Gone are the days when packaging served solely as a sales aid and wrapper. Today's intelligent packaging must be capable of much more: It must be convenient, sustainable and interactive – and if it has a secondary use, so much the better!

Two folding box solutions created by the STI Group, "Charming Wine Shelf" and "Castle for heidelberger naturkosmetik", offer precisely this plus. They also won the hearts and minds of the jury at the 2012 iF packaging award and each took home the international label.

Prize-winner 1 – Stacking wine packaging that converts into wine shelves

There's more to selling wine than just quality and image. Exceptional packaging provides a boost as well. The latest idea from the STI Group's design centre is a sales and storage unit in one: the corrugated board packaging turns into a wine rack. The idea is known as a "2 in 1".

The clever construction of the folding boxes allows the individual pieces of packaging to be stacked horizontally to create a charming wine rack. The curving shapes draw attention on the retail shelf and ensure no slippage even when stacked. Once the fine wines inside are gone, wine aficionados can then simply dismantle the corrugated board shelves – or fill them with new bottles. The corrugated board shelves cut a fine figure on their own as furnishings, and can be individually adapted in terms of printed image and enhancements to fit various products.

Prize winner 2 – A colourful castle of cardboard

The packaging series for five children's natural cosmetics products from Tinti's "heidelberger naturkosmetik" line are built from a shell and a curved, die-punched insert.

The individual folding boxes in a 'battlement' look can be joined together into a full castle, including a castle gate and several towers. The castle grows as new products are purchased, boosting its radiance of colourful majesty in the child's room. Tinti views the packaging as a logical part of its programme to deliver high-quality care products that add a creative and pedagogically sound secondary usage as toys. The key visual is provided through "Karo the Kitty" who frolics atop the castle walls, instructing kids about his cat washing rules – a lively introduction to the concept of their own daily care.

As befits a BDIH-certified natural cosmetics brand with all-natural ingredients from controlled organic farms, the packaging series is created from FSC® certified, recyclable materials that promote sustainable forestry and production of pulp products.