Product design students at Nottingham Trent University have come up with a range of innovative packaging ideas for Nestlé chocolate bars. Nestlé challenged students to reinvent the buying and consuming experience for its chocolate and has selected three packaging solutions, elements of which are now being explored for development into production.
Students spent six weeks on the project – looking specifically at 160/170g bars – following an initial briefing by Nestle’s packaging team. Representatives from the global company provided support and market insight throughout the project before students presented their design ideas at Nestle’s Product Technology Centre in York, Nestlé’s global centre for confectionery research and development
The winning student was Jack Fisher, whose design involved the development of innovative approaches and considerations to opening the ‘primary’ chocolate wrapper. Jack carried out focused research and testing to arrive at a solution which was intelligent and creative. Runners-up Caitlin Clarke and Callum France, meanwhile, produced an innovative ‘printed’ solution and a clever ‘secondary’ packaging design involving original folding techniques, respectively.
The students’ ideas are now being used as preliminary work to be further developed by Nestlé.
“This has been a really exciting project, and both Nestlé and ourselves have been extremely impressed by the quality of students’ design ideas and approaches,” said Jamie Billing, senior lecturer in product design in Nottingham Trent University’s School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment.
He said: “Many of our talented graduates are employed by Nestlé across the globe and a current student, Emily Boniface, is now on placement with the organisation. The project has been a great way to develop our relationship with the company even further. It would be a fantastic achievement for these current students to see elements of their work landing on shop shelves and real testament to the level of effort they have contributed to the project.”
Ben Mortimer, principal packaging designer at Nestlé, said: “It has been a pleasure working with Nottingham Trent University and we were really impressed by the ability of the students to deliver innovative packaging design work within a tight timescale.”
All the winning students received awards, and Jack Fisher has earned himself a two week work placement with Nestlé in York.
