Four recent pack redesigns and what designers can take from them

Four packs and pack technologies made news in the past week or so, and each shows a different design lever: lighter material, a swap from plastic to paper, a new closure in moulded fibre, and removing the container altogether. Most of the figures below come from the companies themselves, through press releases and trade press, so treat them as company claims unless an independent source is named. All details are as of 6 November 2026.

The four examples at a glance

Example	What changed	Reported figure	Status (6 Nov 2026)	Open question
Cano Water, UK	Lightweight 473 ml aluminium bottle, designed for refilling	24 g, against comparable aluminium bottles over 60 g	Launching in selected Waitrose stores this month	How refilling is meant to work
Campbell’s, US	Plastic 2-pack carrier on Rao’s Homemade jars replaced with a paper-based clip; mixed-material layers removed from Prego PET bottles	Over 31 million Prego bottles made recyclable in 2025	On the market; Rao’s remaining formats due by Q1 fiscal 2027	Recyclable by design versus recycled in practice
Yangi, Sweden	Undercut (snap-fit) feature in dry-formed fibre, shown on a coffee lid	6 N lid removal force; seal held with a 93°C drink	Technology launch, to be presented 10 to 12 November	End-of-life and barrier data
innocent and Notpla, UK	Ginger shot in an edible seaweed pod instead of a bottle	None reported	Pilot trial	Shelf life, cost, scale

Cano Water: a 24 g aluminium bottle built for refilling

What changed. Packaging Europe reports that Cano Water is bringing a US aluminium bottle format to the UK, with a 473 ml still water bottle going into selected Waitrose stores in November. KamCity adds that the price is £2.50 at Waitrose (as reported on 4 November 2026) and that this is the brand’s first step beyond its canned water range. The bottle has a wider drinking opening and is designed to be refilled.

Why it works. The weight is the headline: 24 g, which Cano says is more than 60% lighter than comparable aluminium bottles weighing over 60 g. Cano also says it has never sold water in plastic bottles, so the format extends an existing material strategy and does not switch the brand’s supply chain.

Our calculation. (60 g − 24 g) ÷ 60 g = 0.60, a 60% reduction. Because the comparison bottles weigh more than 60 g, the saving is at least that figure, which matches Cano’s claim.

Trade-offs. The leads do not describe the closure, any liner or coating, or how a consumer is expected to refill the bottle, so the reuse benefit is unproven from what has been published. Nor do they give UK collection or recycling data for this bottle shape, and a bottle is not collected the same way as a can.

Lesson. Quote a lightweighting saving against a named comparator, as Cano does with its 60 g benchmark. If you also claim refillability, say what the refill route is.

Campbell’s: a paper clip for Rao’s jars and cleaner Prego bottles

What changed. In a newsroom post on recent packaging upgrades, The Campbell’s Company says 2-pack Rao’s Homemade jars used a plastic “dog bone” carrier that was not recyclable. It has been swapped for a paper-based Cluster-Clip, and Rao’s plans to move all remaining formats to this type of packaging by the first quarter of fiscal 2027.

The same post says mixed-material layers were removed from 38 oz and 45 oz Prego PET bottles in October 2024, which made over 31 million bottles recyclable in 2025. The bottle sizes are US fluid ounces; they equal about 1.1 L and 1.3 L.

Why it works. Each change targets the single feature that stops a pack being sorted and reprocessed: a plastic carrier that needs film collection in one case, mixed-material layers on a PET body in the other. Campbell’s says the paper clip also gives more ergonomic handling and easier removal, so the swap is a usability gain as well as a material one.

Trade-offs. The post gives no weights, so it can’t be said whether total material use fell. Campbell’s reports that 95% of its packaging was recyclable or industrially compostable by 2025. Investor group Green Century wrote on 14 July 2026 that, in its reading, this means designed to be recyclable and not recyclable in practice.

Lesson. A small component can decide whether a whole pack is accepted for recycling. Audit carriers, sleeves, barrier layers and labels before reworking the main container.

Yangi: a snap-fit lid in dry-formed fibre

What changed. Yangi, a Swedish company, has added an undercut capability to its Cellera dry-forming platform, according to Packaging Gateway. An undercut is a shaped profile that grips around an edge to hold a closure in place, a feature common in plastic snap-fit lids and hard to form in moulded fibre.

