice cubes. The juice is sealed and frozen immediately once it has been filled in the bespoke 100% sustainable packaging, which includes an rPET tray and a kerbside recyclable cardboard outer. The printing on the outer uses ink from vegetable oil extract. The packaging has an easy-peel film and tray that allows consumers to pop out cubes with ease. The Naked Rivals brand plans to expand the product to other ingredients, such as stock and herbs, in the future.

Only winners from the PIDA Awards across Australia and New Zealand are exclusively eligible to enter the prestigious WorldStar Packaging Awards each year. The 2025 PIDA Awards will be held on 6 May alongside the 2025 Australasian Packaging Conference in Sydney.