Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, WPO (World Packaging Organisation – www.worldpackaging.org) turned to virtual judging for WorldStar 21 with two rounds of judging taking place. The WPO members, representing 34 countries from all around the world, judged each entry so diligently and with such intentional focus and spent hours going through 345 submissions before meeting via the Zoom platform for final deliberations to choose the winners. The 194 winners of WorldStar Packaging Awards 2021 were just announced and posted on its new webpage www.worldstar.org.

The countries most awarded are Japan, with 26 awards, followed by China, taking 22, USA taking 14, ANZ (Australia & New Zealand) taking 13, Czech Republic and Turkey taking 12 each. The winners for the special categories - President’s Award, Sustainability Award, Marketing Award and Packaging that Saves Food Award - will be announced during WorldStar Ceremony that will take place in May 2021.

Packages eligible for WorldStar are those that have already received a national award recognised by WPO. “The submissions were, again, of a significantly high standard, and to note was how well the submissions in general reflected the focus of packaging with sustainability in mind. Also of interest was the number of clever and unique ideas. I particularly was impressed with the number of submissions from countries that have in the past not partaken in any significant way. We received a good variety of entries covering all the categories. We will continue to review the categories thus ensuring due relevance is always maintained”, states Pierre Pienaar, President of WPO.

All winners will be recognised in an Awards Gala Ceremony in May 2021. Information on the ceremony that most likely it will be virtual due to the pandemic; soon it will be communicated.

The complete list of WorldStar Packaging Awards 2021 winners can be viewed at https:// www.worldstar.org/winners/ Questions regarding the next edition, please contact WorldStar Coordinator, Soha Atallah by e-mail s.atallah@worldpackaging.org