RingPack co-inventor: Our portable food box is a dream for busy consumer lifestyles

25 Aug 2021 --- Portable food box innovation RingPack has secured a European patent and is now ready for market entry. The packaging design is distinguished by a novel lid that converts into a handle, facilitating convenient handling and transportation. 

The project arose from the need to find a simple, practical and environmentally sustainable packaging favoring multitasking, mobility and product consumption for the modern, busy consumer.

RingPack’s design is replicable in various sizes, materials and geometries, enabling recyclability, biodegradability and compostability.

PackagingInsights explores the ins and outs of RingPack with co-inventor Carlos Graça, as the US-based team searches for long term strategic partners to scale and grow the solution in international markets.

What unique design qualities enabled RingPack to secure its European patent?
Graça: The strong innovation that makes the patent possible is a design combining convenient consumption and transportation: a 2-in-1 solution. RingPack comprehends two roles in one object: the capability to contain materials and handle them on the move. It makes it suitable for mobility and consumption on the go.RingPack is distinguished by a lid that converts into a handle, facilitating convenient handling and transportation.

What are RingPack’s environmental sustainability benefits?
Graça: As a 2-in-1 solution, it makes dishes, cutlery and other table contents avoidable or unnecessary. The material savings can have a strong impact on waste reduction. Moreover, RingPack makes it possible to transform many plastic packs into recyclable or compostable products, which are under development.

What applications are RingPack designed for?
Graça: We believe the joint development of RingPack with brand owners, material suppliers and packaging producers will enlarge its capability to all food products. At present, we have prototypes made of kraft (paperboard) for snacks, popcorn and dry fruits, and PET for fruit and greasing food, but new materials allow improvements to be made that will enlarge the range to many more food products.

In what ways does RingPack appeal to consumers?
Graça: The main attraction for consumers is RingPack’s capability to facilitate consumption anywhere: on the bus, in a sports stadium, gym, school or public park. The big printing area allows creative brands to communicate in a deeper and differentiative manner. Today, brand differentiation and sustainability are strong drivers in consumption choices. RingPack allows for differentiation and marketing improvements.

Can RingPack be adapted for non-food products?
Graça: We believe so. It can be used for bolts or electric components, seeds and agricultural fertilizers, and many other products handled on the go. This is what makes RingPack so innovative. Furthermore, for these types of products, RingPack can be made with stronger materials that enable reusability.RingPack’s design is adaptable to numerous sizes, materials and geometries.

What stage is RingPack at on the road to commercialization?
Graça: We recently got the patent certification and are in the process of presenting and offering the idea. We are inventors with no past connection to the packaging industry. Due to the pandemic crisis, fairs and meetings were canceled, making it more difficult to showcase RingPack. The raw materials price instability and regulatory changes made the industry shakier and not so focused on creating new solutions. Still, we believe we have a strong opportunity to develop new materials and solutions to innovate and attract brands.

What role will industry partnerships play in RingPack’s growth?
Graça: We are looking for partners to improve RingPack and find new solutions in the packaging industry, becoming more sustainable and competitive. We are open to inquiries and partnerships in the long-term that will enable cost savings and environmental improvements for food consumption. Many formats are available, such as the pyramid, hexagon, octagon, allowing product differentiation. We hope to get the industry’s attention to leverage consumers’ feeding freedom: in the constant daily frenzy of home-work-gym, we are physically limited in our multitasking movements. It is not easy to use our smartphones while eating or handling other objects. Although we want to do it all simultaneously, we don’t have a convenient, clean and safe way to do this. We dream of having our hands free, and RingPack is the solution.

By Joshua Poole