The power of the pack.
Ten principles of great structural packaging
Packaging has been fundamental to the welfare, development, and expansion of the human race.
Ten principles of great structural packaging
Often mistakenly thought of as an unavoidable cost to be minimised where possible, a brand’s packaging can be a powerful asset which consumers live with, interact with and experience ‘first hand’ every time they see it, hold it or use it.
The true power of great structural packaging design is that it can deliver multiple benefits to both consumers and brands, on many levels, often all at once.
This little book contains ten principles to embrace, when you want to harness the power of the pack.
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04 Great structural packaging
is a brand’s ambassador.
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principles of great structural packaging delivers additional functional benefits. Great structural packaging is efficient. Great structural packaging makes sustainability irresistible. Great structural packaging
Great structural packaging stands out from the crowd. Great structural packaging
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creates multi-sensory experiences.
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Great structural packaging is inclusive. Great structural packaging embraces the refill-ution. Great structural packaging meets future needs. Great structural packaging provides protection, portability and promotion.
Great structural packaging
provides protection, portabilty and promotion.
Structural packaging is a unique and powerful asset which can protect and preserve the products it contains, provide great functional benefits for consumers and deliver distinctiveness for brands.
Packaging enables us to preserve essential foodstuffs, beverages, and ingredients, allowing us to enjoy them year-round. It also facilitates the transportation of these items, allowing us to experience new and exotic produce from different parts of the world. This has expanded and enriched our diets and our lives.
From the Greek amphora to the wine box, the beer barrel to the beverage can, packaging has been part of our lives for centuries. It has continually evolved to meet our needs and the needs of the products it preserves, transports and promotes - becoming an integral part of how we use these products everyday.
Packaging’s
impact on our Planet is equally important.
For all the fundamental benefits that packaging has brought, there are many people for whom ‘packaging’ has become a dirty word – associated with plastic waste and environmental damage which needs to be eradicated, not celebrated.
Sustainability is a crucial challenge of the 21st Century. Packaging has come under increased scrutiny because of both the negative perceptions of the materials used to make it and how it is often thrown away after being used only once.
We create and throw away a lot of it!
We believe structural packaging can deliver a wide range of functional benefits for consumers, distinctiveness and relevance for brands AND help to reduce their environmental impact whilst improving the manufacturer’s bottom line through efficient design and engineering.
Great structural packaging
stands out from the crowd.
Structural packaging can be a key differentiator for a brand at shelf enabling it to stand out from the competition.
In a crowded marketplace, distinctiveness is crucial because you never get a second chance to make a first impression.
Unique physical packaging can help consumers navigate store shelves and find a product at the point of purchase. Whether through a distinctive silhouette, unique shape, special features or materials, challenging category norms with a unique structural package can set a brand apart from its competitors and enhance its visibility on the shelf.
For some brands, distinctive packaging is essential to their product presentation, transforming it into an iconic representation that builds a strong trademark for the brand. We often recognise everyday brands primarily through their unique structural packaging, such as the Coca-Cola bottle, Jif lemon, Marmite jar, and Chanel No. 5 perfume bottle.
Flonase
Client GSK
Description Allergy relief spray packaging
Date 2015
For the OTC launch of Flonase the aim was to disrupt the category in a highly competitive market.
The pack was designed to stand out against other brands, which were typically packaged in conventional carton boxes.
The distinctive and visually engaging secondary packaging delivers impact at shelf, allowing the primary pack to be seen and provides reassurance for the consumer about the product’s security and integrity.
Air Wick Filter & Fresh
Client Reckitt
Description Automatic aircare device
Date 2012
This innovative aircare device draws air in through a fan at the base, filters it, then mixes it with a premium fragrance to disperse it around the room.
The simple, elegant form explicitly communicates the key functional benefit without dwelling on the technology, allowing the device to sit comfortably in the home.
This distinctive form expression of the device’s function is consistently applied across the refill and secondary packaging, making the system easy to navigate by consumers on shelf.
Great structural packaging
is a brand’s ambassador.
Structural packaging has the potential to become an iconic symbol, a defendable equity and a valuable brand asset.
Distinctive and easily recognisable packaging effectively embodies the unique aspects of a brand while communicating its values, benefits, character, personality, and deeper meaning.
