Essel Propack America has clinched three winning spots in the Tube Council’s 2013 Tube of the Year Awards. Judges considered all aspects of the tubes such as design complexity and innovative material structures.

Walmart’s store brand, Equate Beauty Acne Foaming Wash, won first place in the pharmaceutical category. Essel Propack partnered up with MJS Packaging to work on the development of this high-end tube that is constructed from a custom-made plastic barrier laminate (PBL) that will maintain the stability and strength of the active ingredient of Benzoyl Peroxide used in this product. One plus to the plastic based laminate (PBL), is that it has memory, therefore after squeezing, the tube regains its shape.
A Flexo print and hot foil stamping process make the product stand out on shelf, and Ted Sojourner, regional vice president of Essel Propack thinks this shows the significance of packaging. “Typically when folks think of store brands, they might think ‘generic,’ but packaging can open up another avenue for store brands for innovation and creativity. When first asked to put hot foil on the tube, which is a more expensive direction, I found it to break these paradigms.”

In the oral care category, Essel Propack received the runner-up slot for Tom’s of Maine Silly Strawberry. Flavor retention was very important for Tom’s of Maine so Essel used a new generation plastic barrier laminate (PBL) with an EVOH barrier to keep the strawberry flavor locked in. The tube is printed using EP’s patented High Definition printing technique to illustrate the almost photo-realistic strawberries on this tube.

Essel Propack also took runner up in the pharmaceutical category with the Rexall Lubricating Jelly.