Having had to postpone and eventually cancel all its booked venues and planned events for about 15 months, BAMA was thrilled to be able to finally host its annual Forum and Awards, on the 13th and 14th October.
BAMA was honoured to secure three prestigious judges who between them have a wide and extended knowledge of the various aspects involved in an aerosol product and yet are detached enough from the industry to be unbiased.
Paul Jenkins, managing director and founder of ThePackHub, has 20 years’ experience of packaging formats for FMCG and regularly advises clients on packaging innovations. Grace Abamba, chemist and cosmetic scientist worked a few years in the aerosol industry, then for a retailer and finally specialised in product quality and safety. She was, until recently, president of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists UK & Ireland and currently leads the same society for Nigeria. And finally, Dawn Stephens-Borg, who, as editor of World Aerosol, spends her days scouting and reviewing the news from our sector, and is already a familiar face at all the large and small industry gathering in the UK and abroad.
This year the judges were presented with entries that were so well thought out and designed many were entered for more than one category.
After a whole day of reading, watching, and handling the various entries, and discussing animatedly the qualities of each, agreement was finally reached, and the secret well kept until Patrick Heskins, BAMA Chief Executive, was able to announce the results during the Awards night, kindly sponsored this year by Aztec Aerosols.
The final winner of the Aerosols in Action – Photography Award was decided by a vote of the attendees at the BAMA Forum, after a final selection of four was shortlisted by the judges. Pritchard Spray Technology won for the second time with their image of VirusEnd. The other shortlisted shots were from Coster. The winning image will feature on the cover of BAMA Annual Report 2022, with the other used to help illustrate the reports inside.
First place in Aerosol of the Year the went to Pritchard Spray Technology for VirusEnd, while Lindal bagged the Runner Up with their BAB (Bag and Bag) used in Hemascrub. The judges found that VirusEnd was the most ‘innovative and pertinent’ new launch of the last year:, ‘developed in record time’ and ‘backed by a very reputable body’ were just some of the comments made. They also found Lindal’s Bag-and-Bag system had ‘big scope and potential for several applications’.
The entries for Process Safety & Training were so different in nature and so commendable for different aspects, that the judging panel had some difficulties reaching a decision. The winning entry was from Coster Aerosols for their ‘Coster got Talent’ apprentice programme: The judges commented that it ‘sustains the industry, considering the aging workforce’ and ‘appropriate training improves workplace safety’. Cascade’s Multi-propellant Leak Detectors was deemed to ‘create significant cost savings, while carrying out an essential product safety test’ and was the Runner Up.. Alloway‘s Stem Lean Vision System was Highly Commended for being ‘quite unique’ in tackling a significant issue in the production process.
In Sustainability, first place on the podium was taken by Plastipak with Stay Safe 5 in 1 Fire Extinguisher. Runner up was KDC/ONE Swallowfield’s Beauty Bio Healthy Scalp Dry Shampoo, and Lindal’s Mini Engine with a Highly Commended.
What impressed the judges most was the winner’s lower carbon footprint, compared to the standard extinguishers, and the fact that the PET container made it fully recyclable. Beauty Bio Dry Shampoo is formulated with lower VOC content than traditional dry shampoos, and its water-based formula means that it meets not only the immediate target set by CARB in the USA for GWP but meets the stricter 2030 limit as well. On top of that, the product is alcohol and starch free, and the judges said that ‘it doesn’t feel cakey’ once sprayed on the hair, matching environmental conscience with pleasure of use. Finally, Lindal’s Mini Engine addressed one of the ‘critical topics of the present’ by using PCR plastic in its production.
The final category, Aerosol Packaging, rewarded the 3D Configurator by Lindal with the Runner Up spot whilst the top place was snatched by Ball’s Dove Men +Care Lions limited edition. The software launched by Lindal facilitates and speeds the product design process, by helping match the most suitable components together: ‘it doesn’t send you down a rabbit hole, it allows maximum choice’ and ‘there isn’t anything like that for the aerosol sector’. The images on Ball’s can, showed ‘amazing graphic, at the edge of what is technically possible to print on an aerosol can’.