Our System One thinking brain relies heavily on subconscious messaging. We take semiotic cues from the physical world around us, long before we take in and consciously ‘read’ the details of type, colour and images.
Structural packaging designers can leverage these cues to convey subtle messages about a brand. This can involve enhancing the premium characteristics of a product, highlighting its natural qualities, or appealing to a specific target audience.
Budweiser Bowtie Can
Client AB InBev
Description Limited edition bowtie can
Date 2013
The Budweiser Bowtie can represents a significant leap in can shaping technology. This custom-designed can was created with the specific goal of broadening the appeal of Budweiser to new consumers, while also retaining the loyalty of existing brand enthusiasts.
To achieve this, an innovative aluminium can shaping process was utilised, resulting in cans that closely mirror the iconic ‘bowtie’ logo. By seamlessly integrating the brand’s symbol into the can design, Budweiser achieved a distinct representation of its identity, perfectly aligning with its core values and aspirations for growth.
Nutrition Shaker
Client Huel
Description Shaker bottle
Date 2021
Huel is a fast-growing company creating meal replacement products for those who wish to eat nutritionally complete food but lack the time. The brand has a huge following of loyal users who call themselves ‘Hueligans’.
This iconic and “Instagram-able” shaker bottle features a distinctive and recognizable silhouette with an off-centre, easy-pour spout and a “lanyard” handle.
It was designed for the brand to distribute to both its loyal and new consumers, who then took selfies with their shaker bottle and posted on social media.
Eno Bottle
Client GSK
Description Indigestion relief liquid bottle and sachet
Date 2013
For the launch of the new “ENO Liquid” product in the Indian market, a key differentiator was the choice of sales channels. This product would be the first to be sold outside of traditional pharmacies.
To set it apart from competitor products on the crowded supermarket shelves, new structural packaging was required. A unique multi-dose glass bottle was created to distinguish it from the brand’s powder product while maintaining a visual connection to ENO’s visual heritage.
Additionally, an affordably priced single-dose sachet was developed. This sachet reflects the same iconic silhouette and is designed to be sold on hanging strips in street kiosks, which are a primary point of purchase for many Indians seeking accessible and affordable relief from indigestion.
Great structural packaging
delivers additional functional benefits.
The consumer’s experience of a brand’s packaging does not end at the shelf. It can be the key to a delightful user experience at the point of use - the second Moment of Truth.
Structural packaging can significantly enhance and improve the way a consumer uses a product. Whether it is a means of pouring, dispensing, dosing or applying the product, or assisting opening, storing or reclosing it. Packaging has increasingly become an intrinsic part of the way people use a product and can elevate their experience of a brand.
Failing to deliver a delightful user experience can have an equally detrimental impact on a consumer’s experience of a brand. Packaging which is hard to open, messy or difficult to get all the product out of will have a negative impact on the perception of the product or brand.
Lucozade F1 Bottle
Client GSK
Description Lucozade F1 Driver’s bottle
Date 2012
GSK, the owners of the Lucozade brand, entered a 5-year performance partnership with the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 team in 2011. As part of the partnership, Lucozade were given the opportunity to design a unique drinks bottle for the team.
The Lucozade F1 Driver’s bottle was uniquely customised for Lewis and Jenson, with their names printed on the shoulder of the bottle.
The bottles were created and delivered to the first race of the calendar in just 4 months and stood out prominently in all pre-race TV coverage, when the drivers were seen drinking from them as they walked the paddock and prepared for the race.
Soft Republic Ice cream
Client Unilever
Description Soft ice cream at home
Date 2018
Unilever’s Soft Republic ice cream pouch delivers a ‘Mr. Whippy’ style soft ice cream experience, in the home and straight out of the freezer!
The handy sized pouch, with it carefully engineered nozzle was developed through a rapid iteration / prototype / test and development approach. It enables anyone to produce a pleasing swirling peak of soft ice cream, every time!
Great structural packaging
creates multi-sensory experiences.
Structural packaging is a key element of a brand or product that consumers hold in their hand and use everyday.
As more brands focus on their presence in the digital space, some are realising that they lack a physical connection with their users.
