CN114981173A

CN114981173A - Premium shipping of self-contained package packets for consumer packaged goods

Info

Publication number: CN114981173A
Application number: CN202180009192.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 维德胡·纳格帕尔
Original assignee: Mars Inc
Current assignee: Mars Inc
Priority date: 2020-01-16
Filing date: 2021-01-12
Publication date: 2022-08-30
Also published as: WO2021146167A1; US20230038262A1; EP4090603A1; EP4090603A4

Abstract

Shipping packages and methods of reducing packaging waste resulting from shipping packaged products are disclosed. The shipping package includes a body defining a container, the body being formed of a shipping package material. A lid closes the container and is formed from a shipping wrapper material. At least one surface decoration is disposed on at least one of the body and the lid, and a product is disposed within the container. The product may not include a secondary package and the container may not include protective shipping materials. In one example, the shipping package can have a shipping configuration and a display or dispensing configuration. Shipping packages may be repurposed as serving or dispensing bowls.

Description

Premium shipping of self-contained package packets for consumer packaged goods

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a packing and a method of producing a packing.

Background

Although sustainable development is still a major concern of consumer package merchandisers, the recent growth in e-commerce has resulted in a dramatic increase in the use of disposable packages and shipping materials.

Packaging containers (packaging containers) used to display or dispense products are often decorated with expensive, attractive decorations. Such decoration may be in the form of color printing, dyes, embossed or debossed features, textured features, etc. incorporated into the product package. Since these envelopes are typically intended to be placed on a shelf and are not intended to be transported or shipped separately without additional protective materials, the high cost of decoration is typically offset by the use of weaker, more fragile envelope materials, such as cardboard and plastics that are less likely to withstand shipment by themselves.

In turn, the packages used for shipping and transportation are typically made of expensive and strong materials designed to withstand the shipping process. For example, corrugated cardboard is a particularly common material for shipping packages, but is composed of multiple layers of thicker paperboard to improve stiffness and shock absorption. In addition, conventional shipping packages are typically almost decoratively coated because they are already costly to use and can be subject to wear during shipping.

Thus, current e-commerce practice is to protect fragile decorative product packages by shipping such packages in more robust shipping packages. Shipping packages are typically opened and immediately discarded, thereby generating a large amount of waste as electronic commerce grows.

Disclosure of Invention

One embodiment relates to shipping packages. The shipping package includes a body defining a container, the body being formed from a shipping package material and a lid closing the container, the lid being formed from the shipping package material. The shipping package further includes at least one surface finish disposed on at least one of the body and the lid and a product disposed within the container. The product does not include a secondary package and the container does not include protective shipping materials.

Another embodiment relates to a method of reducing packet waste resulting from shipping packet products. The method includes producing a plurality of shipping packages formed of shipping package material, and each of the plurality of shipping packages includes a body defining a container, a lid closing the container, and at least one surface finish disposed on at least one of the body and the lid. The method also includes filling the plurality of shipping packages with a product. The product does not include a secondary package and the container does not include protective shipping materials.

It should be understood that all combinations of the foregoing concepts and additional concepts discussed in greater detail below (provided that these concepts do not contradict each other) are considered a part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein. In particular, all combinations of claimed subject matter of the appended claims are considered part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein.

Drawings

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the drawings are primarily for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the subject matter described herein. The figures are not necessarily to scale; in some instances, various aspects of the subject matter disclosed herein may be exaggerated or enlarged in the drawings to help to understand different features. In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate like features (e.g., functionally similar and/or structurally similar elements).

Figure 1A shows a perspective view of a package in a closed configuration according to an exemplary embodiment.

Figure 1B shows a perspective view of the package of figure 1A in an open configuration according to an exemplary embodiment.

Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of the corrugated packing material.

Fig. 3A shows a perspective view of a bowl-like wrapper in a closed configuration according to an exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 3B shows a perspective view of the bowl-like package of fig. 3A in an open configuration, according to an exemplary embodiment.

Figure 4A illustrates a perspective view of the reversible package in an open configuration and a closed configuration in a shipping configuration, according to an example embodiment.

Figure 4B illustrates a perspective view of the reversible package of figure 4A in an open configuration and a closed configuration in accordance with an exemplary embodiment in a display configuration.

Figure 7 illustrates a flow chart showing a method of producing a package according to an exemplary embodiment.

