KT&G awarded at global package design awards 'PENTAWARDS 2025'

- Awarded Gold, Silver, Bronze Awards for 3 designs including 'ESSE Special Gold—Gold Bar Edition'

SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- KT&G's three cigarette products were awarded gold, silver, and bronze awards respectively at the global package design contest "PENTAWARDS 2025" held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on the 4th of October.

KT&G's products proved their design competitiveness, with "ESSE Special Gold—Gold Bar Edition" winning the gold, "ESSE Royal Palace—King's Garden Edition" winning the silver, and "ONEUL" winning the bronze awards.

"PENTAWARDS" is a global design contest with the top authority, held for the 19th time since the first contest in 2007. The contest chooses awardees after a comprehensive evaluation of thousands of product package designs from across the world—evaluation criteria include brand implementation, aesthetics, and creativity.

Gold award winner ESSE Special Gold—Gold Bar Edition is a limited-edition product based on a "gold" motif, manufactured to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the brand launch. The gold bar resembling package that recreated the metallic quality was recognized for its luxurious quality. 

ESSE Royal Palace—King's Garden Edition made a modern reinterpretation of traditional aesthetics such as the gold pattern of the Gonryongpo, and was given the silver award. The designs for ONEUL harmonized the brand characteristics of using Korean tobacco leaves and Korea's unique gracefulness in the form of oriental beauty and was recognized with the bronze award. 

A KT&G spokesperson stated that "through the awards, KT&G was recognized for its premium product design competitiveness in the global context," further stating that "KT&G will continue to deliver distinguished value to domestic and global consumers through its innovative designs." 

KT&G, the manufacturer of the global brand ESSE, is a notable Korean corporation with a number one position in the Korean NGP (Next Generation Products), health functional foods, and combustible cigarettes markets. It is also a global corporation that sells 870 brands across 148 countries as of 2024. 

 

source: KT&G Corporation