MaxFruit
Packaging design for prunes
Project Type
Industrial Designer Degree
Date
2012 - 2013
Location
Santiago, Chile
Role
Industrial Designer Student
(Research with a partner)
Context
As our final project for our Industrial Design degrees, my partner and me, embarked on a collaborative exploration of innovation opportunities within the food industry. Recognizing the significant problem of childhood obesity in our country and a parallel interest in healthy food, we identified a compelling need for user-centered design solutions in this domain. This project allowed us to apply our design thinking to a relevant and impactful challenge.
Opportunity
Further investigation into the Chilean prune market revealed a crucial insight: while the country is a major global producer, domestic consumption remains minimal (only 1%). This low uptake appears to be driven by a limited variety of prune-based products available to consumers and a little knowledge about their health benefits. This situation motivated us even more to find out why our target audience, in this case children, does not include this product in their diet.
Research
To understand the real reason of why children do not eat prunes and why they are more motivated to eat certain products, we conducted several research methodologies. Our initial approach involved understanding current food trends, through our TrendyBoard map, we specifically exploring how children are eating and identifying relevant aspects that could be applied to our project. Trends like "Finger food" and "Food Design" were relevant in discovering how, through different elements and innovation, the basic act of eating is transformed into a fun and engaging experience for the user.
Competitive Benchmarker and Scenary Map
After analyzing our competitors, and regardless of whether they were beneficial or not for children, we were able to extract the different elements that motivated consumption, this was done through graphics, colors, textures, and shapes. We also identified that some physics elements help in the relation between food and children, making the experience of eating more plesent and funny.
We mapped the different products on a Scenary Map to understand how the prunes were positioned and identified our big challenge: moving from the boring quadrant to the Funny quadrant while maintaining the benefits intact.
With direct/indirect competitors
By observing the experience of consumption of different products, such as ice cream or Kinder Surprise chocolate, we were able to understand what users do, feel, think, and say while enjoying a snack. Beyond whether it was chocolate or crisps, we were able to identify the elements (from a design perspective) that support the user experience.
With the prunes
How was their experience with prunes? They didn't like them at all! After observing them, we realized that prunes, had a bad reputation due to their appearance, color, and texture, especially among children, who initially didn't even want to try them. But what was curious to discover was that once they tried it, they didn't dislike it.
Normal day
We also delved into the children's daily lives. How they feel during the day, what is important for them? What are they pain points? We also identified their preferences, what products they are consuming, and so on. For Business Opportunities, we also identified at what time of day they (or someone else) decide what to eat and what was the motivation to take that snack.
Persona
We identified our persona as a girl, 8 years old that lives in Chile and attends school. Her mother and a father lives separately (visits on weekends), and she loves her cat named Carlota. She has cousins who are 15 years old.
With a gentle curiosity, she watches and learns with keen interest. Yearning for the freedom to explore and grow on her own. A thoughtful student, she strives for understanding, though sometimes impatient.
Her heart finds its warmth in the love of family and the joy of friendship's bond. Full of energy, she moves through her days with a light and playful spirit.
To understand more about her interest and how to apply it to our design, we did an special analysis: Moodboard, Brandboard and Coolboard.
"I want to do what the big kids do and learn everything fast!"
Design_driven Innovation & Stakeholders
Our goal was changing the concept of prunes. We no longer wanted them to be a commodity; we wanted them to have value. To achieve this, we also needed support from stakeholders, for example, government programs that encourage the consumption of healthy foods, as well as prunes producers who wanted to add value to their products.
We created a Desing_driven map to visualize our role as Designers and how we interact with current stakeholders in the production and promotion of healthy foods for children.
"5 al día" a government-funded program that promote the development of good eating habits.
Insights
After all the research, we were able to obtain our conceptual design requirements. In short, we found ourselves in a scenario where we had to move the prunes from a boring and unpleasant experience for children to a more playful experience where they would take also the initiative to consume this product.
Design Requeriments
After recognising the project criterias, we identified the design requirements for prototyping the packaging. The shape, color, and characterization of a character were defined after a comparative synthesis of elements.
Colors such as green, purple, red, orange and yellow were known as common in children, rounded and bright shapes, use of characters with features similar to the cartoons they watch, were some of the elements we could identified after the analysis.
A product focused on children, considering their preferences and ergonomic parameters
Including an element that generates a dynamic interaction between child and prunes
A familiar design for children, where they can make their own consumption decisions
Use of clear, soft shapes, age-appropriate colors, and familiar cartoons
Proposal
"Transform snack time into an engaging adventure for kids with this thoughtfully designed prunes snack"
The product contain 5 prunes and is accompanied by a set of child-friendly tongs. This interactive approach empowers children to independently select and enjoy their prunes, fostering a sense of fun and control over their healthy snack.
By using the tongs, direct contact with the prunes is minimized, contributing to a cleaner and more appealing eating experience.
Max was the character created who demonstrates vitality and strength after eating prunes, which conveys a positive message to children.
Prototype and Usability test
The packaging and tongs were prototyping until the size and shape were appropiate for the target.
Usability test were conducted to make sure the design met the children expectations and I could guarantee an interactive and funny experience for them.
High Fidelity Prototype
The project ended with a high-fidelity prototype and the highest score in the industrial design program.
After graduating, we competed in design and innovation competitions, but since it was a food product that involved complex health processes, we paused the project and each of us followed our own professional paths.
