The New Jersey Packaging Executives Club (NJPEC) announces its 40^th Annual Package of the Year (POY) Awards Gala, taking place Thursday, November 29th at The Madison Hotel in Morristown, NJ. The NJPEC POY Awards Gala will include the awards presentation, Tricky Tray, live music and all the submitted packaging on display. Advanced registration is encouraged as the event will sell-out. Registration information can be found at www.njpec.com.

            The annual NJPEC POY Awards recognizes the year’s best packaging designs and innovations, and this year’s program saw an impressive number of submissions. An elite panel of judges of top packaging executives from a broad spectrum of industries and brands as well as packaging students selected the winners in 10 different categories.

            The highest NJPEC honor for 2018, Package of the Year, will be presented to:

• MAC x Jeremy Scott for MAC Cosmetic by MAC Cosmetics and HCT Packaging

            The Students’ Choice Award will go to:

• Match Stix for Fenty Beauty by HCT Packaging

            Category winners for the top Gold Award include:

• Color Cosmetics: MAC x Jeremy Scott for MAC Cosmetics by MAC Cosmetics and HCT Packaging
• Food & Beverage: Godiva Goldmark for Godiva Chocolatier by McLean Packaging
• Fragrance: In Full Bloom Fragrance for Kate Spade by Jansy Packaging
• Gift Set: Ariana Grande Prestige Fragrance for Luxe Brands by Encore International
• Graphics: Woman by Ralph Lauren for Ralph Lauren by McLean Packaging
• Health & Beauty: DAY/DREAM Power Duo for Kwan Dermatology by SeaCliff Beauty Packaging and Laboratories
• Household Industrial: Village Candle 25^th Anniversary for Village Candle by Allstate Paper Box
• Personal Care: Healthy Underarm Detox Mask for Lavanilla Laboratories LLC. by Quadpack
• Pharmaceutical: Respimat Inspiration Kit for Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals by Sunbelt Graphics
• Promotional (tie): Building Blocks Block Bin for Amloid/Kids@ Work by Printex Transparent Packaging, Inc. & Avon 12 Days of Christmas Advent Calendar for New Avon by Color Optics a division of Phoenix Color

      Silver, Bronze, Marketing Impact, Technical Merit, Visual Impact, Packaging Innovations, Stock Packaging, and Honorable Mentions awards will also be presented and all the POY submissions will be showcased in a prominent display in the banquet room during the event.

            The judges for the 40^th Annual 2018 POY included: Leslie Artesona, Strivectin Packaging; Andrea Escobar, L’Oreal; Jay Gorga, Beauty Packaging; Alan Hafkin, Estee Lauder; Brian Henry, Revlon; Ali Mokhtari, packaging consultant; Gina Rokose, packaging professor; Scott Roman, Estee Lauder; Derek Schmidt, New Avon; George Toth, L’Oreal, Remon Zakhary, Bayer and student judges Julie Bradford, Chantel Hernandez, and Hilda Jara.    

            “The judges were impressed with the diverse ingenuity and brand impact displayed in this year’s competition. It is an honor to be celebrating packaging achievement for 40 years, and we look forward to an exciting and memorable night,” said Peter Gould, Committee Chair, of the NJPEC POY.

            Reservations to attend the 40th Annual NJPEC Package of the Year Awards Gala can be found here: https://njpec.com/events-calendar. For more information on the POY Awards, please contact: Peter Gould, pgould13@gmail.com or Karen Hadden-Wolf, khaddenwolf@coloroptics.com. To donate to the Tricky Tray, which supports the NJPEC scholarship program contact: Holly Benda, Holly@wwpinc.com. For attendee bag donations contact Maureen Eustice, maeustice@aol.com.

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New Jersey Packaging Executives Club (NJPEC)

Founded in 1962, NJPEC is a non-profit organization of packaging professionals from all disciplines in the industry, who share information and hands-on business experience. The culture of NJPEC is comfortable, collaborative and professional; creating an environment of learning, and business networking. Members invest their time, skills and knowledge to strengthen the packaging industry with talent and innovation. Numerous scholarship programs and mentoring opportunities are offered to support those entering the packaging field. The members of NJPEC are shaping the future of packaging. For more information visit: www.njpec.com