The features and advantages of the inventive concepts disclosed herein will become more apparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken in conjunction with the drawings.

Detailed Description

The following is a more detailed description of various concepts and embodiments related to the inventive product packages and methods of producing such product packages. It should be appreciated that the various concepts introduced above and discussed in greater detail below may be implemented in any of numerous ways, as the disclosed concepts are not limited to any particular implementation. Examples of specific implementations and applications are provided primarily for illustrative purposes.

Referring to fig. 1A and 1B, a package 102 arranged according to an example is shown. The packages 102 may be used to store and protect various types of consumer packaged goods, including food, pet food, household goods, clothing, and other products, particularly as the packages 102 are transported by one or more packaging carriers, such as USPS, UPS, Fedex, DHL, and the like. In addition to being strong enough to withstand the stresses imposed during shipment, the package 102 may also include various types of decoration on one or more surfaces of the package 102, thereby creating an attractive, premium appearance. Consistent with the embodiments of the packages 102 discussed herein, the packages 102 may also be configured to display, dispense, or otherwise make products contained therein available to consumers in an attractive manner without the need for a separate secondary package, as will be discussed in greater detail below. As a result, the invention described herein significantly reduces the packaging material required for consumer packaged goods sold via e-commerce and transported by a packaging carrier.

The wrapper 102 is shown in a closed configuration 100 in fig. 1A and in an open configuration 150 in fig. 1B. The package 102 includes a lid 104, a body 106, and a product 116. The product 116 may be any of a variety of items as described above, such as snacks (e.g., pretzels, nuts, assorted fruits, potato chips, granola, etc.), candies (e.g., chocolate, soft candy, hard candy, mints, chewing gum, etc.), foods (e.g., rice, beans, delicates, sauces, spice mixes, etc.), pharmaceuticals (e.g., tablets, capsules, creams, etc.), pet foods (e.g., wet meals, dry meals, snacks, etc.), and the like. In some arrangements, the product 116 may be opened and brought into direct contact with the package 102. In still other arrangements, the products 116 may comprise individually packaged articles (e.g., bags, cans, boxes, groupings of individual products, etc.) disposed within the packages 102. In some arrangements, the product 116 includes merchandise disposed within a protective bag, overwrap, or other protective or retentive material such that the entire product 116 can be easily removed from the wrapper. For example, where the product 116 includes loose items, the loose items may be present in a clear plastic bag. In such an arrangement, the bag may be removed and the loose items placed directly into the wrapper 102. Consistent with these and other arrangements, there is no need to centrally dispose the products 116 within a separate decorative box or display package disposed within the package 102, as the package 102 itself is configured for display. Here, the products 116 are shown as discrete, individually wrapped food items.

The package 102 may be formed from a shipping package material, which may be any suitable material, such as paperboard (e.g., corrugated cardboard, untreated paperboard, coated paperboard, laminated paperboard, etc.), plastic (e.g., petroleum-based plastic, bio-based plastic, etc.), metal (e.g., tin, copper, aluminum, alloys, etc.), or a combination thereofCombinations of materials, some or all of which may be biodegradable, recyclable, and/or compostable, are used so long as the materials used are strong enough to withstand the reasonable expected pressures experienced during shipment. Can be athttps://ista.org/docs/ 6AmazoncomSIOCOverview.pdfExemplary criteria for finding suitable shipping wrapper materials are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The wrapper 102 may be formed by any of a variety of processes known in the art, and may be cut, folded, and glued from a suitable material, or may be blow-molded, 3D printed, cast, etc. Various types of decorations, such as brands, patterns, colors, logos, images, etc., may be disposed on one or more surfaces of the wrapper 102 material by any of a variety of methods, such as laminating features, printing features, embossing features or recessed features, texturing features, coloring features, transparent material or cut-out portions (e.g., so that the product 116 may be viewed through the lid 104 or body 106), or three-dimensional features that may be molded, cast, or 3D printed, etc.

