SealGlobal.Co puts SA packaging on the global stage

At the 2025 IPSA Gold Pack Awards, SealGlobal.Co earned two major honours: the Local Technical Development Award and a gold medal in the Packaging-Related category for LabelSeal® Coca-Cola 2L wraparound labels. 

This year also marks SealGlobal.Co’s Diamond Jubilee, celebrating 60 years of chemistry-driven packaging innovation. 

‘The awards validate decades of innovation applied at real commercial scale,’ says Marc Lewis, marketing director. ‘These are not concepts or pilot projects – they’re chemistries already performing in demanding FMCG environments. They show that advanced, science-driven solutions from Africa can compete and lead globally.’

One of the award-winning innovations, LabelSeal®, is applied to Coca-Cola’s 2L PET wraparound labels. It is the world’s first water-based overprint varnish (OPV) engineered to run at 500m/min on high-speed gravure and flexo presses – a speed previously thought to require only solvent or UV systems.

‘The primary technical hurdle was balancing instantaneous functional sealing whilst maintaining integrity with coating stability at extreme line speeds,’ Marc explains. ‘By engineering chemistry architecture, controlling drying behaviour and fine-tuning properties, SealGlobal.Co disproved the notion that high-speed beverage labelling requires solvent or UV systems.’

LabelSeal® evidently demonstrates that sustainability and mechanical performance can coexist. It eliminates toxic hydrocarbon solvent emissions, supports recyclability and performs across wraparound and wet glue labels. It also lays the foundation for SealGlobal.Co’s Paperised Packaging™ concept, a specification framework designed to simplify sustainable packaging decisions for brands. ‘All paper-based packaging must remain fully recyclable and repulpable, using water-based barrier technologies that do not introduce plastic films, metallisation or composite laminates,’ Marc says.

The second award-winning solution, EcoSkid®, tackles a problem often underestimated in FMCG logistics: pallet instability. EcoSkid® introduces a patented anti-skid and re-grip system that delivers a high coefficient of friction (+1.0), maintains slip resistance at angles up to 60° and retains performance after multiple handling and repacking stages.

Validated over 18 months of trials across Durban, Gauteng and Cape Town, EcoSkid® is in commercial use on Woodlands Dairy’s First Choice long life milk sleeves. According to Marc, its benefits include fewer corrective measures, reduced reliance on stretch wrap and corner boards, increased pallet quantities and improved logistics and handling with less spoilage. ‘Sustainability is embedded at every level – EcoSkid® is fully water-based, recyclable, organically degradable and FDA-compliant, reducing waste while improving product presentation and shelf appeal.’