etma announces Tube of the Year 2020 winners
Tubex was one of the Tube of the Year 2020 winners in the Aluminium Tube category, for its jam tubes for Marmetube.
Despite the Covid-19 crisis, the European tube manufacturers association (etma) held its Tube of the Year competition again in 2020. The winners are usually chosen by a jury comprising people from etma’s member companies during the association’s annual general meeting, but this had to be cancelled due to the pandemic. The tubes submitted for this year’s award were evaluated instead at the offices of GDA/etma in Düsseldorf by an expert jury made up of well-known representatives from the fields of brand owners, the tube and flexible packaging industry, packaging design, market research and packaging trade fairs. They selected winners in categories for aluminium, laminate, plastic, prototypes and sustainability.
Gregor Spengler, etma’s secretary general, expressed his satisfaction with the quality and the results of the competition: “I’m pleased first of all, of course, with the spontaneous support we received from the external jury and that we could once again carry out our globally acclaimed and traditional Tube of the Year competition successfully this year despite all the adversities. Year after year, this award demonstrates impressively the efficiency and innovative strength of the European tube industry. At the same time, it’s also a reliable reflection of developments and trends in the packaging markets and especially in the tube sector.”
There were two winners in the Aluminium Tube category: the tubes for jam from German start-up company Marmetube GmbH, which were produced by Tubex of Austria, and those supplied by Alltub France for hand cream from the renowned supplier Miller Harris achieved exactly the same score.
The winning tube from Tubex is used for jam that has a fruit content of 66%. The tube is produced completely from post-industrial recycled (PIR) aluminium; a concept that aligns with Marmetube’s self-image of resource conservation and sustainability. The use of PIR aluminium significantly improves the tube’s lifecycle assessment by reducing CO2 emissions by up to 40%. All the well-known benefits of the aluminium tube are retained at the same time; the tube is lighter and unbreakable in comparison to a jam jar and offers a long shelf life for the jam, making additional preservatives superfluous.
The other winner in the Aluminium Tube category also made a very conscious decision in favour of using a tube made of the metal, according to etma. As is the case with many other providers of luxury items, Miller Harris is once again placing greater emphasis on the use of materials that are classy and valuable but nevertheless recyclable and eco-friendly for its premium hand cream. The aluminium tube from Alltub France has a golden metallic sheen and is designed in a retro style with matching octagonal black caps. The challenges involved in printing the tube were mastered brilliantly, according to etma. A metallic gold base lacquer was applied using a great deal of expertise and high precision. The printing of the thin and delicate black text elements was reportedly no less accurate.
The Tube of the Year jury also chose the Green Tube from Alltub France as the winner from the prototype tubes. It contains 95% post-consumer recycled (PCR) aluminium. According to etma, the use of PCR in no way detracts from the tube’s positive properties and outstanding performance: it reportedly retains all the benefits associated with product protection and meets all other consumer requirements and expectations perfectly, regardless of the product in question. This, says etma, is because the closures, internal varnishes and combinations of different printing options that are used for virgin aluminium tubes can also be used for the Green Tube. A water-based transparent base lacquer was used for the Green Tube prototypes to emphasise the aluminium’s natural appearance. A green landscape nature print complements and rounds off this design concept and, as far as the design and layout are concerned, sums up the tube’s philosophy in a visually appealing manner, according to etma.
Other winners at the Tube of the Year 2020 awards were:
- The Canesten tube from Bayer, produced by Hoffmann Neopac AG. This took first place among the laminate tubes.
- The Farfalla hair care tube by Hoffmann Neopac AG; this won in the Plasic Tube category.
- The SUPERCOCO and SUPERGREEN tubes containing a vegan toothpaste of happybrush GmbH were the winners in the sustainability category.