The product 116 may be disposed within the body 106 of the package 102. The body 106 defines a receptacle 114 sized and shaped in a manner to receive a product 116. In some arrangements, the container 114 does not include a protective shipping material, such as bubble wrap, air pillow, inflatable void filler, skin foam, and the like. The body 106 may also define an organizer 107 within the receptacle 114. The organizer 107 may be formed of any of a variety of structural features (e.g., walls, columns, bowls, wells, dividers, etc.) that may be used to sort, stack, collect, isolate, protect, or otherwise organize or display the products 116 within the body 106. Thus, the organizer 107 may function similarly to some arrangements of secondary packets, but does not include secondary packets. The organizer 107 may be incorporated into the wrapper 102 and thus may be built-in, integrated into, coupled to, added to, or otherwise coupled to or formed by the wrapper 102 itself. Where the package 102 is implemented with an organizer 107, the product 116 may be added to the package 102 into a corresponding portion of the container 114 defined by the organizer 107. Here, in fig. 1B, the organizer 107 is shown as a central wall that divides the container 114 into two sub-containers, each containing a portion of the product 116. In some such arrangements, a first type of product 116 may be contained in one sub-container (e.g., a first flavor of confectionery product) while a second type of product may be contained in another sub-container (e.g., a second flavor of confectionery product).

In some arrangements, the subject 106 also includes a shipping label 110, which shipping label 110 provides shipping information for the package carrier (e.g., recipient name, address, package category, etc.). In some arrangements, the shipping label 110 may be a piece of tape containing shipping information. In other arrangements, the shipping label 110 may be written, printed, or otherwise disposed on the outer surface of the package 102. The shipping label 110 may be disposed on the bottom surface below the package 102 such that the shipping label 110 is generally hidden when the package 102 is used to display or dispense the product 116.

The lid 104 is configured to enclose a product 116 within the container 114 of the body 106 (e.g., as shown in fig. 1A). In the arrangement shown, the lid 104 includes an exterior trim 106, a closure 108, and an interior trim 112. In other arrangements, ornamentation can be present on both the interior and exterior surfaces of the body 106. The exterior trim 106 is shown in FIG. 1A and may be provided on an exterior surface of the cover 104 and may include any of a variety of decorative visual designs such as branding, images, colors, and the like. In turn, the interior trim 112 is shown in fig. 1B and may be disposed on an interior surface of the cover 104 and may or may not be similar to the exterior trim 106. In various arrangements, the decoration may be present anywhere on the inner or outer surface of the wrapper 102, and may be limited to a particular location of the wrapper 102, or may be disposed around the entire inner or outer surface of the wrapper 102. In arrangements where the decor is to be disposed on the outer surface of the package 102 during shipment, an outer wrap (e.g., shrink wrap, cellophane, etc.) may be applied to the exterior of the package 102 to protect the decor and product 116 inside.

The closure 108 may be used to couple at least a portion of the lid 104 to the body 106. The closure 108 may be a pull tab, tear strip, permanent tape, reclosable tape, line of weakness, complementary snap features, etc. configured to be inserted into a corresponding slot on the body 106. In various arrangements, a portion of the lid 104 defined by the closure 108 or the entire lid 104 may be configured to be removable from the body 106. For example, in some arrangements, the closure 108 includes a line of weakness around the perimeter of the lid 104 that facilitates complete separation of the lid 104 from the body 106. In other arrangements, the closure 108 includes a line of weakness that defines a portion of the lid 104 that is less than the entire area of the lid 104 and that corresponds to an aperture to the container 114 when the line of weakness is broken and a corresponding portion of the lid 104 is removed.

In other arrangements, the closure 108 may include means for separation (e.g., a rupturable line of weakness) and reclosing (e.g., a pull tab and slot, snap-fit means, etc.). For example, in one arrangement, the rectangular lid 104 coupled to the corresponding body at the top edge, the bottom edge, and both lateral edges includes a rupturable line of weakness (e.g., a perforation) along the entire length of each lateral edge, a line of weakness in the form of a fold along the entire length of the top edge, and a rupturable line of weakness along the entire length of the bottom edge that further defines the reclosure tab. In such an arrangement, the lines of weakness along the lateral and bottom edges may be broken to separate the edges from the body 106, and the lid 104 may be hingedly rotated about the fold at the top edge, and a reclosing tab defined at the bottom edge may be used to releasably couple the bottom edge of the lid 104 to the body 106. In an alternative embodiment of this arrangement, the top edge may be coupled to body 106 by a rupturable line of weakness. In such an arrangement, the lid 104 may optionally be opened and reclosed as described above, or completely removed by rupturing the perforations at the top edge.

In operation according to one embodiment, a seller of consumer packaged goods may: removing the fully assembled package 102, the package 102 configured with an organizer 107 for displaying and serving the confectionery products 116 disposed therein; attaching the shipping label 110 to the outer surface of the package 102; and provides the package 102 to the package carrier. A purchaser of the package 102 may receive the package 102 from a packaging carrier, remove the lid 104 from the package 102 using the closure 108 and access the product 116 from the container 114 portion of the package 102.

