Winners announced in first AWA Sleeve Label Awards

The AWA Sleeve Label Awards features four categories, plus a best in show award, and this year were judged by a panel of experts including: Accraply president Dr Séamus Lafferty; Tom Hammer, product manager in North America at Flint Group Narrow Web; and Will Schretzman, vice president of packaging at Verst Group Logistics.

CCL Label dominated this year’s contest by taking home two of the awards, and claiming the Best Sleeve Label 2015 prize.

CCL Label, USA won the Best Sleeve Label 2015 prize, as well as triumphing in the Heat TD Shrink Sleeve category with the Smirnoff Sours entry for Diageo.

The awards judges described this entry as a ‘sexy, innovative label that exudes shelf appeal and incorporates plenty of technology’. They were particularly impressed with the use of tactile cold foil and holographic aspects.

CCL Label, Australia took the prize in the Stretch Sleeve Label category for labels for Gerolsteiner Linée Grapefruit-Blutorange, which the judges said evidenced ‘bright, vibrant and vivid design’.

Dan Webb, sales director at CCL Label, said: ‘It’s great to see the industry recognize, with these awards, all the innovation that’s made sleeving a major player in the packaging world today.

‘CCL has been working in the technology for years, and is delighted that our customer Diageo allowed us to show just how much you can do with sleeves today. We’re thrilled to have won.’

PepsiCo itself submitted the entry which took the prize in the Roll-fed MD Shrink Sleeve category, which was labels for Gatorade Thirst Quencher and Gatorade Frost Glacier Cherry, which the judges recognized as the first major commercialization of RFS in the marketplace.  

In Environmental Consideration category, Sleever International took the prize for Coca-Cola Enterprise France’s sleeve labels for Minute Maid Citronnade/Limon & Nada, which, according to the judges, met ‘every guideline identified by the Association of Plastics Recyclers (ATP) – a great environmental entry’.

The awards were presented by AWA president and chief executive officer Corey Reardon, who said: ‘Sleeve labeling is a key labeling and product decoration technology today, and is recognized as such.  

‘With these awards we want to highlight and promote the best-practice technology and material suppliers, printers, and end users who are excelling in this fast-growing and important labeling format.’

The AWA Sleeve Label Awards 2016 competition is now open for entries. The entry form can be downloaded here, and also below from this page, which is to be completed and submitted by email to sleeve.awards@awa-bv.com. The Sleeve Label Awards 2016 are open for entries until January 29, 2016.

All entries must be accompanied with the entry form, 20 examples of the printed sleeve and three product containers fully labeled.  Please submit entries to Sleeve Label Awards, AWA Alexander Watson Associates, Koningin Wilhelminaplein 13, Tower 2, Floor 10, Suite 3, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.