Pictured left to right: Dr Russell Sion (CEO, Jenton Dimaco), Clive Stephens, Oleg Rutkowski, Romain Futsch, Aldous Hicks and Sam Murphy - Winners of the AIPIA Brand Challenge 2026. Amsterdam, 21 May 2026.
The Active & Intelligent Packaging Industry Association (AIPIA), and AWA Alexander Watson Associates, is pleased to announce the winners of the AIPIA Brand Challenge 2026, held during the AIPIA & AWA Smart Packaging World Congress in Amsterdam.’
Hosted annually by AIPIA, the Smart Packaging World Congress is a leading global platform for active and intelligent packaging innovation. One of its key highlights is the Brand Challenge, where leading brand owners present real-world packaging challenges and invite the AIPIA community technology providers, innovators, and packaging experts to pitch live solutions.
This year, Cranswick PLC, a leading UK-based food producer, presented its “Perfect Pack” challenge, seeking smart, scalable packaging solutions that can monitor product condition, enhance food safety and shelf life, improve traceability and authenticity, and support sustainability and regulatory compliance, ultimately delivering packaging that can verify itself, protect itself, report its condition, and digitally connect across the supply chain and with consumers.
Selected participants pitched their solutions live on 21 May to the Cranswick evaluation team, including Clive Stephens, Head of Research & Development at Cranswick PLC, demonstrating technologies ranging from smart sensing and digital traceability to anti-counterfeiting and recyclable smart packaging concepts.
Following a highly competitive session, the judging panel selected the winners based on innovation, feasibility, and real-world impact:
• 1st Place: Xordex Ventures, received by Oleg Rutkowski
• 2nd Place: Luchrome, received by Romain Futsch
• 3rd Place: Lasso Loop Recycling, received by Aldous Hicks
AIPIA and AWA congratulate all participants for their outstanding contributions and innovative approaches, which once again highlighted the power of collaboration between brand owners and the smart packaging ecosystem in accelerating next-generation packaging solutions.
The AIPIA & AWA Smart Packaging World Congress continues to serve as a premier platform for driving meaningful progress in intelligent packaging, and AIPIA looks forward to welcoming further groundbreaking solutions in future editions.