This is where the grand stage of the German Packaging Award comes in very handy. The Deutsche Verpackungsinstitut speaks of tangible arguments for both internal and external communications and marketing — towards customers, consumers, partners in the supply chain, future specialists, and not least as an extra motivational boost and recognition for one's own employees.
Author: Christian Nink, Freelance Journalist
In the early 1960s, German specialist circles recognised that the development of modern and innovative packaging could be promoted and stimulated through a packaging competition. As a result, the "Deutscher Packungs-Wettbewerb" (German Packaging Competition) was founded in 1963 by the advisory board of the Rationalisierungsgemeinschaft Verpackung (RGV).The first award ceremony took place in the same year and was, from the very beginning, a large and public event. In 1996, the Deutsche Verpackungsinstitut e. V. (dvi) took over responsibility for the competition, which had by then been renamed the "Deutscher Verpackungspreis" (German Packaging Award).
Since 1997, the winners of the competition — which has grown to achieve international significance — have been honoured and celebrated on a grand stage as part of FACHPACK. In non-FACHPACK years, the dvi invites the teams behind the winning innovations to a special industry event in Berlin — as is also the case in 2026.
What emerged 63 years ago as a national initiative has, over the years and particularly since the turn of the millennium, developed into the largest and most materials-inclusive showcase for packaging in Europe. An independent jury of more than two dozen experts, newly assembled each year, personally evaluates all submitted innovations over a two-day session according to fixed and transparent criteria. Companies, organisations, and individuals from both within Germany and abroad are eligible to participate. They may submit products, prototypes, and concepts across all material types in ten categories ranging from design, product presentation, logistics & material flow, digitalisation, and sustainability through to machinery and software. There is a dedicated category for students and pupils, which each year delivers exciting and highly creative solutions.
A brief journey through prizewinning solutions reveals packaging as a part of our cultural history — reflecting habits, developments, and needs, and, through its continuous innovations, fulfilling important functions for people, markets, and the environment.
The categories and field of participants in the showcase are also indicators of trends and developments. Since the 2010s, there has been a growing number of international entrants. Although most innovations still originate from the DACH region and most trophies go to companies from German-speaking countries, there are also numerous winners from across Europe, as well as prizewinners from China, Mexico, and the USA.
In 2014, the Deutsche Verpackungsinstitut introduced a "Special Prize for Sustainability", which two years later became a permanent, standalone category. In the same year, the "Digitalisation" category was newly added to the competition — a sign of a changing world. Sustainability now clearly dominates the field of submitted innovations. The dvi has therefore created subcategories (reusable, overall concept, material substitution, use of recyclates, recyclability, bio-based plastics, and renewable raw materials) so that the submitted solutions can shine in the most appropriate context and compete with one another under the best possible conditions.
Also newly introduced in 2016 was the Gold Award. This gives the jury the opportunity to recognise solutions that stand out even among the already awarded innovations. The Gold Award is accordingly presented in addition to the Packaging Award for particularly pioneering solutions.
Speaking of the jury: it is not only the number of competition categories that has grown over the years, but also the number of jurors, who come from industry and trade, brand companies, and research institutes. A piece of packaging must today deliver more and do more than it did ten, 20, or 30 years ago. The innovations correspondingly cover a broader field, and more experts from different disciplines are needed to do justice to this.
What the German Packaging Award also clearly demonstrates is the growing — and continuing to grow — importance of packaging. Coverage of the best new solutions of the year is considerably more extensive than it used to be. This also reflects the fact that innovation is being discussed far more widely and intensively. Innovations have not only become an essential factor in competition and external perception, but a central pillar for the future viability of companies.
