You’re surrounded by standard packaging designs. But there are so many ways to think outside the box. Here are seven examples of unique, award-winning plastic packaging designs.
1. Method Soap Bottle
Method’s soap bottles have earned a lot of attention for their sleek, eye-catching designs and their devotion to sustainability.
Method was a winner in the 2016 Dupont Diamond Finalist Packaging Award for creating a detergent bottle made from 100% post-consumer recycled (PCR) polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin in a market dominated by HDPE (high-density polyethylene) containers. Their new bottle also wins on sustainability, with a 35% lower carbon footprint and 78% lower life-cycle energy consumption than virgin PET.
Method received further accolades as the winner of The Die Line’s 2013 Home, Garden, & Pets Packaging Awards for creating the world’s first bottle made from recovered ocean plastic.
2. J & J Baby Powder Cap
J & J Baby Powder Top took first prize in the pharmaceutical packaging category in the 2015 Blow Molded Parts Competition for its unique take on a dispensing baby powder cap.
This blow molded flip-open polypropylene (PP) cap is sanitary and sustainable. By eliminating the label and shrink wrapping required for previous caps, it both improves costs and saves resources. The one-handed flip-top also encourages hygienic use.
3. Syngenta Cruiser Closed-System Seed-Treatment Container
Syngenta’s 15-gallon industrial drum for packaging insecticide has gotten attention for its sustainability and ergonomics.
The blow molded container won the 2014 AmeriStar Package Awards Competition in the industrial and commercial category. This closed system replaces a rotationally blow molded container and beats the previous incarnation on price, lead time, and transportation costs. It can be produced three times faster using 30% less energy. It’s also half the weight of the old model, making it safer and more convenient for consumers to lift.
4. Stack Wines
Stack Wines’ packaging won second place in the 2013 Blow Molded Parts Competition in the beverage packaging category for its innovative take on the traditional wine bottle.
Instead of a single glass container, four individual “glasses” made of shatterproof, recyclable PET hold a full bottle of wine divided between them. These glasses are molded to interlock and zip into a single, attractive sleeve. The PET is processed to look like glass but has the durability and lightness of plastic.
Not just a gimmick, the unique packaging also extends shelf life and offers a convenient, portable solution for customers on-the-go.
5. ThermaSet PET Food Container
Winner of the 2016 Dupont Diamond Packaging Award, ThermaSet’s blow molded PET food container has everything: it’s lightweight, 100% recyclable, and thermal resistant up to 300°F.
Its ability to take the heat makes it an ideal replacement for glass or metal, which are traditionally used to withstand such high temperatures. Its narrow design requires little shelf space and is easy for consumers to handle.
6. Super Lightweight Squeezable PET Packaging
The Ninho Fruti’s drinkable fruit yogurt container is enticingly shaped like a strawberry.
But clever design is not the only thing this container has going for it. Ninho Fruti won the 2015 World Packaging Organization’s Worldstar Awards in the food category for blow molding a lightweight squeezable food container that is as easy to use as it is fun. The package was lauded for using PET for small yogurt containers, which are typically made from PP resin.
7. Surecan Gasoline Can
Surecan’s 2.2-gallon gasoline can got the attention of the 2015 Blow Molded Parts Competition, winning in the consumer goods category, for three primary reasons.
First, the multi-layer blow molding process of the HDPE eliminates gas leakage. Second, the child-proof thumb trigger locks the gas easily, ensuring safety. Third, Surecan has relocated the spout — traditionally affixed to the top a gas can — to the bottom, allowing gravity to do its work and preventing consumers from having to tip a heavy gas can over to fill a tank.
Looking for more blow molding packaging ideas? Check out our carrying cases and packaging designs.