After developing the functionality of this commercially compostable packaging, the design team behind PepsiCo Design & Innovation created a consistent yet flexible visual system for on-pack sustainability communications for OTEP Compostable Snack Bags.
The design for OTEP Compostable Snack Bags has recently been awarded a 2022 Good Design Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
PepsiCo aims to be the global leader in convenient foods and beverages by Winning with PepsiCo Positive (pep+).
pep+ is a strategic end-to-end transformation, with sustainability at the center of how PepsiCo creates growth and value by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for the planet and people.
Frito-Lay is already making significant advancements in this area through their brand Off The Eaten Path, a line of light and airy snacks made with real wholesome veggies.
Off the Eaten Path launched industrially compostable bags this past Fall.
The bags are available at Whole Foods Market and select retailers and are an example of PepsiCo’s investments in breakthrough food packaging technology and the overall pep+ goal to design 100% of its packaging to be recyclable, compostable, biodegradable or reusable across their portfolio by 2025.
Producing the materials used for these bags creates approximately 60 percent lower GHG emissions than traditional packaging and the technology may be licensed to other companies at no cost to further the use across the consumer-packaged goods industry.
This design system needed to work across the entire convenient foods portfolio, but also had to highlight how this packaging is different, educate consumers on proper disposal, and build equity for Frito-Lay brands.
In order to achieve this, this compostable pack design had to be scalable across all brands, sizes, and channels.
The design team wanted to push boundaries visually while managing expectations, effectively reaching our target consumers, and following legal requirements for commercially compostable packaging.
Off The Eaten Path was the perfect brand to pilot these commercially compostable bags.
Finding new paths is in the brand’s DNA, starting with the ambition to turn real and wholesome veggie ingredients into an absolutely delicious chip consumers can feel good about.
This commercially compostable packaging, which looks the same as a standard chip bag, took many iterations to get just right for the pilot launch.
The design team faced a daunting task to communicate this innovation to consumers; since, in the past packaging has typically not been recyclable or compostable and the idea of commercially composting packaging is new to most consumers.
Beyond the consumer messaging, there were many rules and legal requirements to be taken into consideration.
On the front of the pack, it was important to keep the text and iconography to a minimum in order to develop the best system that could work across many brands.
The real work begins on back-of-pack, where the story told of this quite complex packaging in a way that is attention-grabbing and easy to understand.
After researching other sustainability initiatives, the designer determined that leveraging leaves as a motif was the best way to quickly convey a message of a more positive choice to consumers.
The bright, saturated yellow and orange colors nod to a bit of Frito-Lay’s personality in the visual identity.
Educating consumers about the packaging and proper disposal was of crucial importance.
Along these lines, the design team had to consider how to best incorporate a back-of-pack QR code in a fun and interesting way, which when scanned, further explains the story behind this newly developed packaging.
The QR barcode is nestled onto a bag sprouting out of a flowerpot, to convey the story of the packaging being plant-based.
Project: OTEP Compostable Snack Bags
Designer: PepsiCo Design & Innovation
Manufacturer: PepsiCo, Inc.
