Winning Glass Bottles Showcase Brand Innovation & Sustainability
Arlington, VA (October 4, 2021) – The Glass Packaging Institute (GPI) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2021 Clear Choice Awards, which recognize North America’s top brands and manufacturers creating exceptional designs that shape dynamic consumer experiences.
The 2021 CCA winners (listed by both manufacturer and brand) for each category are:
- Innovation – Horse Soldier Bourbon Whiskey (Anchor Glass Corporation): Handmade and bottled in the heartland with all natural ingredients, this bottle uses steel from the World Trade Center to honor the Green Beret Special Operations team (ODA595), nicknamed the “Horse Soldiers.”
- Sustainability – Fat Tire Amber Ale – Certified Carbon Neutral (O-I Glass): Fat Tire is the first nationally-distributed certified carbon neutral beer in the U.S and brewer New Belgium is committed to being carbon neutral by 2030.
- Cosmetics, Fragrances & Pharmaceuticals – Heritage Distilling Company’s Hand Sanitizer (Ardagh Glass Packaging): 2020 saw many brands react to pandemic challenges, and Heritage Distilling pivoted to help the community with one of only a few glass-packaged hand sanitizers on the market. Heritage Distilling Co. Hand Sanitizer stands out with a clean and simple design.
- Beer, Cider & Flavored Alcoholic Beverages – Budweiser Dream (Ardagh Glass Packaging): The Budweiser Dream bottle was designed to celebrate the company’s journey leading to recognition of the Budweiser brand globally, while connecting to new generations in pursuit of their dreams.
- Non-Alcoholic Beverages – Boomerang (O-I Glass): Refillable glass bottles like Boomerang take the world’s most sustainable packaging material, glass, a step further for a truly strong, low-waste circular economy.
- Food – Ball ® Flute Jars (Ardagh Glass Packaging): Newell Brands is the exclusive provider of genuine Ball® home canning products. As a leader in home food preservation, Newell Brands is committed to continuing the tradition started by the Ball brothers and handed down through generations to help Americans preserve garden fresh produce.
- Spirits – Maestro Dobel Tequila (Saverglass): The Maestro Dobel bottle represents the nexus of beauty, tradition, revolution and innovation, all qualities required to forge the first Cristalino Tequila.
- Wine – King Estate Vineyard Designate (Ardagh Glass Packaging): King Estate Winery, the largest certified Biodynamic vineyard in North America, continues to build a legacy with sustainable agricultural and winemaking practices.
Since 1989, the Clear Choice Awards has honored consumer product goods (CPG) manufacturers who find unique ways to use glass packaging to tell the story of their brand, create glass packaging designs that stand out on the shelf, and help brands meet sustainability goals.
“I want to extend my sincerest congratulations to the winners of the 2021 Clear Choice Awards,” said Scott DeFife, President of GPI. “The past two years have been tough on every aspect of our lives, and I wanted to especially applaud the glass container manufacturing industry for continuing to provide premium and sustainable glass products to consumers throughout the pandemic. It is great to see these brands and North American manufacturers receive acclaim for their creative work in glass design and packaging. The main reason we extended the deadline for the 2021 awards was to honor the valuable contributions the food and beverage, and cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries made during the pandemic. Congratulations to all these deserving and unique winners!”
The winning glass containers were selected by an independent panel of food and beverage packaging professionals, Jeff Cioletti, Editor-In-Chief, American Craft Spirits Association (ASCA), Tom Bobak, Editor-In-Chief, American Craft Beer and John Neata, Wine Director, Ristorante TOSCA. The judges decided the winners in each category based on innovation (in container form and product category), package design (including container, label, and closure), shelf impact, and storytelling strength of the brand or product.
“I am honored to be invited to judge the 2021 GPI Clear Choice Awards,” said Ciolleti. “For obvious reasons, we at the American Craft Spirits Association are very passionate about premium glass packaging and it was great to see first-hand the innovation in all types of glass containers across the consumer-packaged goods categories. Congratulations to all the winners!”
“It’s always a privilege to be invited to be part of the Clear Choice Awards judging panel,” said Bobak, “Having participated in the past, I continue to be amazed by the different directions and innovations on display. 2021’s Clear Choice competition presented us with a multitude of striking glass options that both defined and brought brands to life in truly distinctive ways. With so many unique presentations, choosing ‘the best’ in any category was more challenging than ever this year.”
“It was a pleasure to be a member of the GPI Clear Choice Awards judging panel,” said Neata. “It was interesting for me to see the decision-making behind packaging and sustainable glass products and to learn about the importance of how packaging has made an impact on a product’s shelf exposure.”
You can read more about each of the eight winners and download high-resolution photos of the products on the GPI website.
About the Glass Packaging Institute
Founded in 1919 as the Glass Container Association of America, the Glass Packaging Institute (GPI) is the trade association representing the North American glass container industry. On behalf of glass container manufacturers, GPI promotes glass as the optimal packaging choice, advances environmental and recycling policies, advocates industry standards, and educates packaging professionals. Follow GPI on Twitter and Facebook, and connect with us on LinkedIn for updates on all things glass. Learn more at www.gpi.org.
