ATLANTA (News release) -- Leading manufacturer of sustainable, fiber-based consumer packaging, Graphic Packaging International ('Graphic Packaging') has added to its impressive list of industry accolades.

The business was announced as the winner of three PAC Global Awards at a ceremony held on February 8, 2022, as part of the ONEOF100 Virtual Summit & Awards Celebration.

Graphic Packaging received a Best in Class award in the 'Brand Marketing - Revitalized, Food' category for its Nestlé tapered hinged-lid confectionery cartons. Graphic Packaging helped the world's largest food and beverage company to develop a new and innovative paperboard carton for two of its premium confectionery brands.

The new carton utilizes an intelligent design that benefits from a continuous one-piece construction rather than the two-piece structure it replaces. This ensures a reduction in production costs as well as faster production outputs.

The new carton developed by Graphic Packaging for Nestlé is also 28 percent lighter than its predecessor and better sized for palletization, helping to reduce storage demands and distribution costs. As a further benefit, it features a unique and intuitive flip-top, friction-close lid which helps to protect the confectionery after the carton is opened and even when the carton is picked up from the top.

In line with Graphic Packaging's belief in providing sustainable solutions, the award-winning Nestlé carton is made using paperboard from renewable fiber which originates from certified, sustainably managed forests. It is also fully recyclable, contributing to a circular economy.

Graphic Packaging received a Best in Class award in the 'Brand Marketing - Revitalized, Beverage' category for its Estrella Damm rounded corner beer carton.

SA Damm wanted to replace the printed plastic shrink film used on its six-, twelve-, and twenty four-can packs with a more sustainable alternative. Graphic Packaging was able to realize SA Damm's vision with a carton made from PEFC-certified fibers. Specifically, Graphic Packaging's Aquakote™ virgin paperboard was employed because of its excellent stiffness and tear properties as well as its wet-strength characteristics, enabling it to withstand potentially moist storage and display environments such as retail refrigerators.

In addition, the new carton has rounded corners. This not only provides greater visual impact and stand-out shelf appeal at the point of purchase but also ensures greater structural integrity and a reduced risk of damage as compared to square corners, as the packaged beer moves through the supply chain.

SA Damm's use of the new carton has enabled it to eliminate 99 tonnes of plastic each year.

Graphic Packaging received its third Best in Class award in the 'Packaging Innovation - Sustainable Design' category as part of its partnership with Club Coffee to develop the Boardio® packaging system for coffee.

Boardio is a fiber-based solution intended as an alternative to plastic tubs. It is focused on sustainability and recyclability, using more than 80 percent paperboard, and which can be widely recycled through existing waste streams.

To reduce material complexity and further simplify recycling, the Boardio pack also employs minimal barrier and sealing layers with no adhesives, glue or hotmelt. Instead, an ultra-thin layer of aluminum foil provides an airtight gas barrier which extends the coffee's shelf life and maintains its freshness. This is made possible by the use of Boardio combined with breakthrough innovations in material laminate developed by Graphic Packaging.

The Boardio pack is perfectly positioned to meet the growing consumer demand for high quality coffee in sustainable and recyclable packaging.

Commenting on the 2022 PAC Global Awards, Ricardo De Genova, SVP, global innovation and new business at Graphic Packaging, said: "We are driven by a desire to provide our customers innovative, sustainable and value-adding solutions that can contribute to their continued success. Our three wins at the PAC Global Awards are perfect examples of that commitment in action. We are delighted that our achievements have been acknowledged by an international and multidisciplinary panel of judges."