People

Functionality hand in hand with attractive design

Laurent Lepoitevin is one of Sidel’s in-house designers. Together with a group of colleagues, he develops PET bottles in almost any shape or form. To him, functionality goes hand in hand with attractive design.

What requirements does a bottle have to meet?
The requirements vary as a functionof the product and the country where it is marketed. If the main requirement is aesthetic in nature, we work on shapes and colours in order to differentiate the bottle from the competition. If it is a matter of responding to a functionality issue for a given target, then the development focuses on ergonomics, for example a smaller bottle for children or an easy-to-grip sport bottle. Finally, there are highly technical designs for lightweight bottles or hot-fill bottles. These development areas can also be combined, as a function of the customer’s priorities.

What information is needed to create a new bottle?
How we proceed depends on the customer’s requirements. Companies can submit a marketing brief that describes the brand image, product positioning and any information about the competition. Often, there are technical specifications for the bottle.

Other customers turn the project completely over to us: it is up to Sidel to conduct a marketing analysis for their product, their market and their competitive environment. It is essential to understand brand positioning in order to design a bottle that is suited to its target.

Read the complete article in the Tetra Laval report (pdf)