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Industry award winning Borrubag

Forming and designing a service to win a national packaging design competition.

Winner of silver prize in Pro2Pac national Design Challenge 2019


Borrubag is a solution to single-use plastic packaging by creating a circular economy through food delivery. A consumer would keep the packaging from their last delivery and return it with the next delivery. The company then sanitises and re-uses Borrubag to re-package more food. The packaging has been designed to be modular. This means that food can be brought in exact amounts, wax labels can be washed and printed on and durable bags can be clipped shut for a water-tight seal.


The silver prize had been awarded in the Pro2Pac national Design Challenge 2019 due to the service design that eliminates single-use plastic within the food industry, something that has been seen as a necessary evil until now. This business model could be applied to any food delivery service with returning customers‭, ‬helping to reduce food packaging waste‭ (‬one of the largest single-use items to date‭).‬


To ensure that the packaging could be as user-friendly, environmentally conscious and cost-efficient as possible, some key features were added:

  • The overall design is very flexible‭ ‬allowing any other business to order tailor-made size and colour variations‭. ‬Each removable component is made out of one material making it easy to recycle within the company‭.‬

  • label is made out of a woven cotton‭, ‬this is then printed on with permanent‭ ‬graphics‭. ‬a layer of bees wax is applied to give it a grippy and self adhesive‭ ‬property‭. ‬In addition any prints put over this layer‭ (‬such as best before dates‭) ‬can be washed off and reapplied when food is repackaged‭.‬

  • PLA bag is designed for multi use‭, ‬far more durable than single use wrapping‭. ‬The bace is designed to support the packaging allowing it to be stored upright saving space‭.

  • clips are made from line bent acrylic sheets with a hinged rod to wrap the bag around‭.‬ wrapping the bag around the clip creates a vacuum seal making it waterproof and food safe‭.

Check out the illustrations below to see exactly how to create a circular economy within a packaging system, or listen in on my awards speech at the end of the competition event.


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