Sunny Seeds

For my capstone packaging class I worked with 2 graphic communication students to bring an old idea of mine, a sunflower seed cup that easily hold both good seeds and used shells, to fruition. There were many problems I was trying to solve when designing this package. I have long been a seeds eater and whether while driving or on the go, it is difficult to have a separate cup just to spit the seeds while you are also pouring the seeds out of a flimsy bag. While it may seem simple, we went through many iterations to get to this design.

Product Requirements:

Be able to pour into hand or mouth using 1 hand
Resealable
Portable
Airtight
Portion controlled
Be able to distinguish which side has the good/used seeds
Keep the good & used seeds separated in one container
Fit in a cup holder
Stay open so you can spit/pour seeds
Can stand up
Used seeds not visible
Easily shareable
Tamper proof
Cheap
Small
Simple to use/mess-free/kid friendly

The cup is divided in two halves, good sunflower seeds and eaten shells, separated by a paper barrier that goes from top to bottom. We wanted to be sure that users didn't into the wrong side so we added multiple affordances: we made both sides different colors (not just the label, but the actual plastic container too), we used different shapes for the spouts, and we added pictures of what was supposed to go where. The main design innovation in our package is how the sides snap open to allow the placement of a label while also having two snap open spouts. We used the outer rim of the container as the place of connection. From our knowledge this technique has never been used to keep a container open.

After our market research of the sunflower seed market we realized that our product needed to be positioned much different than the regular sunflower seeds bags. Our product would cost at least double to manufacture than the simple PET ziplocks that seeds come in today. We needed to be a premium brand, charge much more, and go after a different group of people. We have seen a huge increase in the sales of organic, healthy snacks and decided we would position our product as a healthy snack alternative for kids in their lunches. This way we can sell the product in packs. Since most parents avoid sunflower seeds for children because seeds often cause a mess, we think our premium, mess-free seeds cup will make parents more willing to buy seeds a healthy alternative to chips.

Other Sunny Seed Items

First design: 2 sliding cups

Product Video