The desire for portion control in a packaging solution has been a common theme with brand owners and manufacturers alike. With health matters like obesity and environmental factors such as food waste, packaging that could also deliver on measuring portions would clearly be beneficial to the end-consumer and the planet.
As part of a long-term strategy to drive and deliver affordable innovation to their customers, the design and technical team at the Alexir Partnership have developed a resealable pack that doubles up as a measuring tool for dried foods such as rice, grains, seeds, legumes, pasta, cereals, protein powders, chickpea flour, functional foods etc.
The constructional designers in Alexir Creative were tasked with developing a pack that could be manufactured and glued on the gluing lines, delivered flat to the customer for simple assembly and easily opened and resealed by the end customer. It was months of work and revisions to be able to achieve every objective. The lid was a particular challenge and is made as a one-piece with multiple glue flaps to create the collar that would become the interlocking seal. Notches were added to one of the panels to enable the consumer to tear off the concora strip in one easy action.
Dried food is notoriously difficult to measure and often, without an appropriate means to weigh dried food, much of it will end up in the kitchen bin. The pack has been designed so that measurement lines can be embossed on the inside of the lid to make it easier for consumers to measure servings for each person. This dual-purpose pack eliminates the need for a secondary measuring tool such as scales, scoops, spoons and jug.
Once opened the lid can then be placed back on top of the pack as a storage option until the next time it is required. It is a smarter and more compact option to a bag that will hold its shape and, more importantly, not spill the contents. It will also contribute to keeping the food fresher for longer.
This new measuring pack is made from folding box board and is 100% recyclable. Every panel on the outside and inside can be printed so there is plenty of opportunity for branding. A design registration was applied for at the end of last year with a Patent Application No. GB2019135.9
Bex Enticknapp, Senior Constructional Designer, says “There were many revisions to this pack as production considerations came to the fore. Once we had resolved these issues, we then had to consider the ease of use for the consumer. We are pleased with the result and confident that the pack will be an asset to the ambient category”.
