Pro Carton Young Designers Award 2026
Pro Carton Young Designers Award 2026 is now open for entries!
The Pro Carton Young Designers Award, one of Europe’s leading young packaging design awards has been recently opened for entries for 2026, giving young designers both professional recognition as well as a networking platform with industry, a first step towards a professional career.
Short description
The Pro Carton Young Designers Award, one of Europe’s leading student competitions for packaging design, organised by Pro Carton, European Association of Carton and Cartonboard manufacturers now is accepting entries for 2026.
Focussing exclusively on cartonboard, the award plays a pioneering role in promoting sustainability as well as innovation in the European packaging industry.
Entries can be submitted in three categories:
➜ Creative Cartonboard Packaging | Food & Drink: The focus lies on cartonboard as the most sustainable food and beverages packaging material and its recyclability. Give us a taste of great design!
➜ Creative Cartonboard Packaging | All Other – excluding Food & Drink: This category focuses on using the most sustainable packaging material for non-food packaging. Everything needs packaging, have a look around yourself and get inspired!
➜ Sustainability: Show us your ideas as to how cartonboard can reduce or replace plastic and help us protect nature.
There is an additional category: the “Public Award“. The public will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite from a shortlist of entries.
The brief is kept as open as possible to allow for maximum creativity in packaging and cartonboard design.
The Pro Carton Young Designers Award is set to reveal exceptional ideas, whilst allowing Pro Carton to attract the next generation into our industry by showing them the benefits of cartonboard and rewarding their creative thinking. Entering the awards is the perfect platform to network directly with industry experts and kick-start graduate job opportunities.
This year’s Awards Gala will take place in Rome, Italy on the 17th September 2026.
Initial submission should be made online. Entry forms should be completed in English. Announcement will be made on the 31st of May to notify if you have been shortlisted. Please only send the physical 3D cartonboard design if your design is shortlisted. Students who do not make it to the shortlist will not have to send in their physical designs/prototypes for the judges’ meeting.
Submission requirements
Submissions must meet the following criteria:
➜ three-dimensional and to scale, regardless of their actual size and use
➜ made mainly of cartonboard (over 200 g/m2)
➜ folded and possibly glued
➜ printed if possible (but not essential – we are looking for cartonboard ideas and not purely graphic solutions, though the addition of graphics can certainly enhance your folding carton ideas.)
➜ Must be your own idea and not copied from another source (with or without permission). Entering a concept that is not your own idea will result in disqualification and could infringe copyright law.
➜ Must be made from cartonboard. Entries made from material other than cartonboard (e.g. corrugated board) can NOT be accepted.
➜ No repeat entries from previous Award years – these will NOT be accepted.
Eligibility
The design competition is open to all students enrolled at a European school or university.
Prize
The main prize for 2026 will be a two-day all expenses paid trip to visit one of European’s leading converters and manufacturers. During the trip, students will get a behind-the-scenes look at the cartonboard lifecycle from start to finish. Students will meet with experts and receive critical feedback on their winning designs and have countless networking opportunities.
In addition to the Main Prize, Pro Carton will award the following additional prizes:
➜ Each category winner also wins a Pro Carton trophy and certificate(s)
➜ Category finalists win a certificate
➜ The winner of the Public Vote Award will win a trophy and certificate(s)
➜ International publicity and recognition and the opportunity to network amongst the industry’s leaders
➜ Pro Carton will continuously promote the winners in the printed press and across social media channels
Entry fees
The competition is free to enter.
