WPO (World Packaging Organisation), in collaboration with UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization), have conducted the first edition of ‘Apple StarPack – PackagingStudent Packaging Solution Competition’ in Balochistan, Pakistan, focused in bringing new packaging ideas for the apple sector. Balochistan, the largest province of Pakistan by land area, produces 80% of that country’s apples.
The competition was organized under JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) funded ‘The Project for Agri-food and Agro-industry Development Assistance in Pakistan’.
“The main objective of this new competition was to unleash the technical, innovative, creative and entrepreneurial skills of the Balochistan youth, by suggesting solutions in packaging for apples,” explains Pierre Pienaar, President, WPO.
“I was really impressed by the quality of the entries, especially that most of the applicants were so keen on proposing sustainable packaging solutions while taking the aspect of the shelf life of the apples into consideration,” adds Soha Atallah, Vice President of Events, WPO.
Soha was one of the experts that supported the establishment of this packaging competition and a judge in the competition. She says that this activity was part of a project where WPO, with the support of herself, Johannes Bergmair (General Secretary) and Saad Habib (local member), provided an assessment report of the current packaging situation in Pakistan and a Code of Good Practices report, that included some recommendations and international best practices for the packaging of apples.
The students participating in the award were invited to work in three categories:
- Visual – Suggesting new or improved design/art work and improved branding identity of the product;
- Structural – Suggesting new structural packaging design like new molds or changing the existing packaging material;
- Save the food – New smart and intelligent packaging to improve the supply of food and prevent its waste.
A selected team of judges evaluated the packaging projects created by 34 students, from four local universities. The winners will be presented to packaging industries in Sindh and Punjab in a way to link the students with the industry and to motivate them to release their potential to introduce modern packaging to the Balochistan apple sector. The winners will also be eligible to participate in WorldStar Student, the global packaging competition organised by WPO.
