For its 17th edition, the Verallia Design Awards celebrated the creativity of students and recent graduates around the theme « Glass & Virtues: Bold Design for Well-being and Sustainability. » Inspired by the « Care Culture » trend featured in the Verallia 2026 Trend Book, the competition challenged participants to imagine innovative glass packaging solutions that address evolving consumer expectations, combining well-being, naturality and eco-design.
A true springboard for emerging design talent since its creation in 2009, the event once again proved highly successful. This year, 675 participants from more than 100 higher education institutions took part in the competition, resulting in 319 projects.
Following an initial selection phase, the shortlisted projects were evaluated by a jury of design, packaging and innovation professionals. After careful deliberation, several creations stood out for their creativity, their relevance in addressing sustainability challenges, and their ability to reinvent the uses of glass.
The Theme : Glass & Virtues !
This year, the Verallia Design Awards celebrated glass as a true ally of well-being, health and sustainability. Participants were invited to imagine glass packaging solutions capable of highlighting the natural properties of products, functional ingredients and evolving consumption habits. Through this theme, glass was showcased as an exceptional material serving the well-being of people and the planet alike.
The competition encouraged students to design packaging that meets today’s consumer expectations in terms of well-being, naturality and eco-design. Throughout the year, participants benefited from dedicated support, including industrial site visits, school presentations and webinars, helping them develop concepts that combine creativity, technical feasibility and environmental responsibility.
Participants competed across several categories:
- NoLow Alcohol Still or Sparkling Wine, exploring new tasting experiences with little or no alcohol.
- Functional Beverages & RTD (Ready-to-Drink), inspired by the growing popularity of wellness-oriented drinks such as kefirs, infusions and natural energy beverages.
- Food Packaging for Sauces, featuring creations designed to enhance food products and their ingredients.
- Decoration Award, recognizing the creative and responsible use of glass decoration techniques.
- Employees’ Choice Award, presented by Verallia employees to their favourite project.
- New for 2026: The Rémy Cointreau Special Award. For the first time, students worked on a brief inspired by the real-world challenges of an iconic brand. This initiative gave them the opportunity to confront their creativity with concrete market expectations and industry challenges, while strengthening the connections between education, innovation and the professional world.
The Winners and Their Projects
Jouvence – Lilian Coviaux
Ecole de Design Nantes Atlantique
Category: Still or Sparkling NoLow Wine
With Jouvence, Lilian reimagines non-alcoholic wine by revisiting its traditional codes through a modern and elegant design. The bottle stands out with nature-inspired embossed patterns that give it the appearance of an object in transformation while ensuring a comfortable grip. Designed for both convivial occasions and fine dining experiences, Jouvence preserves the premium image traditionally associated with wine. Its design also incorporates surfaces tailored to industrial requirements, facilitating labeling and transportation throughout the production process.
Cycle – Camille Déniel
Ecole de Design Nantes Atlantique
Category: Functional Beverages & RTD
Designed to showcase the world of functional beverages, the Cycle project reinterprets the codes of traditional herbalism and pharmacy through a 33 cl bottle. Its design features an elegant embossed pattern inspired by the reflections of water and the winding course of rivers, creating both a distinctive visual identity and an ergonomic grip. Developed with sustainability in mind, the bottle highlights the natural colour of kefir while remaining suitable for industrial production.
Alchymia – Anna Samagina
École de Condé
Category: Food Packaging for Sauces
The Alchymia project draws inspiration from the worlds of gastronomy, science, and traditional apothecaries to reinvent premium sauce packaging. Its glass jar features an elegant faceted geometric silhouette that enhances the colors and visual richness of condiments through the transparency and reflective qualities of glass. Designed to meet market requirements, it combines aesthetics with practicality, incorporating flat side panels that facilitate shelf display and logistics. An embossed medallion on the front completes the design, reinforcing the brand’s identity and distinctive character.
La vertu des pierres, un rituel de lumière – Katelyn Crosnier
AGR Ecole de l’Image Rennes
Category: Decoration Award
The La vertu des pierres, un rituel de lumière project draws inspiration from the mineral world and the principles of crystal healing. Designed as a truly symbolic object, the bottle evokes the image of a talisman or precious gemstone, transforming glass into a medium for visual expression and emotion. The decoration subtly combines gilding and embossing effects to recreate the reflections, depth, and shifting nuances of quartz and mother-of-pearl. Enhanced by flowing decorative lines, the design forms a harmonious whole that highlights the natural transparency of the glass and the color of the white wine.
Promesse d’été – Emilio Piehler
Institut Sainte Geneviève
Category: Employees’ Choice Award
With Promesse d’été, Emilio envisioned a rosé wine bottle that captures the spirit of summer moments and conviviality. Its organic design draws inspiration from Mediterranean coastal landscapes, featuring soft curves and textured reliefs reminiscent of rocks sculpted by wind and sea. The interplay of light created by the varying depths of the glass adds both aesthetic appeal and a rich sensory dimension to the overall design. Faithful to eco-design principles, the project prioritizes recyclability by eliminating unnecessary components, such as the capsule, and using a recycled paper label attached with environmentally friendly adhesive.
The 2026 Verallia Design Awards once again highlighted the creativity, talent and commitment of young designers. The projects explored themes centred on well-being, naturality and eco-design, demonstrating how glass packaging can respond to evolving consumer expectations while addressing today’s environmental challenges.
Through innovative concepts for functional beverages, food products and new consumption rituals, participants showcased the potential of glass as a material that combines sustainability, performance and emotional appeal. Their creations illustrated how packaging can create meaningful experiences while promoting responsible consumption. Congratulations to all the winners and participants, whose work continues to push the boundaries of innovation and demonstrates the power of glass as a vehicle for creativity, purpose and sustainability.
We look forward to seeing you at the 18th edition of the Verallia Design Awards !