Melbourne’s packaging queen a finalist in sustainability award

Sustainable packaging manufacturer PACKQUEEN is one of 25 Victorian finalists in the 2023 Telstra Best of Business Awards, which are held to recognise the achievements of small to medium-sized businesses.

The Thomastown-based manufacturer is one of four Victorian finalists in the Promoting Sustainability category, which celebrates the achievements of businesses that are driving sustainable change within their individual industries for a cleaner and healthier planet.

PACKQUEEN has been manufacturing postage boxes and bags, food and wine packaging, gift boxes and packaging filler, including providing custom printing, for businesses Australia-wide from its Melbourne factory for the past 15 years. It is one of the largest suppliers of standardised packaging in Australia and currently employs 12 staff across production, dispatch, marketing and sales. This year, PACKQUEEN collaborated with One Tree Planted, ensuring one tree is planted for every packaging order completed, to help customers further reduce their environmental impact.

PACKQUEEN owner Monique Samara says: “While others may sell packaging as an add-on to their business, what makes us different is it sits at the heart of our business and everything we do. Our entire business is based around innovative packaging and providing other businesses with what they need.

I think we are now living in a time when sustainability cannot be swept under the rug. We all have a responsibility to do our bit to change our ways and become more environmentally aware. Small changes can and do make a difference and choosing sustainable products that are recyclable, reusable or compostable benefits our environment hugely.

At PACKQUEEN, we have always produced sustainable products since the start. We use 100% recyclable materials and we recycle all of our off-cuts during the production process. This has been at the core of what we do since we first opened. We feel it is our responsibility now to educate other businesses and provide them with more information on sustainable packaging.”

Monique Samara is a mum to 11-year-old son Oden and 6-year-old daughter Zoe and says her love of packaging came from working with her grandparents in their antique store, where she learned to package items for customers, including gift packing. In the early days of the COVID pandemic in 2020, she pivoted her packaging business to manufacture face shields to meet the shortfall for Australia’s frontline workers, particularly those in the aged care sector.

She says: “We are agile. We love that we can dream up a product and get it to market quickly! Being able to react quickly to market changes helps our customers to get great quality products super-fast.

To be narrowed down to one of 25 Victorian finalists from a pool of 20,000+ nominations nationally for the Telstra Best of Business Awards is beyond humbling! To make it all the way through to the finals was such amazing recognition for the whole team.”

For more information visit packqueen.com.au