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Nelumbo
NotplaPackagingTeam of four

Nelumbo

Plastic-free takeaway packaging in Notpla’s compostable material, designed to pack, stack and deliver efficiently while making takeaway feel beautiful.

Nelumbo containers holding sushi, poke and biscuits on a picnic blanket
Problem
Takeaway packaging is mostly plastic, and it is designed around the kitchen and the courier, rarely the person eating.
Approach
Folded dozens of paper forms to find shapes and lids that pack, stack and travel, then printed graphics onto Notpla and cut and creased it on a ZÜND.
Outcome
A family of hexagonal, petal-lidded containers that go in the compost, shown in a short film.
Role
Packaging designer
Timeline
Studio project
Team
Momoe Ishibashi, Dionne Warner, Wynona Buslotan
Tools
Paper prototyping, CAD, ZÜND cutter, Film

Skills

  • Packaging design
  • Paper engineering
  • Graphics
  • Storyboarding

Phases

  1. 01Observe
  2. 02Experiment
  3. 03Develop
  4. 04Produce
  5. 05Film

01 / Experiments

Folding to find the form.

Early experiments built in improvements from observing people eat, such as rounded corners that make a rice bowl easier to finish.

  • Folded paper packaging experiment 1
  • Folded paper packaging experiment 2
  • Folded paper packaging experiment 3
  • Folded paper packaging experiment 4
  • Folded paper packaging experiment 5
  • Folded paper packaging experiment 6
  • Folded paper packaging experiment 7
  • Folded paper packaging experiment 8
  • Folded paper packaging experiment 9
  • Folded paper packaging experiment 10
  • Folded paper packaging experiment 11
  • Folded paper packaging experiment 12
  • Folded paper packaging experiment 13
  • Folded paper packaging experiment 14
  • Folded paper packaging experiment 15

02 / Development

Testing shapes and lid attachments.

Hexagonal forms were developed further, with variations testing how a lid locks on and how containers nest and stack.

  • Hexagonal container and lid development 1
  • Hexagonal container and lid development 2
  • Hexagonal container and lid development 3
  • Hexagonal container and lid development 4
  • Hexagonal container and lid development 5
  • Hexagonal container and lid development 6
  • Hexagonal container and lid development 7
  • Hexagonal container and lid development 8
  • Hexagonal container and lid development 9
  • Hexagonal container and lid development 10
  • Hexagonal container and lid development 11
  • Hexagonal container and lid development 12
  • Hexagonal container and lid development 13
  • Hexagonal container and lid development 14
  • Hexagonal container and lid development 15
  • Hexagonal container and lid development 16
  • Hexagonal container and lid development 17
  • Hexagonal container and lid development 18

03 / Technical

Dielines, printed and cut on the ZÜND.

Graphics were printed onto Notpla with locators, so each sheet could then be cut and creased precisely on the ZÜND.

Technical drawing
Dimensioned dielines for the bowl and lidBowl dieline with printed Notpla graphics and disposal instructions

Bowl and lid dielines, and the printed graphics telling people to rip it up and compost it.

Bowl net
270 mm
Bowl net
Lid net
179 mm
Lid net
Hexagonal base
120 mm
Hexagonal base

04 / Film

A film to take the idea beyond the studio.

We storyboarded a short film to show the concept to a wider audience: from ugly takeaway, to a shared meal, to packaging that returns to the soil.

  • A takeaway bag handed over at the door
  • Plastic and foil takeaway containers on a table
  • Title card: takeaway does not have to be ugly
  • Eating a poke bowl from a Nelumbo container
  • Opening the petal lid of a container
  • Nelumbo bowls stacked inside one another
  • A paper bag handed over in the park
  • A table of sushi and noodles in Nelumbo containers
  • A picnic spread of Nelumbo containers
  • A colourful shared meal from above
  • Reaching for food across the table
  • Friends toasting over the meal
  • Friends sharing food on a picnic blanket
  • Passing dishes during the meal
  • An empty Nelumbo bowl after eating
  • A used container placed on soil
  • The container torn into pieces in the compost
  • Plants growing where the packaging broke down
  • Title card: beautiful packaging that disappears
  • Nelumbo logo

05 / Outcome

Beautiful packaging that disappears.

Nelumbo containers holding sushi, poke and biscuits on a picnic blanket
  • A closed Nelumbo container standing on its side, showing the printed Notpla base, beside a lid
  • The Nelumbo family of white and kraft petal-edged bowls and trays
  1. 01

    Plastic-free

    Notpla’s natural seaweed coating replaces plastic, so the whole container can go in the compost.

  2. 02

    Packs and stacks

    Hexagonal bowls nest inside each other and lids lock on, for efficient packing and delivery.

  3. 03

    Worth eating from

    Petal lids and printed details make takeaway feel closer to a dining experience.