Vanguard & Reflections Renew take 1st and 2nd place in the 2019 Innovation in Manufacturing awards category
QSR Magazine, in conjunction with the Foodservice Packaging Institute (FPI), announced today the winners of the 2019 Foodservice Packaging Awards, with Novolex brands leading the way in the Innovation in Manufacturing category. The Eco-Products brand took 1st place with its Vanguard line of plates and the Waddington North America (WNA) brand took 2nd place with Reflections Renew Cutlery.
For nearly two decades, the trade association and trade publication have partnered in these bi-annual awards to recognize innovation in the foodservice packaging industry in the following categories: Excellence in Brand Delivery, Excellence in New Menu Launch, Innovation in Convenience, Innovation in Manufacturing, and The “Wow” Factor. Many of this year’s entries reflected growing trends in both the packaging and restaurant industries.
“These entries show that the industry is addressing the changing needs of the customer, whether this means new packaging to support the growing delivery trend, grab-and-go options, or new products and materials designed to be recycled and / or composted,” said Natha Dempsey, President of the Foodservice Packaging Institute.
First place winning Vanguard is a groundbreaking line of molded fiber items from Eco-Products. After extensively partnering with its supply chain, Eco-Products developed Vanguard plates and clamshells that use proprietary, FDA-approved additives to achieve grease resistance without the use of conventional chemistry. With patents pending on the formulation, the Vanguard line is designed to meet forthcoming requirements for compostability by the Biodegradable Product Institute – a first in the industry for this product category.
“Choice is a key component of the Novolex value proposition, so it was important for Eco-Products to expand its offering to brands and foodservice operators seeking options in their packaging. We chose the name ‘Vanguard’ because it speaks to being a leader,” said Sarah Martinez, Director of Marketing for Eco-Products. “We are thrilled with this recognition of our commitment to innovation and meeting customer needs.”
Second place winning Reflections Renew is the latest improvement to the iconic and first-to-market silver-look cutlery line from WNA. It is made from FDA-compliant resin that includes 20 percent post-consumer recycled (PCR) content. The term post-consumer material refers to material obtained from a product that has been disposed of after its intended use.
“We are honored to be recognized for our efforts to provide more sustainable solutions within our product portfolio. This was an important step into the PCR-content space for our polystyrene products,” said Jennifer Heller, Vice President of Marketing for WNA. “Close to a year in development, which included sourcing the pellets, testing and ensuring the plastic meets specifications over time, our goal was to deliver the same look and performance customers have come to expect from the Reflections brand.”
To learn more about Vanguard, please visit www.ecoproducts.com. For Reflections Renew, please visit www.wna.biz/reflectionsrenew.
Novolex develops and manufactures diverse packaging and food service products that touch nearly every aspect of daily life for multiple industries ranging from grocery, food packaging, restaurant and retail to medical applications and building supplies. The Novolex family of brands provide customers innovative paper and plastic solutions for their business needs today while investing in research and development to engineer more sustainable choices for the future. With more than 10,000 employees, Novolex operates 61 manufacturing plants in North America and Europe, including two world-class plastic film recycling facilities. To learn more about Novolex, visit www.Novolex.com.
