For the fourteenth year running, BillerudKorsnäs is arranging the international competition PIDA and in this year’s German edition, 30 students are participating from the Munich University of Applied Sciences, Hochschule der Medien and the Leipzig University of Applied Sciences. The focus of the competition on tomorrow’s packaging creates a new challenge every year. This year, smart unboxing solutions will be developed. This means packages that consumers will want to film and share in social media, which is a major trend on YouTube.

“Our belief is that the unboxing trend hasn’t yet reached its full potential. That is why we’re challenging our students in packaging design to create smart, sustainable and innovative unboxing solutions. It’s a tough challenge that really requires a lot of creativity and a solid execution. So we have high expectations going into this year’s PIDA event, where the winners will be chosen and the students will get to talk about their design concepts,” says Jörg Storneke, Business Development Director Cartonboard, BillerudKorsnäs.

BillerudKorsnäs, initiator of PIDA, is a leader of sustainable and innovative packaging materials and solutions. With the competition, they want to contribute to the development of knowledge in the industry while creating an arena for encounters between tomorrow’s packaging designers and the various industry players.

“With help from young new talent, we want to challenge conventional packaging and push the development of packaging design forward. We also want PIDA to create a meeting place where industry people go for inspiration and new ideas, while the students have a chance to present their creations and get feedback from potential employers,” says Jörg Storneke, Business Development Director.

This year’s winners will be chosen by a jury of well-known industry specialists. In addition, the public will have a chance to vote for a winner on Facebook. In brief, the entry that gets the most likes and shares on Facebook will be awarded the “PIDA People’s Choice Award”.  Beyond that award, another five winners will be chosen from the categories of shelf impact, innovation, sustainability, user-friendliness and, last but not least, the top prize: the PIDA Gold Award.

The jury:

Thomas Reissig (Verdesoft, Chairman of the PIDA jury), Sven von Känel (PRIMAVERA), Nina Hornung (Pack n‘ Design), Maren Krieg (STABILO International), Helmut Sieber (Edelmann), Klaus Viergutz (MPS), Andreas Schabert (Brandpack), Nicolas Hetzel (RITTER), Stephan Bestehorn (rlc), Sandra Tennemann (Packaging Circus), Tom Sefrin (ROCHE Pharma), Ute Lang (SCHWAN Cosmetics), Dorothea Langer (COTY Inc), Birte Dorenkamp (EMMI AG), Jörg Storneke (BillerudKorsnäs) and Lena Dahlberg (BillerudKorsnäs).