Europe’s top young packaging designers honoured

Packaging Solutions

The 2025 winners of the Pro Carton Young Designers Award (PCYDA) were celebrated on 18 September 2025 at the Awards Gala, held in Istanbul.

With a record breaking number of entries, this year’s awards saw over 950 projects from 102 universities. Each year the competition offers students the chance to gain invaluable real world experience, explore career opportunities, and win memorable prizes.

Hungarian student Barnabás Varga, from the University of Pécs, won the top honours in the creative cartonboard packaging – food and drink category with his design Frosty Blaze.

Guided by lecturer Lotte Budai, Barnabás developed a packaging concept that reimagines a Tyrolean classic liqueur. The design preserves the product’s strong character, whilst refreshing its visual identity with a more modern, refined look. To elevate the consumer experience, the gift box also includes two shot glasses, enhancing both its practicality and appeal as a premium gift item.

German students Jule Schelletter, Meret Fischmann, Birte Müller, and Bahareh Hosseinzadeh Alamdari from the MSD – Münster School of Design took the win in the creative cartonboard packaging – all other category with their innovative design, Padon Period Pads.

Under the leadership of Professor Steffen Schulz, the group created their project with both practicality and empowerment in mind. Padon rethinks period product packaging to create something functional, thoughtful and sustainable. The design features a flip mechanism, one side discreetly stores used products, while the other reveals new ones. Additionally, the outer box doubles as a sleek dispenser through a simple perforated flap, making it ideal for home use, especially in small bathrooms.

Polish student Sebastian Jaworski from Politechnika Bydgoska University, claimed the sustainability award with his project, Felicia. 

Mentored by lecturer Anita Szymankiewicz, Sebastian explored a more sustainable direction for the beauty industry. This alternative cosmetic packaging for glass dropper bottles eliminates plastic while keeping the product secure and communicating key brand messaging. Using significantly less material than conventional cosmetic packaging, the design helps to increase output per production cycle and reduce manufacturing time.

Throughout the summer, the general public, colleagues from the packaging industry, and academics had their say in selecting the public award winner for the most impressive next generation cartonboard concept, with a total of 7732 votes cast, representing a 9% increase from 2024 figures.

At the 2025 awards in Istanbul, Turkish students Ece Naz Taş, Zeynep Cantürk and Serra Kağıtcı from Middle East Technical University won the public award with their innovative design Fold’n’Hold.

Taught by Damla Tönük, the team created Fold’n’Hold, an innovative carrier designed to effortlessly hold four to six drinks with a single, easy motion. Despite its minimalist use of materials, Fold’n’Hold is exceptionally strong, capable of supporting up to 40 times its own weight, combining functionality, sustainability, and thoughtful design in one elegant solution.

Lastly, an additional recognition, the 2025 judges’ award was presented to Romanian student Elena Ghetu from the University of Arts and Design – Cluj-Napoca for the innovative design, Tensum. 

With the guidance of lecturer Paul Cheptea, Elena created a new concept for condom packaging that encourages playful interaction with a book like concept and slots for individual contents. This design is crafted entirely from recycled materials and emphasises that sustainable packaging can be instructional and exciting.

Winfried Muehling, head of marketing and communications at Pro Carton, said: ‘This year’s Pro Carton Young Designers Award has set a new benchmark for creativity and innovation in sustainable packaging. Receiving a new record of 952 entries from 102 universities across Europe is a testament to the growing enthusiasm for sustainable packaging and its potential to inspire smarter and more eco conscious solutions.

‘The imagination we have seen from the students is remarkable. Each project reflects a forward thinking approach that will shape the future of the packaging industry. We congratulate the winners and every participant for their outstanding achievements and can’t wait to see their future contributions to our industry.’