Within the Master program, packaging design is one of my favorite subjects. The course ‘Packaging design & management’ revolved around an individual assignment in which we had to design a packaging for consumables. It was very broad in the sense that there were no limitations in form, materials and brands. I decided to design a packaging for the brand Graham’s Port that specialises in port wine.
Environmental Footprint
Currently, Graham’s Port packages their port wine in amber glass bottles. Analysing the port market, this is the most common way of packaging this beverage. Their packaging reflects the luxuriousness of port wine, which also resembles the high quality. However, the production of glass bottles is accompanied by high CO2 emmissions. In order to reduce this environmental footprint, one could opt for the ‘bag-in-a-box’ concept.
This concept has significant lower CO2 emissions when taking into account the production, botteling process and material selection. Other advantages are extended product shelf life and longer quality and aroma preservation. Also, it is easy to use and it would stand out from the other port wines in the store.
Concept
One of the requirements for this assignment was to implement a non-food item in the packaging. This is why I decided to create a packaging that functions as a gift box simultaneously. The packaging contain Graham’s organic LBV port, together with two port glasses. The port is packaged by using the bag-in-a-box packaging principle, in which the glasses will also be stored. It is aimed towards young adults that want to experience the refined taste of organic port.
I worked out this concept in such detail that it is practically ready for manufacturing. I took into account the legislation regarding food packaging, made a production plan, worked out the filling process, considered the secondary and tertiary packaging, and calculated the cost estimation. This resulted in the product being ready for logistics.
My Experience
The fact that there was a lot of creative freedom in the assignment made it very exciting for me. During my market research, I came to realise that the port wine sector is very conservative when it comes to the way port wine is packaged. Although my concept may be ‘out of the box’, I think it can be an innovative direction for Graham’s Port. Furthermore, it was valuable to consider all aspects in order to make this packaging market ready. For example, I came to realise that the development of packaging comes with many legislations adn technical details that need to be taken into account. I enjoyed working on this assignmnet & it gave me a good perspective on implemeting packaging design principles into a practical application.