The shipping package 102 can have a shipping configuration (as shown in FIG. 1A) and a display configuration. In one example, the display configuration is an open configuration. In some embodiments, the lid of the package may be removed from the package when the shipping package is in the display configuration. In contrast to shipping packages known in the art, the package 102 itself may be configured to display and/or dispense the products 116, so that purchasers may simply change the purpose of the package 102 to display or dispense the products 116 to themselves or others without the need for an external shipping package or a separate supply of trays, plates, or bowls. In this way, the user has a convenient way to supply the product. Furthermore, repurposing the package as a serving bowl is a sustainable way of serving the product, rather than using a secondary package that may become dirty and require cleaning or using a disposable package that is discarded after use.

The shipping package may include one or more codes (not shown), depending on the overall design. In this arrangement, the code may be provided on any surface of the shipping package. In some arrangements, the one or more codes are not visually accessible when the shipping package is in the shipping configuration. In such an arrangement, the wrapper must be opened or the code initially becomes obscured (e.g., by a sticker, scratch-off layer, etc.). The code may be provided on one or more of the interior surfaces.

The code may be a mark corresponding to another piece of information or information location and may be presented in the form of a Quick Read (QR) code, a barcode, an alphanumeric code, a wireless tag (e.g., NFC, RFID, etc.), and so forth. The code may be read by a computing device (e.g., a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet, a laptop with scanning means, etc.) or otherwise input into a computing system to access corresponding information, such as websites, videos, images, marketing information, product information, computing device applications (e.g., loyalty-programming applications, games, tools, augmented reality applications, etc.), etc., that may correspond to the product 116, its manufacturer, one or more graphics on a package, etc. For example, the following package examples are available to the consumer: the package has a code embodied as a QR code configured to retrieve a website having a game associated with the product 116. The consumer may scan the code using a smartphone with a QR code reader, which causes the smartphone to open a web browser displaying the website, allowing the consumer to play the game. In another example, a consumer may scan a code using a smartphone with a QR code reader, which may cause the smartphone to display a personalized message.

Referring now to fig. 2, a cross-section of a cardboard portion 200 arranged according to an example is shown. The cardboard portion 200 is an example of a material that may be suitable for forming a package (e.g., package 102) that can withstand shipping stresses while attractively containing and displaying a product (e.g., product 116). The cardboard portion 200 includes a corrugation 202 sandwiched between a first sheet 204 and a second sheet 26. The corrugations 202 may be a corrugated sheet of paperboard material that may be coupled to an inner surface of the first sheet 204 at each peak and to an inner surface of the second sheet 26 at each valley. As a result, the corrugations 202 provide structural strength and rigidity to the cardboard portion 200, but at the expense of using more of the envelope material than other arrangements without corrugations.

Further, the cardboard portion 200 also includes a first decorative layer 208 disposed on the outer surface of the first sheet 204 and a second decorative layer 210 disposed on the outer surface of the second sheet 206. Each of first decorative layer 208 and second decorative layer 210 may include visually appealing decorations (e.g., colors, branding, images, etc., as described above). In some arrangements, one or both of first trim layer 208 and second trim layer 210 may be separate sheets that include a trim coupled to first sheet 204 and second sheet 206, or may be a trim otherwise applied to the respective surfaces of first sheet 204 and second sheet 206 (e.g., by printing, dyeing, embossing, debossing, etc. the respective sheets). The decorative layer may be present on one sheet, both sheets, or absent from the paperboard portion 200. In various arrangements, the

decorative layers

208, 210 may be disposed on the entire or substantially the entire surface of one or

more sheets

204, 206. In other arrangements, the

decorative layers

208, 210 may be disposed only at limited portions of the surface of one or

more sheets

204, 206. As a result, various arrangements of the

decorative layers

208, 210 may produce a wrapper material that is both strong and attractive, yet at the expense of using additional material as compared to conventional wrappers without decoration.