Anyway, it's one of our best design project processes and a role model for our current projects. We will always remember how excited we felt when we found all the answers through research, observation, methodology, and understanding users' needs and behaviors.
Continue to see full project
Full Project Maxfruit
Context
Chile is the world's third-largest producer of prunes, but only 1% of total production is consumed in the country. This is primarily due to a lack of diversification and little knowledge of their nutritional benefits.
While Chilean children often opt for more eye-catching food that is usually high in sugar and fat, prunes face a perception challenge, especially among this target group, as their unappealing appearance makes children unwilling to even try them.
This presented a compelling opportunity for design innovation: transforming children's perceptions of prunes and motivating their consumption through carefully designed packaging. Our approach involved extensive research on the user experience and emotions surrounding prunes. We also analysed the impact of other less healthy products and identified behavioral patterns to apply to our project.
We used methodologies such as Competitive Benchmarking, Trendy Board, Scenario Board, Persona, various User Journey to identify also the Business Opportunity, by understanding how children perceived prunes and what product would meet their needs.
Strategic Solution
Project Gap
The Problem
Little added value and insignificance of prunes products
Prunes products lack the formal/Sensory attributes that would motive their consumption in children
General Objetive
To promote the consumption of prunes in children
Specific Objetives
User Experience
To create a fun experience linked to the consumption of prunes in children
Design Product
To generate a Product that adds value to prunes through the intervention of Design
Strategic
Create a product that is positioned among the current stakeholders involved in promoting the consumption of prunes
Strategic Solution
Generation of a packaging based on the consumption experience of prunes in children
(located within the government's healthy eating plans)
Research Process Block
Trendy Board
How people are eating now?
Competitive Benchmarker
What are they doing well, what can we improve?
User
What they do, say, think, and feel eating prunes? How is the experience with competitors?
Business Opportunity
Scenary Board
Persona
User Journey
Design_Driven map
(Strategic)
How are prunes perceived (and our competitors)?
Who are they?
Needs and behaviors
What do they do, think, say, and feel every day? Where is our opportunity?
What is our role in current programs to promote healthy foods for children?
How we play?
Trendyboard
Continuous demographic and social changes alter people's habits, interests, lifestyles, and expectations, which also impact their way how to eat. Therefore, an analysis of current food trends was conducted, and relevant aspects and examples were considered to contribute to the development of the project.
The project was situated within the current "food design" trend, which emphasizes the experience of eating, highlighting all the senses involved.
Competitive Benchmark &
Scenary Mapping
After analyzing some direct and indirect competitors, we created a mapping based on two key aspects: whether the product is funny or boring, and whether it is healthy or not so healthy.
We identified that most healthy products were in the boring-beneficial quadrant, and processed products were in the funny-unhealthy quadrant.
This analysis helped us understand why these products are fun for kids and what design and experience aspects we can consider to make them more desirable.
Persona
To better understand our users, we conducted a Persona analysis of a 7-year-old girl, considering four key factors: how they think, what they feel, what they say, and their behaviors.
To gain a clearer picture of their interests and the products they consume, we included the Moodboard, Brandboard, and Coolboard in the analyses. These results were key in defining the design requirements later on.
Usability Test & User Journey
To better understand the user experience, we conducted a usability test to understand children's motivations for consuming a particular product.
We delved deeper into what they did, said, and felt. With this Comparative Data, we were able to understand how different products, including prunes, make children feel, and we found that dried prunes were not a product the children would choose to eat on their own.
Business Opportunity
This analysis helped us understand a child's daily life and the moments in which they consume food/snacks, which translates into opportunities where the prunes can be present.
What should a typical day look like in a healthy environment for children
Key moments that were identified were during recess at school and in the evenings at home. We delved deeper into what they feel, do, and think while engaging in these activities.
Experience circle
We identified all the stages in which the discipline of design can be used to motivate the experience of eating prunes.
We identified four key moments where the discipline of design can be applied: in advertising, on point-of-sale (POS) shelves, through packaging, and through elements that facilitate interaction.
Specific Design_driven map
To make this project possible, we had to contextualize it within the country's social, economic, and political context.
This was achieved by identifying various key stakeholders, such as government programs focused on promoting healthy eating habits among children and dried plum producers.
Define
Requeriments
Conceptual definition
Synthesis
Proposal
Validate
Test
Prototype
Design
Criteria
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The product must be targeted at children, incorporating graphics and elements that capture their attention and stimulate their imagination.
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In addition to clarifying the benefits, it must include elements that mitigate the unattractive characteristics of prunes.
Requeriments
-
Use of small, child-friendly items. Clarity of information.
-
Clear and simple shapes, use of colors, and expressions familiar to children.
-
Implementation of elements that encourage the consumption of prunes.
Conceptual Definition & Synthesis
We analized different elements focused in children, like packing, caricatures, toys with the object to identify which colour, shapes, size, textures can contribute to the genesis of the product.
Proposal
Transform snack time into an engaging adventure for kids with this thoughtfully designed prunes snack.
The product features a transparent container showcasing the delicious fruit, accompanied by a set of child-friendly tongs. This interactive approach empowers children to independently select and enjoy their prunes, fostering a sense of fun and control over their healthy snack. By using the tongs, direct contact with the plums is minimized, contributing to a cleaner and more appealing eating experience.
Prototyping
Testing/Validiting
Final Design
