GUIDELINES

For the correct realisation of your proposals, keep into consideration the following guidelines:

The objective of the contest: during the last years the packaging industry has been undergoing relevant transformations leaning towards the creation of a more ecological system, keen on environmental issues and attentive to the circular economy; we are also living in times of unexpected and unforeseeable changes that are transforming our lifestyle; accordingly, also the sector of stretch blown PET packages is debating over the future of its products and industrial processes. The objective of the contest is thus to imagine a new generation of PET packages, thinking about new possible use scenarios, connected to the ongoing changes and to the lifecycle of the product, thanks also to the opportunities offered, among else, by the bottle-to-bottle recycling technologies that allow the bottle to be reintroduced in the market after being recycled.

Product typology: you are invited to propose new product concepts for a new generation of PET packages (single-use or reusable), exploring at 360° new applications for this packaging typology in the following sectors:
- beverage
- cosmetics
- medical
- detergents
- food
- any other possible application, if accompanied by a short business analysis.

At your discretion, you may also design any accessories, capable of improving the user experience, extending the product lifecycle and identifying new applications for PET packages. Keep into consideration that PET packages are apt to contain solids, liquids and gas. The concepts you propose shall not necessarily be part of a product collection/line.

Context of use: the presentation of the project shall be accompanied by a detailed analysis of the new context of the purchase and use-scenario, that you are invited to describe together with the innovative business ideas you may come up with, if any, to support the product concept you present. In this regard, you may draw inspiration from the tangible necessities you find yourself coping with as a consumer, in the specific geographic area where you belong.

Production technologies: the new PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) packages shall be exclusively realised through stretch blow moulding, as further described in the Material files attached to the brief. This is a mandatory requirement for participating in the contest – packages that are not realisable through this technology may not be taken into consideration in the final evaluation. For any of the accessories, you may propose, keep into consideration the most common industrial technologies. However innovative they might be, the concepts you propose shall be realisable with existing production technologies.

Size: there are no constraints for the expected size of the packages you suggest, accordingly you are invited to keep into consideration the design limits set by the technology itself. In particular, the current PET stretch blow moulding technology allows the realisation of containers with quite a varied capacity, from the smaller packages of about 20 ml to large-size packages containing up to about 30 L.

Surface finishes: your PET packages may provide for some surface finishes, including for example logo placement, texture or other details, to be realised directly on the mould. For more information, please refer to the Material files.

Colours: you may suggest the colours you prefer, keeping into consideration that the PET allows for the realisation of containers with a varying degree of transparency, depending on the purity of the material employed and whether pigments are used or not. With a view to the circular economy, a colourless (without pigments) transparent container allows for a more efficient recycling process. If you propose a container made of recycled PET, keep into consideration that the colour will be greyish/yellowish with a lower transparency, given by the presence of impurities in the recycled material (it is of the utmost importance that this characteristic is well represented in your project render/image). In this case, you are invited to suggest solutions that turn this specific colour into a vantage point (also for marketing purposes) rather than treat it as an imperfection. For some examples of recycled PET, please refer to the Material files.

Allowed materials: the packages you suggest shall be entirely made of PET, through stretch blow moulding. Instead, the accessories – including cap, label or any other components – might be realised with other materials suitable for industrial mass production, ideally recyclable (such as paper, metal, wood). The PET, however, must be the main material of the project.

Package customisation: for the purpose of the contest, you are invited to present your product concept customised with a generic logo, to clearly show the customisation possibilities offered by your proposal. At your discretion, you may use the logo-sample attached in the Material files. Generally, the packages would be customised with the logo of the brand company that purchases the PET container to sell its products, in its respective product market..

Target: given the wide variety of containers that can be realised in PET, no indications are given regarding the target consumer; however, in the presentation of your proposal, you are invited to specify the consumer your project is designed for, the specific need it satisfies, the geographic region of the consumer (if any specific) and a short explanation regarding the reason why that product addresses that specific market segment.

Deliverables: upload all the images that better present your projects (rendering, sketches, descriptions, CAD files, etc.), showing your container with closure/cap/lid/etc. and any possible accessory, a short description of the context of use and – if any – some hints about the innovative business idea supporting your project. For this purpose, in addition to the text fields of abstract and description, you can attach additional materials inside a.ZIP archive to be presented through the upload page.

Evaluation criteria: in the evaluation of your submissions the Sponsor will take into account the following criteria:
Degree of innovation 5/5
Functionality/usability 5/5
Market potential 5/5
Circular sustainability 5/5
Technical feasibility 3/5