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Packaging in the US
7 August 2023
How to disrupt your category and drive sustainability
Today, we want to highlight @cleancult , a brand of cleaning products that we noticed while walking through CVS. The violet TetraPack design caught our attention in the household cleaner section. The brand’s shift to the uncommon TetraPack for cleaning products aims to reduce plastic waste compared to category-established packaging formats. But, is it only beneficial ? What are the challenges and watch-outs when doing cross-category packaging?
🔀 Different levels of packaging cross-overs
Within a product group: Wine brands in Germany such as @abgefuellt.wein and @weingutgaller use a beer bottle for their products, hence replacing established wine bottle shapes. The use of the beer bottle makes it possible as well to participate in the German return system which reduces the environmental impact significantly.
Across product groups: @cofi_loco_coffee made it by using the glass bottles which are established for dairy products instead of the category standard of a vacuum-sealed bag. They use returnable glass bottles with the intention to make coffee consumption more sustainable and invented a sealing cap to preserve the quality of the coffee.
Across categories: cleancult’s approach uses packaging that is well-established for food and beverages for their cleaning product range. This is a disruption for their category, as they introduce a completely new packaging format.
💬 Safety considerations
While we appreciate the inventiveness behind Cleancult's packaging, we also recognize the potential risks it may pose. The resemblance of the packaging shape and design to beverages raises concerns, particularly for the safety of young children. This needs to be managed through packaging design and on-pack information.
🧩 How do we design packaging?
As we explore new avenues in sustainability, it is crucial to be innovative and disruptive to your product category. During the design phase, we ask, “How might we disrupt with novel packaging?” and “How might we leverage existing packaging to disrupt the category?”.
Are you tired of boring packing within your category? Write innovation in the comments to receive your link to book a call with us to asses your potential.
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