The warm days of summer call for a refreshing cold drink. Stay cool with these innovative and impressive beverage carton designs, each of which earned top honors in our annual Paperboard Packaging Competitions!
CanCollar®
2021 Sustainability Award of the Year
Imagine a world where canned sodas are packaged with strong and sustainable paperboard instead of single-use plastic rings. That’s exactly what WestRock aimed to achieve with their CanCollar®! This design relies on both a proprietary tooth design to secure the cans as well as a stiff, tear-resistant substrate that provides superior can retention and pack performance compared with competitive alternatives. Crack open an ice-cold soda, all while contributing to a greener environment!
Goose Island Birthday Bourbon County Brand Stout
2021 Folding Carton of the Year
Accord Carton Company’s design for Goose Island Birthday Bourbon Stout offers a premium brand experience that perfectly reflects consumers’ high expectations of the limited-release beer inside. The structure of the package was designed expertly, with the pull tab on the front seamlessly opening to reveal the box contents, while reverse cuts retain the continuity of the outside graphics. With gold foil and glass UV stamping, this carton is one worth toasting to!
Red Bull Winter Edition, Premier Influencer Kit
2022 Rigid Box of the Year
In the middle of a summer filled with record-breaking temperatures, you might need a trip to a snowy mountaintop. Taylor Box Company worked to transport consumers to colder weather with their Red Bull Winter Edition package. Swept away in bright pink frosty hues, the outer package encourages recipients to open the box and discover its surprise gift. As the cover is lifted on the inner box, four flaps drop down, revealing two cans of pomegranate-flavored Red Bull and two branded glasses nestled within the package while jagged mountain peaks form a wall. Clever copy invites the recipient to “get mixing” and unwind with a winter mocktail. Cheers!
Take Smart Fridge Beer Pack 
Graphic Packaging International
2022 Innovation Award of the Year
When Take and Go Comercio de Bebidas Ltd wanted to increase sales of its beer, it turned to Graphic Packaging International (GPI) for help. To offer consumers the option of either purchasing a six-pack of beer bottles or individual bottles, it developed an app to interact with special vending machines to create an effortless shopping experience for its customers. But how would the beer be packaged? That’s where GPI came to the table. Their innovative team developed a six-bottle clip in which the bottle tops extended through the top of the package making it easier for the Take technology to read the bottle caps and charge the customer the correct amount. Whether you’re in the mood for one beer or more, this exceptional design has you covered!
Summertime sipping just got a whole lot cooler, thanks to these beverage designs. Feeling the heat? Quench your thirst and cheers to the ingenious minds behind these game-changing carton creations.
Stay tuned for the announcement of more cutting-edge beverage designs! Winners of our 2023 North American Carton Competition will be announced at our 2023 Fall Meeting and Leadership Conference this October.