Ketchup Sachets

Design: Ameya Mistry
Location: India
Project Type: Student Project
School: MIT Institute of Design
Packaging Contents: Ketchup/ Sauce/ Condiments
Packaging Substrate / Materials: Polypropylene
Printing Process: Flexography

Consider those plastic packets of ketchup which we use at fast-food restaurants. Ketchup sachets use foil and plastic for packaging which are fused together. The materials cannot be separated and consequently hard to recycle. Given how hard they may be to recycle, it is now no longer unreasonable to trust that few, if any of them, ever are recycled and ended up in landfills.

The existing design is additionally not ‘comprehensive’ that is several users aren’t able to use it properly. According to my research, most of the individuals preferred dipping food in ketchup which was in no way doable directly from the packaging however had to be taken out on something else like tissue paper etc. Difficulty directing ketchup with sufficient precision onto the desired area of a food item or dipping location, Difficulty in dispensing ketchup from certain, regions of the sachet, e.g., corner areas, undesired expulsion of ketchup from the sachet immediately upon opening, in some cases resulting in ketchup to spill from the sachet onto fingers, clothing, a restaurant table, Difficulty in tear initiation, Tendency of the sachets to tear in unexpected directions in response to manual opening force, were some other problems. So the new design had to tackle three main aspects it should be easy to use, Eco Friendly and Inclusive i.e. should be able to satisfy both types of users one who prefer dipping and those preferred squeezing.

The new design is trapezoid in shape. This design helps to tackle two jobs at the same time, making the design tactile or inclusive, unlike a regular cuboid, the trapezium has two parallel sides which are of different size. Which for example for a visually impaired person would be helpful to understand which side is for dipping and which is for squeezing. Second, it forms a funnel-like structure with a wider opening at one side and a narrower opening on the other. The wider opening can be used for dipping while pressing down on the sides to make it wider.

It also has to tear notches which help in the tear initiation. The package is torn, starting from the notch in order to open it which resolves the tendency of the sachets to tear in unexpected directions. A Mono material packaging made up of polypropylene is used. PP exhibits high resistance to cracking, acids, organic solvents and electrolytes and is non-toxic and allows it to be 100% recyclable.