Mother-Baby attachment drives winning design

Capturing the emotional attachment between mother and baby in the design and production of a food container has seen Fonterra Canpac earn the Supreme Award in the 2010 New Zealand Pride In Print Awards.

The print firm took the most prestigious prize in the New Zealand print industry in Auckland on Friday June 18 for the production of a metal baby food can that has also been a success in extremely-demanding overseas markets.

Its Nutricia Karicare Gold Plus 1 can wowed judges with its technical excellence allied to the fact that it had gained acceptance with international clients whose standards are exacting, said Pride In Print chairman and senior judge Scott Porter.

“There is a huge emotional attachment in the relationship between mother and baby and that is reflected in the relationship between the product and its packaging,” he said.

“This is a super-tough market for a packaging printer to make an impression.

“This can represents wonderful colours and density. Technically, they had to print three whites to achieve that density, which has succeeded in impressing the client.

“I know just how hard that was to achieve. These guys have demonstrated outstanding skill and technique. They are a credit to the industry.”

While the can earned international recognition from customers in tough global markets, Fonterra Canpac print plant manager Greg Wardrop said the company’s other major achievement has been to restore morale at its Hamilton plant after a catastrophic fire earlier this year.

“The fire closed down our production and was a very hard blow to take,” he said.

“This win will help us rebuilt that department and come back stronger. We have had a tough year but this will make us more determined to come back.”

In a testament to the collaborative spirit within the New Zealand print industry, Mr Wardrop paid tribute to competitor NCI Packaging who had come to the aid of Canpac while its production was disrupted.

As well as winning the Supreme Award, the Nutricia Karicare can also won the Packaging Category, where it came up against entrants in flexible packaging, carton board and corrugated board, metal and other types of packaging.