What it does
By integrating a foldable recessed handle from the carton's own cardboard, this design directly addresses: spill-prone unstable grip, poor portability, and eco-unfriendly plastic dependencies in traditional milk packaging.
Your inspiration
Boxed milk has become a common choice for daily consumption due to its lightness. However, traditional packaging lacks a grip support structure. When drinking, one needs to squeeze the box forcefully to maintain balance, which can easily lead to spillage due to insufficient hand strength or poor coordination, resulting in both waste and safety hazards.
How it works
This design solves the problems of inconvenient grip, easy leakage when squeezed, and single carrying method by adding an integrated foldable handle to the traditional paper box beverage packaging. The handle is made of the same material as the paper box, a composite material of cardboard, and is die-cut simultaneously, which is environmentally friendly and easy to recycle. Structurally, the handle is an irregular-shaped window structure that is integrated with the box body. When unfolded, it can form a stable grip point and prevent interference with the insertion of the straw. When in use, it only needs to be rotated to the side to open. The fingers can pass through the handle holes to achieve a hanging grip, preventing accidental squeezing and splashing. Even when empty, the box can be hung for storage. In production, the handle is pre-scored at the cutting stage to fit the automatic box packaging process.
Design process
In this packaging design, we took a frequently overlooked yet common detail in daily life as the starting point: when inserting a straw, the paper box gets deformed due to improper force, causing the liquid to spill out and bringing inconvenience. This real experience led me to reflect on the stability and portability of holding and using paper box beverages. During the initial research, it was found through observation and interviews that many users, especially children and the elderly, have encountered problems such as unstable grip, difficulty in inserting the straw, and liquid leakage when squeezing. At the same time, they also hope that the drink is more portable. Without changing the original materials and production processes, the focus was placed on structural optimization, and it was proposed to improve the user experience by adding a "foldable handle". In the early stage of design, we tried out various solutions such as straws and press ports, but all of them had issues with cost or structural complexity. Eventually, we settled on a side-extended handle structure. This structure does not occupy the straw opening position and can be easily unfolded for fingers to hold, effectively reducing squeezing force and enhancing grip stability.
How it is different
Boxed milk has become a common choice for daily consumption due to its lightness. However, traditional packaging lacks a grip support structure. When drinking, one needs to squeeze the box forcefully to maintain balance, which can easily lead to spillage due to insufficient hand strength or poor coordination, resulting in both waste and safety hazards. Most of the existing solutions are external plastic handles, which have problems such as complex installation, non-environmentally friendly materials and sharp edges. This design is tailored to hand shape and behavioral characteristics. It provides a stable grip support point through an embedded paper handle. The anti-slip texture and curved edges reduce the risk of hand dropping, allowing for a stable grip with one hand. It minimizes spillage from the source and responds to the family's dual expectations for safety and sustainability with a zero-plastic integrated structure.
Future plans
This design will focus on functional optimization, environmental upgrade and industrial application in the future. Through continuous user testing, the size and strength of the handle will be further adjusted to enhance ergonomic adaptability. In terms of materials, degradable and environmentally friendly paper materials will be introduced to promote the development of packaging towards a green direction. In production, we plan to collaborate with enterprises to develop an integrated die-cutting process, achieving low-cost mass production and enhancing the efficiency of structural processing.
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