Skip the Can. Skip the Bottle. — Fruit Tea Pouch Drinks Take Third in Packaging at Better Future Award 2026
Just back from Milan with good news.
BOBA CHiC's Fruit Tea Pouch Drink — the full range, with popping boba and coconut jelly — took third place in the Innovazione di Packaging (Packaging) category at Better Future Award 2026 during TuttoFood 2026 in Milan. The award is organized by Italian retail trade media GDOWeek and Mark Up. Judges include European retail buyers, industry analysts, and food media editors.
The pouch does two things.
Walk down a European drinks aisle and the fruit tea shelf is mostly cans and PET bottles. We chose a different path — a stand-up aluminum pouch.
That choice does two things:
- Lower carbon footprint. Lighter unit weight. Less shipping volume. Less manufacturing energy than a can or PET bottle at the same volume. More units per container, fewer emissions per unit delivered to Europe.
- €0.25 back in shoppers' pockets at the till. In European markets with a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) — Germany being the clearest example — every can or PET bottle carries an extra €0.25 deposit at checkout. Aluminum pouches aren't covered by the scheme. Shoppers pay €0.25 less. Right at the till.
Not a promo. Not a discount. The packaging itself does the work.
The EU's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is pushing the same direction — less material, less plastic, less single-use. The pouch is sitting on the right side of that curve.
About Better Future Award
- Organizers: GDOWeek and Mark Up
- Venue: TuttoFood 2026, Rho Fiera Milano
- Four categories: Product, Sustainability, Packaging, Foodservice
- Packaging category focus: transparency and environmental responsibility
- Judging panel: European retail buyers, industry analysts, food media editors
This isn't a design-circle award. It's the vote of retail buyers thinking like buyers. A win here means European supermarkets see it, and want it on their shelves.
The pink stripe just moved another step forward.
FAQ
A:The full Fruit Tea Pouch Drink range — popping boba and coconut jelly varieties — took third place in the Packaging category (Innovazione di Packaging) at Better Future Award 2026.
A: In European markets with a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) — Germany being the clearest example — cans and PET bottles carry an extra €0.25 deposit at checkout. Aluminum pouches aren't covered by the scheme. Shoppers pay €0.25 less, right at the till.
A:Our own factory in Taichung, Taiwan. ISO 22000, HACCP, and HALAL certified.