Think like a designer

In my everyday life, I like to watch the objects around me and think about how I would improve them. Yesterday, while I was eating some wafers with chamomile tea, a spontaneous improvement idea came to mind, so welcome onboard on my first case study!

Thesis

I am a big fan of the Loacker wafers, and I believe they are the best ones in terms of product, but not packaging. 🍫

Issue

Loacker sells its wafer in a plastic envelope, which is supposed to open from the top. This is far from easy. In fact, if you try to follow the instructions, you end up breaking the wafers because they are not elastic, and there is no room to bend the envelope. At this point, you have two choices:

1. You succeed in opening the packaging in the supposed way, but you end up with the first two couple of wafers destroyed and ready to spread crumbs all over the place;

2. You tear up the plastic wrap directly, creating a gash on one side.

Either way, once opened, you can’t close it again. So, if you want to eat a healthy quantity (consider that Loacker also sells the oversized packaging of 175g), the remaining ones will be soggy and chewy after the first opening.

Moreover, if you use the first method, to extract the wafers behind the first two, you must either destroy them if you don’t have the fingers of a tiny elf! 🧝

Solution

This is too much for wafer’s lovers and must end. The simplest solution I found is to add a pre-cut line on the perimeter of the pack except for one side and a flap on the shorter side, combined with an adhesive piece on the top, to keep it close and preserve the crunchiness. In this way, the packaging can be easily opened, closed and stored without damaging the wafers.

Implementation

I have written on LinkedIn to the CEO of Loacker; let’s see if the company is keen to improve and listens to its customers.

July 2022 update: no, it doesn't.