4 years ago, we could never have imagined the impact that the Vertex Awards would have on private brands globally. This year’s record-setting class of entrants is evidence of not only Vertex’s impact on design but strategy. We have pushed retailers, agencies and manufacturers to explore the boundaries of private brand, to move beyond the expected and create brands and package design that truly differentiates.

This year’s competition included more than 300 entries from 25 countries and 49 retailers from each of the inhabited continents of the world: North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Look and you will discover outstanding design from all around the world. Retailers are playing to win and creating compelling customer-focused brands.

As in prior years, we will announce the winners of the course of this week.

• Monday: BRONZE WINNERS
• Tuesday: SILVER WINNERS
• Wednesday: Gold
• Thursday: Best of Show & Publishers Choice

We would like to personally thank each of our judges from around the world, for their commitment to the awards and passion for great design.

• David Ziegler-Voll, Senior Package Designer, Trader Joe’s, Boston, United States
• Maria Dubuc, Director, MBD, Vice President, Big Red Rooster, Massachusetts, United States
• Rick Barrack, Chief Creative Officer & Managing Partner, CBX, New York, United States
• Danielle Beal, Creative Director, The Creative Pack, California, United States
• Paula Bunny, Creative Director, Brother Design, Auckland, New Zealand
• Don Childs, SVP, Executive Creative Director, Brandimage, Cincinnati, United States
• Masanori Eto, Creative Director, AdBrain, Inc., Tokyo, Japan
• Paco Adin, Creative Director, Supperstudio, Madrid, Spain
• Loe Limpens, Managing Partner, Yellow Dress Retail, Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Adrian Whitefoord, Co-founder, Pemberton & Whitefoord (P&W), London, England
• Lee Gobbi, Creative Director,Daymon, Connecticut, United States
• Fred Richards, CCO & Partner, Kaleidoscope, Chicago, United States
• ZHOU Wenjun, Founder, Creative Director & Architect, 524 Studio, China
• Guillermo Dufranc, Private Brand Design Director, TridImage, Buenos Aires, Argentina
•  John Kalkowski, Editor, Brand Packaging Magazine, United States

These design experts took their charge to heart and devoted their time and energy to selecting the best of the best. Qualifying designs must have been introduced in-store between November 2015 and November 2016. Judges scored each entry on five criteria: design, information architecture, originality, structure, and x-factor. An overall numeric score was then assigned to each entry. Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards were awarded based on the numeric score, as a result, there are some multiple winners at a given level. The scoring system was developed to reward the best Private Brand package design in the world, not mediocrity. To protect the integrity of the process, judges were not allowed to vote on work by their own agency. All voting was done online and votes were collected and tabulated independently, by VOCCII. This competition has been a labor of love. We know you will find inspiration in the winners and we hope to see your entry next year.

This year we will host the first ever Vertex Awards Celebration. The event will be held, just prior to the PLMA International trade show, May 15th, 2017 from6:00-8:00 pm at the Hilton Amsterdam, Netherlands. All retailers, agencies, manufacturers and service providers are welcome to join us at this Free event to celebrate the winners.

Christopher Durham
President, My Private Brand

Phillip Russo
Publisher, Global Retail Brands