By considering every user interaction touch-point from a multisensory perspective, throughout the consumer journey, will help to build engagement, curiosity, and lead to richer emotional connections between the consumer and the brand. This is the enduring Moment of Truth.
This can have significant impact on brand perception, enhance brand image and engender passionate brand loyalty by creating delightful, distinctive and meaningful user experiences.
Axe / Lynx
Client Unilever
Description Deodorant body spray
Date 2014
By applying a concurrent engineering approach throughout the design process we were able to give the team confidence at an early concept stage, that the desired ‘magic’ of a new interaction design could be realised.
Through thoughtful engineering of the sensory elements, this “magic” is delivered in a high-volume, low-cost product. The new packaging was expertly crafted to generate a magical and delightful experience for the consumer.
The LYNX body spray can was the result of a close partnership with the Seymour Powell and the Packaging Development team at Unilever’s Global Design Centre in Leeds.
Great structural packaging
is inclusive.
Inclusive design is good design, making products and packaging more accessible to all.
Inclusive design is the philosophy that aims to consider people’s ‘reduction in functional capability’, making products functionally accessible and usable to as many people as possible.
This can include making it easier to open and get the product out; easier to apply it where you wanted it to go; control its flow; pour or spread the right amount on application and then reclose it after use - all while making the whole process less messy!
Inclusive design requires that we understand and consider all users’ capabilities both cognitive and physical, throughout the design process, to create products and packaging that are better experiences for all.
Voltarol Pain Relief Gel Pack
Client GSK
Description Voltarol ‘easy open’ cap
Date 2020
Voltarol pain relief gel is often used by those who find screw caps and other kinds of medical packaging difficult and painful to use. We designed a user experience that would be much easier and more comfortable to open. This was achieved by a sprung flip-top lid and the addition of a ‘soft touch’ material which enabled users to open it with one hand, a finger, the palm, or even the edge of a tabletop!
This highly inclusive design has been recognised with several awards, including the World Star Packaging Award, the German Packaging Award, the UK Packaging Award, a DBA Design Effectiveness Award and a Drum Award in 2020.
Otrivin Nasal Mist
Client Haleon
Description Otrivin nasal mist
Date 2023
Otrivin Nasal Mist is an innovative nasal spray designed to provide greater comfort and ease of use for people dealing with nasal congestion.
Its user-friendly, one-push button design makes the device more accessible and ensures ease of use for individuals with limited dexterity, hand strength, or for parents. Featuring a shorter, smoother and less invasive nozzle, it offers easier and more comfortable usage.
Developed through a seven-year collaboration between Haleon, Aptar Pharma, and DCA, the new device incorporates Aptar’s exclusive ‘Lateral Control System’ pump technology to dispense a gentle mist that remains in the nose without dripping down the throat.
Great structural packaging
makes sustainability irresistible.
Structural Packaging can play a key role in reducing the environmental impact of the products and packaging we buy and use everyday.
It is urgent and essential that we reduce the GHG (Green House Gases) generated through every step of a pack’s lifecycle - from the energy involved in creating it; the materials used to make it, the impact of transporting it and how it is re-purposed or re-used after its original function has ended.
The UK’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation is imminent and will place the responsibility of funding the recycling of a product, or its packaging, onto the manufacturer.
This change of responsibility should be a catalyst for manufacturers to reconsider the whole lifecycle of their packaging. It also creates a fantastic opportunity to find innovative solutions that will benefit the planet, as well as the consumers, their brands and bottom line.
The sustainability challenges and legislative changes we are facing, present us with great opportunities for innovation.
Client DCA
Description Re-usable, refillable solid-stick dispensing system
Date 2022
HEX is a refillable solid stick dispenser that reduces the materials required for single use packaging formats. Unlike other solid format refill systems, HEX refills only contain the solid formulation with no additional plastic components.
The dispenser is made from a durable material that is easy to clean and can be reused endlessly. This simple system uses a familiar twist interaction to deliver product continuously. Just slot in another refill into the base and keep on going.
Simplified interaction
Insert the refill into the base and twist. A simple two-step process to load and dispense.
Simplified dispense mechanism
A simplified two part drive mechanism that continuously delivers the product.
