Packaging Students Win Top Honors at National Competition
The 2026 Design Challenge tasked students with developing an influencer PR box for a new luxury confectionery brand.
A Cal Poly team won first place at the national Student Design Challenge, hosted by the Paperboard Packaging Alliance (PPA), a joint initiative of the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) and the Paperboard Packaging Council (PPC).
The 2026 Design Challenge tasked students with developing an influencer PR box for a new luxury confectionery brand. Submissions had to contain and protect the retail product while elevating the user experience through an engaging, memorable unboxing moment. The yearly competition tests students’ skills in designing creative, innovative paper-based packaging by applying them to a real-world application.
Student design projects from the following schools were named as winners:
- 1st Place: Dāt–California Polytechnic State University
- 2nd Place: Pacha Cacao–Rochester Institute of Technology
- 3rd Place: Tempus–California Polytechnic State University
The third-place winner, "Tempus," also received the competition's People's Choice Award. The winners were announced Sept. 30 during the Fall Meeting & Leadership Conference.