The annual Pro Carton/ECMA Awards have been awarded for thirteen years now and are regarded as one of the most distinguished awards in the category. The year 2009 saw the highest number of entries in the history of the awards, 122 entries from no less than 12 countries. This year also saw a new category: folded boxes with production runs in excess of one million units, the so-called "Volume Market".

Members of the jury covered the entire supply chain - designers, box manufacturers, brand manufacturers, the trade and consumers:

• Satkar Gidda, Chairman, Sales and Marketing Director of the London Branding Agency SiebertHead,

• Pascal van Beek, Global Supply Management Director – Packaging at the Unilever Supply Chain Company,

• Guido Brosius, Packaging Manager at Carrefour Belgium, the world's second largest retailer and number one in Europe, Carrefour Group,

• Burgunde Uhlig, Journalist, Head of the Food Section at Germany's largest womens' magazine Brigitte,

• Peter Klein Sprokkelhorst, Special Advisor to the Jury, independent consultant to the packaging industry.

A total of 11 awards were awarded in the following categories (please click on the category for more details on the winners and the jury's comments):

• Carton of the Year: finesse pure with the etui „Toque du chef“ for chocolate sweets.

• Most Innovative Design or New Use of Cartonboard: music out of the box for an audio- and workshop-CD.

• Sustainability: universal packaging of Synergy D6 sets for dental components as „Variations on a Theme“.

• Beverages: pleasure and luxury of a brandy decanter.

• Confectionery: form follows quality: the box for chocolate wafers.

• Beauty & Cosmetics: spectacular presentation of make-up from Turkey.

• All Other Food: double fun with the Duopack for chocolate or crumble.

• All Other Non Food: large and sustainable- bulk packaging for batteries.

• Pharmaceuticals: maximum integration at minimal space for a desobturation kit.

• Shelf Ready & Display Packaging: perfect fit of packaging and presentation for a bicycle saddle.

• Volume Market: the full dozen spells value for chewing gum.

This year's documentation of the winners offers a special highlight: for the first time the creative process of the winning designs is documented in the awards brochure.

Information and comments by the jury on all previous Pro Carton/ECMA-Awards as well as the information brochures are available for download in five languages on www.procarton.com and on www.cartonawards.com - printed versions in English are available from Pro Carton via Suzanne E. McEwen, mcewen@procarton.com