Zero waste
HEX’s refills are completely consumable and contain no plastic, resulting in zero waste after use.
twistMistTM
Client APS
Description Propellant-free aerosol
Date 2022
The world’s first twist-activated, propellant-free aerosol is designed to delight consumers while significantly reducing carbon. Officially tested and certified by Leeds Beckett University, twistMistTM is the most sustainable aerosol system on the market.
The globally patented twistMistTM spray delivers a soft, precise, elegant mist, from the first use to the last. It can function in any orientation, including upside-down, making it easy to apply to hard-to-reach places.
Great structural packaging
is efficient.
Efficient packaging is good for business and the planet.
Efficient design is by definition more sustainable design.
Packaging can and should be engineered to optimise its efficiency. Reducing the amount of material, optimising space utilisation and minimising shipping, storing and transportation costs can all help enhance the bottom line and reduce the environmental impact of a product and its packaging.
Cost savings can potentially be found at every point in the product journey. By considering how packaging smoothly and efficiently passes through the entire distribution system, from filling lines, to shipping and storing and all the way through to the supermarket shelf.
By optimising the packaging footprint - the space it occupies on a pallet, in a case and on the shelf can all achieve significant efficiencies in both Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and transportation costs. This also ensures that stock is always available for consumers, whether on the shelf or in an eCommerce distribution centre.
Ribena Plus
Client GSK
Description Ribena drinks bottle
Date 2012
For the launch of Ribena Plus, GSK sought to move away from its existing glass bottle with foil overcap, to a smaller PET bottle, which could still run down their existing filling.
The design drew upon the heritage of the original Ribena bottle, but brought a more engaging look and contemporary feel through accentuated curves for greater ‘grab-ability’.
By removing the iconic but un-recyclable metal neck foil and replacing it with a large neck label made it possible to remove the need for a second body label. This was done whilst ensuring the new 750ml bottle was able to work on existing 1litre bottle labelling equipment.
These smart changes dramatically reduced cost, improved the sustainability of the bottle and enhanced the brand image through a new manifestation of the iconic Ribena bottle design.
Sensodyne Mouthwash
Client GSK
Description Mouthwash bottle and dosing cap
Date 2015
The aim of the new structural packaging design for Sensodyne mouthwash was to improve impact at shelf and deliver improved usability. The bottle incorporates an innovative measuring cap that allows the consumer to ensure they use a 10ml dose of mouthwash, enabling all users to dose the correct amount.
The distinctive bottle shape was developed around a ‘lozenge shaped’ strong ‘concave raceway’ which accentuates the brands lozenge shaped identity. The inherently strong form also removes the problem of label panel distortion making labelling far more reliable so that high quality pressure sensitive labels can be applied, replacing the shrink sleeve on the previous bottle.
Great structural packaging
embraces the refill-ution.
The world is waking up to the sustainable benefits of refill systems which meet the needs of the consumer through reusable and refillable packaging systems.
The challenges of creating more functional, user friendly and inclusive packaging can often be at odds with the desire to reduce the amount and complexity of a brand’s packaging.
Brands in many categories are responding by switching to refillable formats to ease the environmental impact of single use plastics.
Moving all the beneficial, functional features of a pack to a durable, reusable ‘device’, one which can be kept and used over and over again, reduces the complexity of the primary pack to a bare minimum - a recyclable refill or cartridge.
Brands see benefits as refill packs can reduce shipping and storage costs, while maximising shelf utilisation in store. Consumers also see long-term benefits in trading up to premium re-usable dispensers with lower cost refills.
Many brands are seeing the potential of subscription services with refills pre-ordered on-line for ‘direct to consumer’ delivery. This can also lead to circular systems – taking back the used refill to be recycled or refilled and used again.
Clearasil Perfectawash®
Client Reckitt
Description No touch face wash dispenser
Date 2011
Clearasil’s PerfectaWash is a unique device and refill solution within the personal skin care category. An automatic facewash dispenser designed to accurately deliver the recommended dose for visibly clearer skin, without over drying the face.
This low-cost, high-volume device aimed to break down the stigma attached to teenage acne by making it part of the user’s daily beauty care routine. Utilising a bespoke refill and innovative valve mechanism, the system creates an interaction which is intuitive, gentle, hygienic and precise with no mess or waste.
