The European Tube Manufacturers Association (etma) awarded the ‘Less is More’ design first place in the prototype category of 2009’s ‘Tube of the Year’ competition.
The shoulderless design from Germany-based company Tubex Rangendingen has a permanently attached two-part bicolour flip-top closure.
According to the company, the removal of the shoulder plus the weight-reducing closure system could enable a weight saving of up to 40 per cent.
“With the prototype category we just want to encourage people to think what is possible, be it design, shape or material,” said etma secretary general Gregor Spengler.
“This shoulderless design can save material. The big personal care players are always talking about sustainability and so now the packaging designers have to take this into account. Saving material is one way this could work,” Spengler told CosmeticsDesign.
Tubex Rangendingen’s design has shown it is possible, now customers just need to try it out, he added.
Cosmetics industry demands on shelf appeal
Cosmetics applications were the winners in the other three categories in this year’s contest, reflecting the on the shelf competition felt by the industry.
Tubex Rangendingen picked up another award, this time for its tube designed for Procter & Gamble’s Olay Definity cleansing product.
The decorative holographic squares that adorn the front of the tube and a number of embossed design elements are what set the design apart from competing designs in the Plastic Tube category, according to etma.
Alcan Packaging Beauty was the winner in the Laminate Tubes category with its design for Nivea Visage Young’s Good-Bye Spot product. The design combines two decorative technologies – Pixel Laminat which can reproduce even the smallest details and hot stamping which can create a mirror effect.
According to etma, this creates a photo-realistic design with metallic effects.
The final prize was won by Tubex Wasungen for its aluminium design used by Schwarzkopf Professional Essensity Soft Permanent Colour Cream.
A luxury effect was created by using a matt white lacquer with a special silky touch effect combined with a simple green motif matching the closure colour.