Two

A two-person Sydney startup has been honoured at one of the world’s largest industrial design competitions, with its founders claiming the award as a win for the little guys.

Bound, which produces the Looplock food packaging closure system, claimed a product design gong at the Red Dot Award ceremony overnight.

The international competition, held in Essen, Germany, puts newly developed products before a jury of design experts.

The jury said Looplock — which creates an airtight seal on regular food packaging — was “as simple as it is highly functional”.

Beyond its functional appeal, its “colour palette is also highly appealing for modern households,” the jury added.

In a statement, co-founder Luke Hamilton called the recognition proof that small and independent businesses can compete with global juggernauts.

“We’re a team of two, and last night we stood on the same stage as the biggest brands in the world,” he said.

“Great design isn’t reserved for companies with thousands of staff,” he added.

Looplock is inspired by the rolltop system commonplace across outdoor adventure products, including dry bags used for river crossings and rainy crosscountry hikes.

It consists of a thin polymer band, which can be bent to fit around open packaging, and reset in hot water once the product is used up.

Bound sells the product in Australia and the US through its own webstore and on Amazon, and plans to introduce Looplock to the European market this year.

The Looplock was one of 15 Australian-designed products to earn Red Dot honours in 2026.

Michu Pet Supplies, which topped SmartCompay‘s own Smart50 list in 2025, earned a Red Dot award for its cat litter box.

The jury found the product “blends naturally into modern living spaces and impresses with its hygienic day-to-day functionality”.

And TernX, which secured the 2025 Smart50 Rising Star award, earned a Red Dot ‘best of the best’ award for its travel stroller that packs down into the size of carry-on luggage.

Other Australian winners for 2026 include cinema camera manufacturer Blackmagic Design, tapware brand Meir Australia, and medical devices company Micro-X.

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