Aimia Foods, the independent supplier of hot and cold beverages, has won a prestigious award for the packaging of its Slazenger S1 hypotonic sports drink.
The striking design was selected by an international panel of 12 specialist judges for a Silver Pentaward in the functional drinks category. It beat off stiff competition in a contest boasting a total of over 688 entries from nearly 40 different countries.
The Pentawards is the first and only worldwide competition exclusively devoted to packaging design in all its forms and attracts the cream of global design talent in a variety of categories, including beverages, food, body products and luxury items. Winning designs will be displayed during the month of February at Paris’s Design Pack Gallery – a space dedicated exclusively to the art of packaging design.
The Slazenger S1 packaging was designed by SMR Creative, which was appointed by Aimia in November 2007 following a two-way creative pitch to re-brand the product. The project brief required the packaging to make a bold visual impact, while highlighting the product’s performance-enhancing properties and remaining synonymous with the existing Slazenger brand.
The largely black design was chosen to portray a sense of leadership and innovation, while the ‘swoosh’ graphic alludes to flow and movement – together giving the product a strong, energetic personality and appealing to the key target market of 18-30 year old males.
Neal Haworth, Soft Drinks Category Marketing Manager at Aimia Foods, says: “The eye-catching, and now award-winning, design makes Slazenger S1 stand out in a highly competitive UK sports drinks market worth £200 million1 and growing 15 per cent year on year2. Coupled with its superior functionality and strong brand association, it is an excellent prospect for vending operators, wholesalers, retailers and cash and carry outlets, due to its competitive cost and excellent cash margins.”
Formulated to aid both physical and mental performance, Slazenger S1 hypotonic sports drinks come in handy 500ml bottles in orange and mixed berry flavours. It is now available from Sports World stores nationwide and to the vending, wholesale, cash and carry and retail channels.
Sources:
1 Mintel Sports and Energy Drinks UK (July 2007)
2 British Soft Drinks Association Annual Report (2007)
