Baketress

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Baketress

School:Portfolio Center
Team:Tara Segall, Brooke Southerland, Carolina Colombo, Annabel Doyle, Alexandria Skainey

Once just the domain of Southern grandmothers and specialty chefs, the baker’s
kitchen is becoming a mainstream venue for self expression and family fun.
With celebrities like Taylor Swift and Giada De Laurentiis bringing cooking
back to cool, there’s a dearth of innovation when it comes to the packaging of
baking staples, most notably, flour.

The simple paper packaging characterized by the vast majority of flour brands
creates a number of inconveniences for the consumer. From store shelf to
countertop, the paper does a poor job of containing the product. Consumers are
left with a dusting of flour wherever the package travels; flour leaks from folds
in the paper and opening the bag takes careful precision to not rip it apart.
Attempting to pour the flour out of the bag has disastrous results, with flour
spilling out, unbridled by the flimsy bag, causing waste and mess for the
consumer. Scooping out flour is no solution with the current packaging, as the
tall, deep form requires consumers to put their entire hand in the package,
creating unsanitary, messy and awkward dispensing and measuring.

Our goal for this repack was to address each of these design flaws. At the same
time, we wanted to keep down costs, promote recyclable materials and create a
simple aesthetic that would be pleasing to an audience of progressive female
bakers; we call them “Baketresses.”

The redesign for “Baketress Flour” packages the typical 2lb volume of flour in a
paper carton that is rigid enough to hold its shape yet flexible enough to hold
and pour from. The updated form takes its cues from boutique bakery boxes and
the inverted triangle created by rising baked goods, a form also reflected in the
graphic design. The Baketress box stands out from the crowd of flour bags while
occupying a similar footprint on-shelf, and can be set up on its end or stacked
on top of one another, leaving room for grocer error in display.

Sealed for freshness with a simple peel-back sheet, the box maintains its
security after opening with a tight lid that slides down over the base and makes
contact with the lip cut into it. The box sides are folded into the inside of the
form to prevent flour from escaping through the corners. The cut-away form of
the lid mimics the gentle slope of a scooping action and leaves the lid secure, yet
easy to grasp and pull off when you’re ready to bake.

Wide and shallow, the Baketress box provides a comfortable area for scooping,
regardless of the size of the measuring tool, and keeps both the baketress’s
hands and the box of flour clean and tidy.

A gentle spout folded into the box’s form makes controlling the flow of flour
easier when pouring, while the flexibility makes holding the package
comfortable and manageable.

The Baketress box allows the flour to be easily scooped, poured, and contained,
encouraging clean, happy baking for all current and aspiring baketresses.