»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)
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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.
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