Smart Nutrition Bottle
Client LifeFuels
Description Smart nutrition bottle
Date 2018
The world’s first smart nutrition bottle, LifeFuels turns ordinary water into a drink packed with natural flavour, essential vitamins and nutrients.
Up to 90 beverages can be made from 3 pods stored in the base. These enable you to personalise your beverages by adjusting the flavour and nutrients by selecting the number of shots you want to dispense.
The LifeFuels app. enables the user to unlock the bottle’s full potential. From dynamically tracking hydration and consumption, to goal setting and personalised insights.
Great structural packaging
meets future needs.
Through the introduction of versatile solutions, brands and manufacturers can anticipate and meet the evolving needs of their consumers and customers, opening up new avenues for innovation.
The landscape of packaging is undergoing significant changes. One such transformation arises from the shift towards eCommerce (D-comm) and the need to protect the product all the way to the end user, while still delivering a delightful and engaging ‘unboxing’ experience.
There is also growing momentum towards more sustainable refillable and reusable systems, reflecting the broader societal drive for more environmentally responsible solutions.
Furthermore, the potential for packaging to incorporate more digitally connected ‘smart’ solutions, presents an exciting frontier for innovation and consumer brand engagement. Structural packaging will need to adapt to these challenges and changes, as it has always done and embrace the opportunities for innovation that these new technologies offer.
Sakuru (circle)
Client DCA
Description Concept for a premium, personalised home cosmetics experience
Date 2020
A near term concept that envisions a likely world where digital technology and social media drive cosmetics to be more agile, creative and personal than ever before. Sakuru allows users to concentrate on the joyful aspect of make-up application, eliminating the negative aspects of mess, hygiene risks and packaging waste.
Sakuru uses existing dispensing and curing technologies to build up layers of liquid and powder make-up onto a reusable palette. One print contains exactly the amount of make-up, from foundation to eyeshadow, needed for a single application. Sakuru uses a reusable cartridge containing bases, pigments and additives which combine to create a huge range of colours and functions.
Great structural packaging can simultaneously deliver a wide range of benefits for a brand, whilst addressing current and future challenges.
Through aesthetic appeal and well engineered features, structural packaging can achieve delightful functionality, efficient manufacturing and positive inclusivity by being made both more physically and economically accessible - all while helping brand owners meet their sustainability targets through overall GHG reductions.
The ambition of creating more functional, user friendly, inclusive and sustainable packaging can often appear to be at odds with the desire to manage costs and reduce the amount and complexity of a brand’s packaging. Creating sustainable, distinctive, enjoyable, functional, efficient, user-friendly, and inclusive packaging is a complex challenge that demands specialised knowledge, skills and experience.
By embracing and building on these ten principles of great structural packaging design, the true power of the pack can be unlocked.
About us
DCA is a multi-award winning product design and development consultancy. Our multi-disciplinary team help global and local brands to grow by leveraging the power of structural packaging. Sustainable, inclusive packaging with memorable equities which consumers instantly recognise and enshrine the values of your brand.
Our team include sustainability specialists, usability experts and specialist structural packaging designers and engineers with decades of experience, who have worked with the broadest range of packaging materials and manufacturing processes.
We understand how to deliver distinctive, engaging and functional packaging which meets your technical and cost constraints. Be it primary, secondary, tertiary or eCommerce packaging, we know how to stretch existing constraints to deliver innovative pack solutions that create value for your business.
Over the last10 years we have won over 100 international awards and been 2000 patents granted over
How we can help.
Structural Packaging design is a specialist discipline, which requires mastery of a multi-faceted set of disciplines. To get to the right packaging solution requires close collaboration between marketing, design, R&D, packaging, manufacturing, regulations and supply chain teams at every stage of the design process to arrive at an optimal design.
DCA has an exceptional team of specialist structural packaging design experts, all with unparalleled experience in delivering award-winning packaging design solutions for our clients around the world. Our experience spans all sectors of FMCG / CPG as well as Consumer Healthcare brands for many of the world’s leading brands.
If you would like to discuss how DCA can help you unlock the power of your own pack, please get in touch!
Structural Packaging