The Good Stuff

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The Good Stuff

School:Clemson University
Team:Kelsey Byrd, Noah Wigington, Clay Carson, Wayne Stevenson

What’s the first thing 150 million people in the United States do each and every morning? Make coffee! They reach inside their bulky K-Cup cartons and rummage around until they find the flavor they want, which, lets be honest, is a complete pain when we just want to get out the door on time. Redesigned K-Cup packaging by The Good Stuff not only saves us time and valuable storage space, but its gravity-fed dispenser will be the talk of the breakfast table.

The low-profile package occupies minimal countertop space and can, therefore, be tucked neatly beside one’s Keurig. Alternately, the slim structure can be stored in the cabinet or pantry. The gravity fed dispenser prevents the consumer from having to pick up or move the box to retrieve a cup. Furthermore, the packaging uses a combination of 100% recycled paperboard and clay-coated newsback. This type of sustainable paperboard allows us to print high-resolution graphics on the outer band while maintaining recyclability and biodegradability. Because the graphics on each base carton are the same, both time and money are saved during manufacturing when only the outer band is customized according to internal product.

By expanding the old K-Cup box structure and adding organizational channels, this solution provides a larger primary display to communicate necessary information to consumers at the point of purchase. Convenience is key when it comes to something you use seven days of the week. In a standard K-Cup bulk carton, cups are easily knocked around, damaged, and disorganized. The newly innovated structure takes care of all those problems for you. Each row of cups is flavor and color-coded for consumer convenience. Furthermore, each row is contained within narrow, elongated windows that allow the consumer to keep track of how many cups are left in each compartment. The opening in the bottom of each channel contains a ramp that slightly elevates the cup ready to be dispensed to facilitate product visibility, selection, and ease of use. When a channel runs low, refill cups can be easily loaded into the desired compartments.

Want to take K-Cups to work? No problem! The vertical perforated edge connecting the two dispensing halves of the package allows you to easily tear the two apart and take one on the go. The tear strip sealing the opening of the channels along this half can be torn off when you’ve arrive at your designation. This feature not only allows the cups to remain stationary in transportation but also affords structural versatility.