»SOAPBOTTLE by Jonna Breitenhuber is a fantastic example of the rethinking of packaging. Here, the packaging is also a product. This not only avoids waste but also encourages users to reflect on packaging.«

Dr. Bettina Rechenberg (in place for Maria Krautzberger)

Three questions for the designer Jonna Breitenhuber

Can you remember the moment when you first had the idea for SOAPBOTTLE?
Through my job as a packaging designer for beauty products, I became aware of the fact that there is barely any plastic-free packaging for liquid personal care products. And so I chose to work on this problem as part of my master’s thesis.
There’s already a few examples in the food industry of a product that also becomes the packaging. For example, the cone of an ice cream can be used in its entirety. I asked myself if I could carry over this concept to hygiene products, and that’s when I started to experiment with soap.

What was your personal highlight in the development process for SOAPBOTTLE? Was there a low point?
For me there was no single high or low point. It was more of a constant up and down until I finally got the first prototypes out of the mould. For example, it took quite a few attempts until I succeeded in making my own soap.
Some particularly nice moments were the visit to a soap factory, the tour of a bottling plant, the lime soaps workshop or my interactions with chemists, through which I learned a vast amount about soap manufacturing and the composition of soap.

Where do you see yourself and your project in the next five years?
At this point, SOAPBOTTLE remains a concept. I have visualised the appearance of the soap packaging and the manner of its use. A few aspects of the material composition and mass production still have to be resolved before it is actually market-ready. However, I am already in contact with a range of manufacturers and companies who are interested in cooperation. In the meantime, the project has generated a fair amount of attention, leading to high demand, which we will hopefully be able to cover in the next years.