Sustainability
Eatables
All-in-one edible packaging design for ready-made meals.
Role
Product R&D
Videography
Team
Evan Thompson
Jaehyun Ahn
Katelynn Kyker
Moises Quintero
Food and beverage companies still package items in single-use plastics due to cost, complacency, and disconnection from customers. Despite rising demands for sustainable alternatives, the end-of-life responsibility for these products is still on the consumer. This leads to high (25%) recycling contamination rates.
Remove the recycling burden from consumers. Eatables instant food & beverage packaging is edible and dissolvable in hot water.
Eatables instant meals help minimize packaging waste without increasing recycling contamination rates and their associated environmental and financial costs.
learn how the packaging was made
How to Make:
1. Blend water, potato starch, soy lecithin, and glycerin together.
2. Transfer mixture to a saucepan and heat to a boil before lowering to a simmer.
3. Once mixture thickens, pass the mixture through a sieve.
4. Pour mixture onto a large, flat pan in a 1mm layer.
5. Coat mixture with a light sprinkling of spices.
6. Leave the mixture to air dry for at least 24 hours.
7. Once dried, remove sheet from pan and laminate instant ramen noodles.
Dissolvable Sheet Test
Working Prototype Test
Works-Like Prototype
Looks-Like Prototype
Overall, this project was an exercise in bringing a product from concept to refined prototype through multiple iterations as part of an interdisciplinary team. Alongside building upon skills in research (need finding, sustainable packaging practices) and rapid prototyping (optimizing sheet mixture), this project allowed me to gain invaluable experience in branding, marketing, competitive analysis, and pitching in front of experts from Harvard and MIT in materials science, design, and engineering.