Don't Toy with Treats

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Don't Toy with Treats

School:University of Cincinnati
Team:Anna Eppihimer, Sara Claytor

Over 75% of consumers purchase a category in bulk. Bulk buying allows customers to buy a large quantity of items at one time to lower the overall cost. Dog treats are a popular item to purchase at bulk stores, as they don't expire quickly and are used daily. Milk Bone is one of the most popular treat brands, selling over a million boxes worldwide.

Hundreds of tons of cardboard are recycled yearly as the displays and carriers go unused after products reach the customer. For this reason, we propose a repurposed solution: Don't Toy with Treats.

We know dogs love to run and slip into their natural instincts, leading to chewing up furniture or expensive toys. Our response is a ball tosser that, when finished using, can be turned into a quick chew toy you won't feel bad about letting your dog rip up.

A secondary benefit is you don't have to feel guilty about purchasing many new toys every week for your pet, as Don't Toy with Treats is inexpensive to produce and therefore is cheaply sold.

Our Don’t Toy with Treats stands out from other dog toys on the market for many reasons. Not only is Don't Toy with Treats an environmentally friendly way to combat bulk store cardboard waste, but it promotes a responsible use of materials and sustainability. Our dieline is made from 100% corrugated retail packaging and incorporates many different entertainment methods for your dogs, such as a ball tosser and a rip-apartable chew toy. The repurposing of carrier packaging into dog toys helps reduce the amount of waste produced. To appeal to Milk-Bones loyal consumers, as well as new, the graphics were created to be cohesive with the brand and previous “treat carrier” use.

Our product was inspired and made possible by Emmy, an 8-year-old yellow lab mix who loves to rip up cardboard and chase tennis balls.

Design Rationale Document