Student Gold Pack Packaging: Grounded

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I selected the Eco-Crisps brief because I have always been concerned with the sustainability aspect of packaging design and particularly that relating to food packaging – which often cannot be recycled due to the oils that seep into the material. After further research into the brief and discovering that standard foil chip packets consist of layers made up of 3 different types of plastics and therefore make them impossible to recycle. I am interested in exploring ways in which food packaging can be designed in such a way as to make it more sustainable and explore the use of plant-based materials for packaging.

The needs and considerations I identified for this brief were that contaminants and moisture need to be kept out, the crisps need to be kept fresh, longevity of the contents needs to be ensured, crisps need to be protected so that they don’t break during transit and the packaging needs to be recyclable and/or compostable. My target audience are people between the ages of 18 and 28, health and eco-conscious individuals as well as vegans.

My packaging design is for a large (125g) sized chip bag. I decided to use the traditional chip bag shape because I felt that as a packaging concept it meets all the requirements of packaged crisps – as mentioned above – and its flaws are rather in the materials used that make the packaging non-recyclable. Due to my packaging using the traditional chip packaging shape and opening method, it is not resealable and the emphasis is on the material used to create the bag – potato starch.

Flavours

I found potato starch would be an appropriate material to use because it is sustainable, but also durable enough to contain the nitrogen gas used in chip packaging to keep the crisps intact during transit. Potato starch is derived from food industry waste, which means that no crops are grown specifically to obtain it. It is not used for food consumption and the energy used to manufacture it is less than that used to manufacture plastics, making it 100% compostable and biodegradable as well as a more sustainable packaging material than a plastic-based material. It contains no oil-based materials, plastics, or harmful toxins. The packaging has a silky feel to it and is somewhat transparent – but not entirely. It can also be printed on and offers a variety of bright hues.

After taking into consideration the possible effect of oil fried chips on the durability of the packaging, I decided that Grounded’s vegetable chip range would be air-fried and thus avoiding oil entirely. Branding would be printed directly onto the material using eco-friendly inks such as a soy-based ink made from soybeans as opposed to a petroleum-based ink, it is more environmentally friendly and provides a wide range of colours. I also found using a soy-based ink would not interfere with the biodegrading or composting process that would take place at the end of the bag’s life cycle. I found the most appropriate sealing method for my packaging would be to heat seal the top and bottom and use a vegetable glycerine for the left and right panels that seal in the middle at the back of the bag. I found a vegetable glycerine would be most appropriate as it would not hinder the biodegrading/composting process, and the brand is marketed as vegan and would therefore not be able to make use of an animal-based glycerine.