Project Five Brief – Package Redesign

Client:  TBD - I chose Pregresso Soup
Location:  TBD
Owners:  TBD

Description:

Project 5: Package Redesign

For the final project, I want you to go to a local grocery store and put your design research skills to the test. Find the packaging system that you think is the worst-designed and most ineffective. It can be any product you choose.

Once you choose your product, I want you to redesign the system in a more creative way. In addition, you should consider products that are over-packaged. According to the Institute of Packaging Professionals, an overpackaged product is “a condition where the methods and materials used to package an item exceed the requirements for adequate containment, protection, transport, and sale”

You must include a minimum of 3 products that work within the system you design. Think about developing a variety of products in the system with different textures and materials. Maybe one product that is boxed, one that is bagged and another appropriate type of container.

Sustainable Packaging Design
Effective sustainable packaging needs a holistic packaging design strategy. This means identifying opportunities for elimination or reduction, evaluating sourcing practices, optimizing for efficiency and transport, and working towards material health. It also means redesigning packaging to address some of the most urgent drivers of climate change – for example, the food waste in retail and consumer’s homes.

Ultimately, food waste and packaging are part of a complex system of food production, distribution, and consumption. This includes where the food is grown, how it is collected and distributed, and how it is marketed in stores. Food waste also depends on shifting consumer behaviors and attitudes towards eating at home and on the go, as well as tastes, trends, and perceptions of the environmental and economic cost of food waste. Creating a more sustainable food system will require analysis of resource inputs and greenhouse gas emissions from farm to fork.

Portion and Pack Sizes
A wider variety of pack sizes for all kinds of foods helps to address new trends in household size, purchasing habits, and awareness of appropriate portions.

Resealability
Consumer demand has increased the desire for both convenience and sustainability.

Active & Intelligent Packaging
Active and Intelligent packaging are two strategies of using packaging technology to reduce food waste. “Active” packaging works to further extend shelf life of a product, while “intelligent” packaging works to communicate product quality.

“Compostable packaging is an increasingly popular form of sustainable packaging. It protects food products similarly to regular packaging, displaying the properties and resilience of traditional materials, however it breaks down fully in the ground into beneficial organic compost.

Sustainable packaging is any type of eco-friendly material used to wrap, store, ship or shelve products.”