RePlay™ Returnables Named Finalist in Two Categories at the 2026 Best Design Awards
RePlay™ Returnables has been recognised for its innovative approach to reusable food packaging, being named a finalist in two categories at the 2026 Best Design Awards.
RePlay is a finalist in:
The recognition comes shortly after RePlay’s outstanding success at the 2026 Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design Awards (PIDA), where the system received three Gold Awards and one Silver Award.
A welcome surprise for the RePlay team
The Best Design Awards recognition came as a particularly welcome surprise for the Bonson team, as our product design partner Blender. had entered RePlay into the awards on our behalf.
Blender has played an important role in the development of the RePlay containers, bringing its industrial and product design expertise to the challenge of creating packaging specifically designed for repeated use within a circular system.
We’re extremely grateful to the Blender team for their continued support of RePlay and for putting the project forward for this recognition.
Designing packaging for reuse
Developed as a practical alternative to single-use food packaging, the RePlay™ Return System is designed around a simple principle: packaging should be used, returned, washed and RePlayed again and again.
Creating a successful returnable packaging system requires a different approach to conventional single-use packaging. The containers need to withstand repeated handling, washing and reuse while continuing to perform reliably for food businesses and consumers.
The RePlay containers are manufactured from durable, food-grade polypropylene (PP) and have been designed with functionality, longevity and scalability in mind.
But RePlay is more than the container itself. The project brings together packaging design, return infrastructure and technology to create a system that can operate in real-world foodservice and retail environments.
Recognition for both packaging and sustainable design
Being selected as a finalist in both Structural Packaging and Sustainable Industrial Design is particularly significant because it recognises two important aspects of the RePlay project.
The Structural Packaging category acknowledges the design and functionality of the physical packaging, while the Sustainable Industrial Design category reflects the broader thinking behind creating a product intended to support repeated reuse and a more circular packaging model.
Together, the two finalist commendations reinforce the importance of designing sustainability into a product from the outset rather than treating it as an addition later in the development process.
A collaborative project
RePlay has been made possible through collaboration between organisations and individuals bringing expertise across packaging manufacturing, industrial design, circularity, technology, labelling and retail implementation.
We would particularly like to thank Blender. for their design expertise and for entering RePlay into the Best Design Awards, along with all our RePlay project partners who have helped take the system from an ambitious idea to a working returnable packaging solution.
The latest recognition builds on RePlay’s success at the 2026 PIDA Awards, where it received:
- Gold – Sustainable Packaging Design – REUSE
- Gold – Marketing Design
- Gold – Labelling & Decoration Design
- Silver – Food Packaging Design
These achievements provide encouraging recognition of the work that has gone into developing a reusable packaging system designed for practical, everyday use.
Fingers crossed for October
The Best Design Awards winners will be announced on Friday 9 October 2026.
Congratulations to Blender, the wider RePlay team and all the other 2026 finalists. We’re delighted to see RePlay recognised alongside some of the best design work in Aotearoa New Zealand – and we’ll be keeping our fingers crossed for October.
Learn more about RePlay™ Returnables and how we’re working to help make reusable food packaging a practical part of the circular economy.
About the Best Awards
The Best Awards are brought to you by The Designers Institute of New Zealand.
The Best Design Awards is an annual showcase championing Design excellence (Whakamana Te Toi) in animation, digital, film, graphics, industrial design, and spatial. Along with three special awards – Social Good, Toitanga (our indigenous award) and Value of Design.
Finalists Announced 13 August 2026
Awards Dinner, Viaduct Events Centre 9 October 2026