Referring now to fig. 3A and 3B, the bowl-shaped wrapper 302 is shown in a closed configuration 300 in fig. 3A and an open configuration 350 in fig. 3B according to an example arrangement. The bowl-like package 302 includes a lid 304 and a body 306, the body 306 containing a product 310 in a container portion 308, the lid 304, body 306, container portion 308, and product 310 being similar in composition and function to the lid 104, body 106, container 114, and product 116 of fig. 1A and 1B. However, in the embodiment shown in fig. 3A and 3B, one distinguishing characteristic of the bowl-shaped package 302 relative to the package 102 is that the horizontal cross-sectional area of the bowl-shaped package 302 generally decreases (i.e., may or may not be in a uniform, linear, or constant manner) from the top opening of the package (i.e., here the top opening of the container portion 308, where the lid 304 is disposed in fig. 3A) to the bottom of the package (i.e., here the panel opposite the lid 304). As a result, the body 306 has an overall attractive bowl shape suitable for displaying and dispensing the product 310 when the lid 304 is removed. In arrangements where the products 310 are embodied as discrete items, the bowl shape of the body 306 provides the advantage of biasing the products 310 toward the middle portion of the body 306 when the single piece products 310 are removed from the bowl package 302. Although the arrangement shown in fig. 3A and 3B illustrates the bowl-shaped wrapper 302 as having a body 306 defined by trapezoidal side panels and a flat bottom panel, other arrangements are contemplated, including other bowl shapes, such as round (round) or oval bowls, round (round) bowls (i.e., no defined side panels or bottom panels), bowls having other polygonal shapes, bowls having circular edges, bowls having patterned, irregular, or wavy edges, and so forth.

The shipping package 302 may have a shipping configuration (as shown in figure 3A) and a display configuration. In one example, the display configuration is an open configuration. In contrast to shipping packages known in the art, the package 302 itself may be configured for display and/or distribution of the product 310, so that purchasers may simply change the purpose of the package 302 to display or distribute the product 310 to themselves or others without the need for an external shipping package or a separate supply of trays, plates, or bowls. In this way, the user has a convenient way to supply the product. Furthermore, repurposing the package as a serving bowl is a sustainable way of serving the product, rather than using a secondary package that may become dirty and require cleaning or using a disposable package that is discarded after use.

Fig. 4A and 4B illustrate a reversible wrapper 402 in a

closed configuration

400, 440 and an

open configuration

420, 460 arranged according to an example. Reversible wrapper 402 may be presented in a shipping configuration (e.g., as shown in fig. 4A) and may be reconfigured to be presented in a display configuration (e.g., as shown in fig. 4B) where different decorations, information, materials, etc. may be visible outside of reversible wrapper 402. The reversible package 402 may be formed, for example, of die-cut paperboard, having a display trim on a first side and a shipping trim on a second side (e.g., having a cardboard portion 200 with a corresponding decorative layer), and having a releasable coupler configured for assembly and disassembly (e.g., via a removable tab and corresponding slot, removable pressure tape, etc.). In some arrangements, the reversible wrapper 402 includes permanent (e.g., permanent tape, tear strip, lines of weakness, etc.) and removable (e.g., pull tab and slot, removable tape, etc.) couplers. Thus, the reversible package 402 may first be in a shipping configuration to externally display shipping related information (e.g., shipping labels) while protecting the interior display trim, and then after the reversible package 402 has been safely delivered, the reversible package may be reconfigured to a display configuration to externally display attractive display trim.

Figure 4A illustrates an example arrangement of reversible packages 402 in a shipping configuration. Reversible package 402 includes a lid 404 coupled to a body 406. The cover 404 includes: a reclosure 403, the reclosure 403 being configured to releasably engage a corresponding portion of the body 406; an outwardly facing shipping surface 405; and an inwardly facing show surface 407. In some arrangements, the reclosure 403 may comprise a permanent coupler that may be used as a tamper-evident closure (e.g., a tear strip). The display surface 407 includes a decorative cover trim 410. The body 406 is configured to receive a product 411 therein and may include a shipping label 408 on an externally facing shipping surface 409. In the closed configuration 400, the shipping configuration of the reversible package 402 shows a shipping label 408 on a shipping surface 409 of the body 406 for visual access to the carrier and recipient of the reversible package 402. Further, when reversible wrapper 402 is in closed configuration 400, lid trim 410 is obscured and, as such, lid trim 410 is protected during shipping.

In fig. 4B, reversible wrapper 402 is shown in a display configuration such that lid trim 410 is visible on the exterior of reversible wrapper 402, even in closed configuration 440.

