ATLANTA (News release) -- Graphic Packaging International has scooped up 12 awards at the North American PPC Carton Awards, including the prestigious Judges' Award that recognizes outstanding design and execution.

The Company took top honors in design innovation and sustainability for several of its products, with two Gold Awards and nine Excellence Awards this year. This included a Gold Award for outstanding achievement in innovation with its Heineken Fully Enclosed Wrap with Flap. Unlike similar basket-style cartons on the market, the Heineken solution is uniquely configured to be applied over the tops of the bottles via a specially designed machine, alongside featuring discreet apertures to hold the bottles securely in place.

In addition, The Tomato Stall Punnet scooped a Gold Award for its outstanding achievement in sustainability. Featuring a hinged lid and strategically placed apertures, the fiber-based and recyclable punnet helps to eradicate flow wrap from The Tomato Stall packaging. It also offers further environmental savings when shipping the packs in a nested format, ensuring CO2 reductions are kept to a minimum.

Among its 12 winning entries, Graphic Packaging also received the Judges' Award for its user-friendly Eco-Pí®, a pressed paperboard funnel designed to assist patients when providing medical samples. The solution was developed in partnership with Alabama-based Medpaper®. The judges were impressed with Graphic Packaging's ability to transform its tried and tested paperboard tray into a highly impactful and innovative solution for the medical market.

The inspiration for this winning new product came from inventor Abbie Jones, CEO and founder of Medpaper. Ms. Jones' knowledge within the medical industry prompted her to design and collaborate on a product that would offer an easier way for patients to provide a sample using a fiber-based solution created from renewable resources.

Eco-Pi securely holds the specimen cup in place via a friction fit aperture, incorporating a convenient, hygienic handle. The product is made from 18pt uncoated solid bleached sulfate (SBS) for strength and laminated with clear PET film for improved performance.

Ricardo De Genova, Graphic Packaging's senior vice president, global innovation & new business, commented: "In line with our Vision 2025 goals, our design and innovation teams are continually looking to reduce plastic in ways that make a difference in packaging, while retaining consumer confidence. As such, fiber-based packaging that deliver in areas such as strength, on-shelf differentiation and clever structural design are key to meeting consumer needs both now and in the future. It is an honour for our team to be recognized at the PPC Awards once again."

This year's achievement follows Graphic Packaging's success in 2020, when the company earned a noteworthy number of PPC awards, including the top honor of Paperboard Package of the Year for its KeelClip™ paperboard packaging solution, which also won the Innovation award.

A complete list of awards won by the Company are as follows:

Judges' Award: Eco-Pi Urine Sample Collector
Gold Award in Outstanding Sustainability: Heineken Fully Enclosed Wrap with Flap
Gold Award in Outstanding Sustainability: The Tomato Stall Punnet
Excellence Award in Sustainability: Performance Oatmeal IntegraFlex™ Pop-up Cups
Excellence Award in Sustainability: PaperSeal® Tray MAP Burger Solution
Excellence Award in Innovation: Heineken Cruzcampo Especial Neck-Through 6 Bottle Carrier
Excellence Award in Sustainability: BelleHarvest Sustainable Apple Cartons
Excellence Award: KitKat & Aero Tapered Hinged-Lid Cartons
Excellence Award: Freeze-A-Rita Frozen Margarita Icicles
Excellence Award: McVitie's Jaffa Cakes Festive Gift Box
Excellence Award: Ketel One Botanical Vodka Spritz 4 Can Cartons
Excellence Award: Alhambra Lager Bottle Packs