A package that’s a brand experience

How Choppy Bike created a brand experience and a second life for their packaging.

Sometimes a box isn't just a box

Sometimes it's an integral part of the brand experience. 

 

Aldis Blicsons and his partner Toms Grinbergs created a wooden balance bike for small children called Choppy Bike. Their design brand, STUM, is a brand all about fun, creativity, and sustainability. 

When they approached Stora Enso Packaging Solutions, they had an idea and showed up with a prototype box.

“We wanted the packaging to be valuable. It wasn’t a box holding our bike; we wanted a product within a product.”
Aldis Blicsons
Aldis Blicsons
Designer STUM
The result
A box that uses smart graphical and structural design to form a game. Plus zero plastic and glue used, to support sustainability. All 100% on brand for STUM and Choppy Bike.
“There are no rules included for the game, because it is important for kids to be creative and make their own rules when they play” says Grinbergs.“There are no rules included for the game, because it is important for kids to be creative and make their own rules when they play” says Grinbergs.
“There are no rules included for the game, because it is important for kids to be creative and make their own rules when they play” says Grinbergs.
Girts Libeks
Girts Libeks
Design Manager Stora Enso

Turning ideas into reality

Grinbergs and Blicsons wanted the package to remain valuable, even after the Choppy Bike had been removed and assembled. When you open the box a game is revealed. The STUM team had an artist draw a detailed road which twists and turns through many adventures before finally ending at a beach.

“It was great fun to work with Toms and Aldis on the Choppy Bike packaging. They had all of these new ideas and it was my job to make sure they could work in practice.” 

Sustainability a high priority
The package also had to be extremely sustainable. For them, sustainability was as important for the packaging of Choppy Bike as it was for the product itself...

Sustainable material and design

 
“We use FSC cardboard,” Blicsons continues. “We wanted only one colour on the box because inks consume water and materials. We wanted no glue used in the construction of the package. Also, we wanted it to be as compact as possible and use the least amount of material, because a compact design saves space and fuel.”
 
 
Blicsons and Grinberg collaborated with the Stora Enso sustainability experts in design workshops to develop solutions to meet their goals. The end result was a package which was more sustainable, valuable to the customer, and brand aligned.

Reuseable and 100% recyclable

 

“The bike and package were created together and are strongly related. For example, the bike has no screws and the package has no glue. Similarly, both the bike and package use a minimum of materials,” says Libeks. “It was a good challenge to work with them.”

“I think the future of packaging is adding value,” says Grinbergs. “It is always a pleasure to work with Stora Enso to accomplish this.”

The package is 100% recyclable, but it could have a long life entertaining children before it is ready to be recycled and turned into something new.

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