The demonstration piece is a coffee lid. Yangi’s own announcement gives a measured lid removal force of 6 N, and PulpaperNews reports that, according to the company, the lid kept its seal and shape in tests with a 93°C beverage.

Why it works. Cellera forms fibre without a water-based forming step. Packaging South Asia reports Yangi’s estimate that this cuts water use by 90 to 99% against conventional moulded fibre, depending on the baseline process. PulpaperNews adds the company’s estimate that a four-second cycle can yield 300 coffee lids per minute.

The closure is what lets fibre replace a plastic lid in practice. Packaging Gateway lists possible uses beyond hot drinks: ambient food vessels, cosmetics, confectionery containers, dessert and ice cream tubs, personal care packs and takeaway containers.

Trade-offs. None of the leads report a recyclability assessment, a barrier or coating, or a weight comparison with a plastic lid. The lid is a supplier technology demonstration, not a pack on shelf, and its fit depends on the matching container. Yangi will present it at the Sustainable Packaging Summit in Utrecht from 10 to 12 November.

Lesson. Closures decide whether a material swap is practical. If you are evaluating fibre for lids or tubs, ask for data on removal force, leak tests and end-of-life, as well as the headline material claims.

innocent and Notpla: a seaweed pod instead of a bottle

What changed. The Northampton Chronicle and Echo reports that innocent has teamed up with Notpla to pilot ginger shots in an “Ooho pod” made of seaweed, launched in the hamlet of Nobottle, Northamptonshire. The paper’s headline calls it a world-first, which is the organisers’ framing and not something the leads verify.

Why it works. For a single-bite product, the pod removes the bottle, cap and label. The report says the pod can be popped whole into the mouth, and Notpla describes its Ooho range as compostable and edible alternatives to single-use plastics.

Trade-offs. This is a pilot. The report gives no figures on shelf life, weight, cost or volume, and it does not say whether an outer pack is used. It also uses “biodegradable” for the pod and “compostable” for the range, which are different claims, so check which standard or certificate sits behind a given term.

Lesson. Where the product format allows, removing the container cuts material use at the source. A small, visible trial lets the team collect shelf-life and consumer feedback before committing to a line.

What the four have in common

Each change is specific. A named component (carrier, layer, closure, bottle wall) is replaced or removed, and a measurable property follows: grams, newtons, a count of bottles. Where a lead gave no number, as with the seaweed pod, the case is still unproven.

The open questions are also shared. Recyclability in practice, refill logistics and end-of-life evidence are missing from most of the leads, and those are the points a procurement or regulatory reviewer will ask about first.

Packaging Insights reports that Metsä Board has launched an initiative called Inboxing, created with Kathryn Kellogg of Going Zero Waste, to examine early design choices. It frames the work as trade-offs between product protection, consumer experience, cost, performance and environmental impact, which is a useful checklist to apply to each example above (Packaging Insights, Metsä Board launches initiative to optimize packaging design). Metsä Board sells paperboard, so its framing comes from a supplier.

What to do now

Set a baseline weight and material list for each pack you plan to redesign, then state savings against it, as Cano does with its 60 g comparator.
Audit the minor components first: carriers, clips, sleeves, closures, liners and labels. At Campbell’s, one carrier and one set of layers were the blockers.
If you evaluate moulded fibre, ask suppliers for removal force, leak and temperature test results, a recyclability assessment and PFAS test data. In the EU, PFAS limits for food-contact packaging have applied since 12 August 2026: 25 ppb for any single PFAS, 250 ppb for the sum and 50 ppm total fluorine.
Check any recyclability claim against collection reality in your target market. In the EU, recyclability grades A, B or C are required from 1 January 2030, or a set period after the Commission’s act, whichever is later. Check the official text or take legal advice before relying on a date.
For refill or reuse claims, document the system: who refills, where, how often, and what happens to the pack afterwards.
Run small pilots for unconventional formats and record shelf life, cost and consumer response before scaling.

Sources

Header image: illustration, AI-generated.