In operation, for example, a consumer may receive an embodiment of a reversible package (e.g., reversible package 402) from a package carrier in a shipping configuration (e.g., as shown in fig. 4A). The shipping configuration has a shipping label (e.g., shipping label 408) visible on the exterior surface, but in this arrangement there is little or no other exterior surface decoration. The consumer can tear off the tamper-evident tear strip (i.e., the permanent coupler on the reclosure 403), remove the product therein, disassemble the reversible package, reassemble the reversible package into the display configuration (e.g., as shown in fig. 4B), and place the product back into the reversible package. In the display configuration, the surface decoration is now visible on the outer surface of the reversible wrapper.

Figure 5 illustrates a flow chart showing a method 500 of producing a package according to an example embodiment. The packages produced by this method can be used to package, ship, and display the products contained therein in an attractive and decorative manner without the need for a separate secondary display package.

At 502, a wrapper design is created that defines the appearance and structure of a corresponding wrapper. The wrapper design may include any of a variety of decorative and visually accessible information (e.g., images, pictures, text, codes, branding, product information, shipping information, etc.). Further, the wrapper design may define an overall shape corresponding to the wrapper, such as a cube, sphere, hemisphere, various geometric shapes, irregular shapes, and the like. In some arrangements, the package design contemplates a bowl shape to attractively display and dispense the product contained therein. Moreover, in some arrangements, the wrapper design contemplates a reversible wrapper (e.g., reversible wrapper 402) having a decoration that may be present on a first surface of the wrapper panel and not on an opposing second surface of the wrapper panel, and the wrapper design may further include a releasable coupler (e.g., as discussed with respect to fig. 4A and 4B) that facilitates disassembly and reassembly of the wrapper. The package design may also allow for a reclosure for the lid portion (e.g., a releasable tab, pressure tape, etc.), and may further include a tamper-evident feature. In some arrangements, the wrapper design defines an organizer (e.g., organizer 107) within the corresponding wrapper.

At 504, a package (e.g., packages 102, 302, 402) corresponding to the package design is generated. The wrapper may be produced by any means known in the art, for example by cutting, folding and gluing cardboard. The decoration corresponding to the wrapper design may be provided on one or more surfaces of each wrapper by way of lamination, printing, embossing, debossing, texturing, dyeing, the use of transparent material or cut-out portions or the use of three-dimensional features that may be molded, cast, 3D printed or the like.

At 506, the package is filled with product. The product (e.g.,

product

116, 310, 411) may be in the form of a food item, a garment, or other consumer packaged goods, and may be placed directly into the body of each package without the need for an additional decorative secondary package. In some arrangements, the products may be disposed within a wrap, seal, or other enclosure material that may protect each product or tissue piece (e.g., a bag of loose food items). Further, in some arrangements, the products themselves are contained within their own packets, such as gum packaging, mints cans, pet treat bags, etc., which may be disposed within the body of each package.

In some arrangements, an outer wrap is applied to each wrapper. In some such arrangements, an outer wrap (e.g., shrink wrap, cellophane, etc.) may be formed of sustainable materials (e.g., biodegradable, recyclable, compostable, etc.) and may be transparent to the entire product envelope and provide additional protection to the envelope and the product. In arrangements where there is decoration on one or more of the outer surfaces of the packages to be shipped (e.g., as shown in fig. 1A), an outer wrap may be applied to protect the decoration during shipment. In some arrangements, the outer wrapper itself may include decoration that is added to or supplements the exterior decoration on the wrapper 102. If an outer wrap is used, the total amount of packing material used for the package will still be much lower than a conventional shipping package with a separate secondary package inside.

In some arrangements, a shipping label is applied at 508. Each shipping label (e.g., shipping label 110) may be applied to the outer surface of each package or applied after the outer package is applied, and may provide shipping information (e.g., recipient name, address, package category, etc.) to the package carrier. The shipping label may be a piece of tape or may be otherwise written, printed or otherwise disposed directly on the outer surface of each package.

It should be noted that the orientation of the various elements may differ according to other exemplary embodiments, and such variations are intended to be encompassed by the present disclosure. It is to be understood that features of the disclosed embodiments can be combined with other disclosed embodiments.

