PLD Innovation Awards Spotlight | Luxury Redefined

April 1, 2025

In December 2024, our prestigious jury, composed of brands such as Bacardi, Pernod Ricard, and Moët Hennessy, gathered to judge the entries for the PLD Innovation Awards. The finalists and winners of the PLD Innovation Awards 2025 were announced, celebrated, and honoured at PLD Paris, as part of Paris Packaging Week in January 2025.

Packaging Redesign

Please describe the brief for the pack. What were the objectives for the innovation project? What were the requirements and constraints?

The coloured wrap for The Bruichladdich Eighteen, The Bruichladdich Thirty, and The Bruichladdich 21 is the first of its kind in the whisky industry. The goal was to create a fully sustainable outer wrap that is perfectly moulded to Bruichladdich’s optimised proprietary glass bottle while being significantly lighter than previous packaging options—without compromising strength or integrity. This innovation significantly reduces Bruichladdich’s CO2 impact.

How did the pack fulfil the brief?

The result is an eco-friendly outer packaging that is fully recyclable, completely plastic free and produced using 100% green energy, demonstrating that premium single malt Scotch whisky can be both sustainable and aesthetically beautiful. Light-weight, the outer packaging is made using 100% fresh fibre. Bespoke in colour, the wrap is colour matched by James Cropper’s own in house colour lab, to match that of Bruichladdich’s own brand colours. The design also includes a branded, oversized custom clasp feature, including unique emboss and deboss features. Brought to life using a single material with no glue, the packaging is 100% recyclable in every household. The wrap is the definition of conscious modern luxury.

Why do you believe this pack deserves to win an Innovation Award?

As the first of its kind in the whisky space, this innovative packaging sets a new standard, encouraging other brands to adopt sustainable practices while appealing to environmentally conscious consumers. It is born out of our partnerships with luxury brands who share our vision for the highest quality packaging that never compromises on functionality or style.

As well as reducing the need for plastic within the secondary packaging, the thermoformed moulded packaging solution is created using green energy. We generate solar and hydro energy on site with 100% renewable energy allocated for all production. Our materials are also born from 100% renewable, natural wood fibres or high-quality recycled content, breathing new life into post-consumer waste.

Having developed a monomaterial solution that is 100% recyclable with normal household waste. This lightweight packaging solution, crafted from fibre, is a testament to our technical brilliance and our commitment to a brighter future.