PROBLEM
While the iconic Pringles tube differentiates itself from its competitors with the shape of its container, it becomes difficult for users to reach the bottom of the tube and get all of the chips out.
The Pringles brand also uses 3 different sized tubes and small plastic to-go containers, reducing their effectiveness in production and their environmental friendliness.
The Pringles brand also uses 3 different sized tubes and small plastic to-go containers, reducing their effectiveness in production and their environmental friendliness.
SOLUTION
Redesign the Pringles® tube to make accessing all of the chips easier as well as eliminate the need for multiple different packages.
RESEARCH
In order to fully understand the problem at hand, we did an audit of the products Pringles currently produces and compared it to similar packaging from competitors.
Many brands have incorporated tube-style chips into their own lines. However, none of these brands have solved the issue of reaching the bottom of the tube effectively or having to repackage snack size portions in different containers.
We began to look at how other people have hypothetically solved this problem as well as some products that utilize features that we would want to mimic in our designs.
As a group, we began sketching out our thoughts. We then narrowed down our brainstorm into three main ideas and sent out a survey asking users their preferences.
PROTOTYPING
Even though it got second place in our survey, we still wanted to explore a collapsible tube.
Our idea with the first prototype was that twisting the tube would cause it to fold in on itself and shrink down to a more manageable size. We used posterboard and matteboard for this prototype and laser-printed it with help from our PDET partner, Katie.
Our second prototype involved replacing the center of the tube with a collapsible material. These prototypes were created with supplies including retractable ducting and plastic tubing similar to that of a bendy straw.
THE TURNAROUND
We watched a movie in class called Objectified, and we realized we needed to stop over-engineering and focus solely on executing our original idea, the perforated tube.
We also realized that with this design, we could take the three sections that the can is perforated into, give them a bottom and a cap, and package 3 different flavors together. This would also eliminate the need for separately packaged “Grab & Go” containers that Pringles currently carries.
With the perforated tube in mind, we realized we would have to create a new lid that wouldn't need to grip to the top "lip" of the tube.
We discussed the idea of ditching the lids altogether and focusing on foil seals as well as stacking three lids together that could be broken apart when the user needs them. However, it was during a Zoom meeting when Hannah came up with the idea of the lid fitting to the inside.
Our PDET partner Katie quickly whipped up a rendering of this kind of lid. This design included a tab on top that could easily be popped in so that the user can reach their finger inside and lift the top out.
We began to look for best practices regarding this type of tube and lid, and ultimately settled on an idea very similar to a poster or shipping tube.
Katie then 3D printed the cap for us to prototype with.
We began to prototype how we would pull off the perforated tube. We tried tons of different ideas and ultimately found our final iteration that we could put a label on and test.
THE LABEL
We wanted to keep the new design similar to Pringles® current label, but with an introduction to the new tearaway tube as well as perforation lines to show where to tear.
We used the Pringles® man's emotions to emphasize each of the different flavors in the Party Packs.
THE FINAL RESULT
With both the lid and label ready, we were able to mock up our final idea and create physical prototypes.
Renderings were created using Adobe® Dimension.
Final physical prototypes were shot in the classroom by me.
TESTING
For the single flavor tube, we cut the Pringles tube into three equal parts, taped them back together using masking tape, wrapped it with a label, and then perforated both the masking tape and the label.
For the 3 flavor tube, we did the same thing but included a lid and matteboard bottom to each section of the can before taping it back together
We had colleagues test the physical "pop" of the tube. It was nice to see the perforations worked well and the product torn cleanly and effectively.
We also took our prototypes to the store where they could be handled by actual users and received lots of positive feedback about our design.
We even had Deb Cascioli, a former product manager for Pringles, take a look at our design:
"That’s a great idea as long as the package would be cost neutral! They really beat up the suppliers to maintain cost, that brand is a huge machine/money maker. Spot on regarding the short cans and negative environmental footprint, they are also slower to run at the plant and slow the entire line down."
NEXT STEPS
In the future, want to look at how we can expand the implementation of this new "tearaway" branding into things such as social media and tv spots.
