KENYA – Packaging Industries Limited (PIL), one of Africa’s leading manufacturer of flexible packaging solutions has been named the Gold category winner of the 2020 Packaging Innovation Awards by Dow.

The awards recognize breakthrough packaging achievements in design, technology, sustainability and user experience in categories ranging from food and beverage to personal care with a strong focus on circular economy.

PIL, a Kenyan based company made to the list this year and emerged a winner courtesy of its Mama Silage Bag.

“I am so proud and honored by this Gold award achieved with a small team of brilliant and dedicated people.”

PIL project manager – Vaishali Malde

The company describes the bag as a breakthrough in silage storage for small-scale dairy farmers in the East African nation aimed to minimize loss.

The packaging, which was developed in partnership with Policy and Market Options and SNV Netherlands Development Organization, is designed to minimize material use and maximize functionality through high performance polymers that offer excellent puncture resistance and high elasticity for manual compaction and extreme handling.

Mama Silage minimizes the 40% of fodder waste the farmers have been experiencing, indicated PIL. It also reduces infestation, eliminate the growth of moulds and extend the fodder’s shelf life for up to one year, while preserving the nutritional quality of the group.

In addition, it provides farmers with a reusable alternative to the otherwise single-use storage method.

With the use of the innovative solution, farmers have experienced improved quality of fodder, reduced waste, increased milk production which have in turn increased their income.

Commenting on the award PIL project manager, Vaishali Malde said, “I am so proud and honored by this Gold award achieved with a small team of brilliant and dedicated people.

“Despite limited access to resources like other developed countries, we have innovated a sustainable, reusable, and fully recyclable solution for small-scale dairy farmers, improving their livelihoods.

According to Vaishali, the process of developing the agricultural application bag was complicated and time-intensive taking about 3 years but finally bore fruits with the award being a clear testament of their efforts.

“We are committed to providing localized, innovative, and sustainable solutions for improved dairy farming across the region. 

“I want to thank our fantastic team that worked very hard to turn his idea into a successful and sustainable innovation, along with our collaboration partners who played an important role in making the project a success,” she concluded.

Other Gold category winners

PIL bagged the Gold Award alongside other food industry players such as Danone for its Mexico Yoghurt Cup, featuring a flexible bottom that activates at sea level to prevent deformation with altitude change.

The other category winners include CJ CHEILJEDANG for developing kimchi easy carry pouch to carry the traditional Korean food which naturally releases gas as it ferments; Parnaplast in collaboration with Interpack Packaging Solutions won for developing oxi-free high barrier green grain coffee packaging; ProAmpac in collaboration with L’Oréal received the award for its Maybelline FitMe Matte + Poreless Foundation.

Henkel emerge overall winner of Packaging Innovation Awards

The highest honour, the Diamond Award, went to Henkel AG & Co KGaA’s Social Plastic Ecosystem in collaboration with Plastic Bank for creating a new line of sustainable cosmetic packaging.

The judges also selected three Diamond finalists i.e. Zacros in collaboration with The Procter & Gamble Company of Japan Limited for ARIEL PLATINUM SPORTS Refill Pouch; Alico for Metal-Free Recyclable Coffee Packaging; Kirin Holdings for developing New Thin Film Deposition Technology for PET Bottles Using Hot-Wire CVD Device.

The other category that was featured in the awards was the Silver Award which had the following as winners: – Natura; Flexinnova kft; Sunrise Packaging Material (Jiangyin) Co., Ltd; Amcor; UPM Raflatac.

Dow also made two Honorable Mentions for Emerging Applications and one Honorable Mention for Advancements in Industrial Distribution systems.

Packaging Innovation Awards

The 2020 Packaging Innovation Awards is now in its 32nd year and is the industry’s longest running, independently judged packaging awards program.

The judging panel consists of professionals from around the world in a wide range of fields, including design, engineering, retail, converting and academia.

In this year’s awards, the judges evaluated more than 175 entries from companies around the globe.

“I’ve been a judge in the Packaging Innovation Awards for many years, and this one presented a unique challenge in the way it was structured,” said lead judge David Luttenberger, global packaging director for Mintel Group, Ltd.

“Despite the challenging circumstances, the participants delivered the same quality of innovations as in previous years,” he added.

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