Sustainability Award: Confiserie Reber Advent Calendar with innovative Carton-Inlay

At the beginning of 2013, Reber approached Mayr-Melnhof Packaging Austria with a very challenging packaging task. The idea was to replace the styrofoam used in the positioning trays of the Reber Advent calendars with cartonboard. All the important objectives were achieved: easy handling, accurate positioning of the products by using the “Twister” coiling technique – which compensates differences in the height of products – and optimal protection of the contents. It only took six months from the first project meeting to having the new Advent calendars on the shelves.

Jury comments

This was the first time the judges had seen an advent calendar as sophisticated as this. The wells for the sweets are backed with spirally cut cartonboard to hold the sweet firmly in position. After removal of the sweet the section pops up so that the overall look of the box is not compromised. This new system for holding the sweets was made entirely of cartonboard and replaced the previously used styrofoam. The judges felt this was a remarkable single material product and much easier to recycle after use.