Good design and innovation in packaging are what the Packaging Council of Australia’s awards program - the Australian Packaging Design Awards - recognises. But more than that, it applauds the successful execution and implementation of new concepts and the teams of people that made them happen.
Many of the winning packaging and design professionals were in the audience at the PCA’s cocktail-style awards function held at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club tonight in Melbourne.
The Best of Show award went to Tea by Birdy by The Box Office, the functional and graphic designer behind the pack. Tea By Birdy also won two Gold awards – in the Beverage and Design categories.
For its Design win, the judges had this to say: “As a premium brand, Tea by Birdy understands its target market and communicates everything so beautifully. As tea leaves are light sensitive, the pack protects product from UV light while being visually evocative and enticing. The brand identity design uses elegant typography through a round shape to indicate the rim of a tea cup. The use of metallic foils ooze luxury and opulence.”
In the Beverage category, it won because, “Tea by Birdy is a luxury tea brand that provides eight different tea categories that target high end stockists including, luxury hotels, day spas, top tier food stores and online consumers. Every element of the packaging design process has been well researched and executed and thought has been given to each step of the supply chain – transport, storage, assembly, on shelf presence and post use. Tea by Birdy has strong merchandising opportunities with such a variety of display options. This is an excellent example of how to get all the packaging features right.”
And this is why the judges chose it as the overall winner: "Tea by Birdy is a complete package that ticks every single box! It is eye-catching through its beautiful design which translates strongly on shelf. Each criteria was ticked off with ease – strong design cues; use of food grade glues; made from 80% post consumer waste materials; incorporation of a magnet enables easy opening/closing; option to purchase additional tins for consumers to store tea; boxes can be collected, and such a versatile design provides a packaging system that can be flat packed requiring minimum storage and can be assembled quickly. The list goes on. A well deserving winning of the 2014 Best of Show Award."
Every great design has an intriguing story. This is the story of Tea by Birdy’s by designer, Pia Glover, of The Box Office, told in five chapters:
1. Design is not all about aesthetics. “First and foremost came a practical imperative. As tea leaves are light sensitive, the packaging needed to protect the product from UV exposure. No window cutouts were allowed. A visually evocative and enticing design had to accommodate that.”
2. Design has to tell a story with which consumers bond. There were three key features of the product the design needed to convey. “Watercolour washes were used to signify the intensity of tea leaves infusing into water. Bird illustrations underpin the brand name. Botanical graphics emphasise the health benefits of tea. Lastly, the design had to establish where the brand fits into its environment - at the premium end. “The brand identity design uses elegant typography in a simple round shape to indicate the rim of a teacup, with stylised droplets of tea. Metallic foils bring a sense of luxury and opulence.”
3. In a world where everything about a brand has the potential to be known no brand can afford to ignore environmental, sustainability and food safety elements. Tea by Birdy’s packaging uses 80% post consumer waste materials, food grade glues, is made in an FSC accredited factory, and all packs are fully recyclable.
4. Products don’t live on shelves. How easy they are to carry, store and use matters. This brand is made up of more than 80 tea blends across eight tea categories. Each box holds a 150g bag of loose leaf tea, individually labelled with the tea blend name. Customers can choose to order a tea storage tin (also designed by The Box Office) for added airtight storage, or they can simply roll up the plastic bag and keep it in the box. Packs are especially simple to open and close with a magnet to keep them secure. Feedback on design and functionality has been very positive, with many customers reportedly collecting the range and keeping the packs once the tea is finished.
5. The client’s needs matter as much to us as the consumers’ needs matter to our client. “This client’s warehousing space was at a premium so we had to devise a packaging system that could be flat packed, minimising storage. It needed to be assembled quickly for efficient order packing and it needed to maintain a feeling of very high quality. Our unique rigid folding box construction fit this brief perfectly. Boxes fold completely flat and pop up in seconds with no assembly required. Closure is with a magnet. Due to the rigid construction, the packs stack beautifully for retail displays. An added feature is the ability of the lid to fold back on itself into a roof shape, forming a “bird house” and exposing the bag of tea for product display purposes.”
GOLD WINNERS LIST by category:
Accessibility: Amcor Flexibles for Easy Care, Easy Open Corn Flakes
Beverage: The Box Office for Tea by Birdy
Consumer Experience: Botanical Food Company for Herb & Spice System
Design: The Box Office for Tea by Birdy
Food: Botanical Food Company for Herb & Spice System
Health & Beauty: Blackmores Ltd for Amber Bulk Packs
Household & Office: Foster Packaging for Lawn Builder Patch Magic
Industrial: Orora Fibre Packaging for Tuff 3 Cross Stackable Produce Tray
Seasonal & Promotional: The Regimental Condiment Company for The Officer’s Mess “Money for Jam” tin
Sustainability: Coca-Cola Amatil for Barista Brothers
