Throwback Thursday — Love (for Better Packaging) Is In The Air

Nothing says “Valentine’s Day” quite like flowers, but nothing says “You’re sleeping on the couch tonight” like a bouquet that got smooshed on the ride home. Transporting such a delicate bundle has its share of challenges, and with millions of relationships across the globe on the line, you can bet your box of chocolates there are companies hard at work to help you hand-deliver that precious bouquet into the waiting arms of your loved one.

Swedbag is a Swedish producer of reusable bags, like the ones we use for grocery shopping. They recently issued a challenge to design students to bring fresh ideas to the packaging industry, and three students showed how transporting your Valentine’s Day flowers might be a bit safer in the future.

Rather than try to improve upon the flimsy plastic sleeves that most flowers are packaged in, the students went back to the drawing board and settled on cardboard as their material of choice. That allowed them to create a more stable solution that provides better protection for your bouquet.

First off, let’s tackle the obvious one here: when you’re driving home from the grocery store to prepare your Valentine’s dinner and take a turn a little bit too tight…  that nice steak you got from the butcher rolls over onto your flowers. If the bouquet were wrapped in plastic, it wouldn’t stand a chance, but thanks to the cardboard packaging it’s got much better odds of survival.

But this design is particularly thoughtful because it goes beyond simply changing the material. You’ll notice the package folds up at the top to make sure no petals get ruffled, and it does so without any tape or glue. That means it’s easily recyclable so that Mother Earth can feel the love, too. It also includes a handle to make sure it doesn’t get dropped on your way into the house.

Overall, these ideas are great if you’re trying to carry one or two bouquets… but what if you need to carry hundreds or thousands? That’s where Ernest can do the heavy lifting for you. We’ve been providing shipping and handling for clients since the 1940s, so whether you’re packaging up heavy machinery or delicate flowers, we’ve got you covered. Dig into our report, Ernest to the Rescue: Flower Packaging Comes Into Bloom, to see how we can help.