It is important to note that the construction and arrangement of the devices or parts thereof as shown in the various exemplary embodiments is illustrative only. Although only a few embodiments have been described in detail in this disclosure, those skilled in the art who review this disclosure will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible (e.g., variations in sizes, dimensions, structures, shapes and proportions of the various elements, values of parameters, mounting arrangements, use of materials, colors, orientations, etc.) without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the disclosed subject matter. For example, elements shown as integrally formed may be constructed of multiple parts or elements, the position of elements may be reversed or otherwise varied, and the nature or number of discrete elements or positions may be altered or varied. The order or sequence of any process or method steps may be varied or re-sequenced according to alternative embodiments. Other substitutions, modifications, changes and omissions may also be made in the design, operating conditions and arrangement of the various exemplary embodiments without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

While various inventive embodiments have been described and illustrated herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision a variety of other mechanisms and/or structures for performing the function and/or obtaining the results and/or one or more of the advantages described, and each such variation and/or modification is deemed to be within the scope of the inventive embodiments described herein. More generally, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that, unless otherwise indicated, any parameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations described herein are meant to be exemplary and that the actual parameters, dimensions, materials, and/or configurations will depend upon the specific application or applications for which the teachings of the present invention is/are used. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific embodiments of the invention described herein. It is, therefore, to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only and that, within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereto, embodiments of the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described and claimed. Inventive embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to each individual feature, system, article, material, kit, and/or method described herein. In addition, any combination of two or more such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods, if such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods are not mutually inconsistent, is included within the scope of the present disclosure.

Further, the techniques described herein may be embodied as a method, at least one example of which has been provided. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the actions performed as part of the method may be ordered in any suitable way. Accordingly, embodiments may be constructed in which acts are performed in an order different than illustrated, which may include performing some acts concurrently, even though shown as sequential acts in illustrative embodiments.

The claims should not be read as limited to the described order or elements unless stated to that effect. It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. All embodiments that come within the spirit and scope of the following claims and equivalents thereto are claimed.

Claims

1. A shipping package comprising:

a body defining a container, the body being formed from a shipping wrapper material;

a lid closing the container, the lid being formed from the shipping wrapper material;

at least one surface ornamentation disposed on at least one of the body and the cover;

a product disposed within the container, the product having a first end,

wherein the product does not include a secondary package and the container does not include protective shipping materials.

2. The shipping package of claim 1, wherein the at least one surface decoration is disposed on an interior surface of the shipping package.

3. The shipping package of claim 1, wherein the at least one surface decoration is a QR code.

4. The shipping package of claim 1, wherein the shipping package is configured to have a shipping configuration and a display configuration.

5. The shipping package of claim 1, wherein the at least one surface decoration is disposed on both an exterior surface and an interior surface of the shipping package.

6. The shipping package of claim 1, wherein the product comprises loose items disposed within the container.

7. The shipping package of claim 1, wherein the product comprises a plurality of individually packaged goods.

8. The shipping package of claim 1, wherein the body includes an organizer.

9. The shipping package of claim 8, wherein the organizer divides the container into a plurality of sub-containers, each of the plurality of sub-containers containing a different product.

10. The shipping package of claim 1, further comprising a reclosure disposed on one of the lid and the body, the reclosure releasably engaging the other of the lid and the body.

11. The shipping package of claim 10, further comprising a permanent coupler as a tamper-evident device.

12. The shipping package of claim 1, wherein the body defines a bowl shape having a horizontal cross-sectional area that decreases from a top opening of the body to an opposing bottom of the body.

13. The shipping package of claim 1, wherein the shipping package is formed from a releasable coupler configured for disassembly and reassembly of the shipping package.

14. The shipping package of claim 13, wherein the shipping package defines a shipping configuration and a display configuration, wherein at least one surface finish is externally visible in the display configuration.

15. A method of reducing package waste resulting from shipping package products, the method comprising:

producing a plurality of shipping packages formed of shipping package material and each of the plurality of shipping packages comprising a body, a lid, and at least one surface finish, wherein the body defines a container, the lid closes the container, and the at least one surface finish is disposed on at least one of the body and the lid;

filling the plurality of shipping packages with a product,

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the body defines a bowl shape having a horizontal cross-sectional area that gradually decreases from a top opening of the body to an opposing bottom of the body.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the shipping package is formed of a releasable coupler configured for disassembly and reassembly of the shipping package.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the shipping package defines a shipping configuration and a display configuration, wherein at least one surface ornamentation is externally visible in the display configuration.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the body comprises an organizer.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the organizer divides the container into a plurality of sub-containers, each of the plurality of sub-containers containing a different product.