The food industry in the United States largely contributes to single use plastic waste. As the food industry continues to grow with the rise of food delivery apps etc. so does our contribution to plastic pollution. If there was a more sustainable way to deliver food or provide a more sustainable packaging material, we could greatly reduce our contribution to single use plastic waste, bettering the overall environmental health of our nation.
Retake is a reusable container brand that aims to be a more sustainable alternative to the usual plastic packaging that comes with food delivery and takeout. We partner with restaurants all over major U.S. cities by delivering them reusable containers straight to their doorstep. We want to enable businesses and consumers to make environmentally conscious decisions while still enjoying the food they love.
You can view my entire thesis presentation here.
You can view my entire process book here.
L O G O
The logo for retake consists of simple type with an illustration of one of the retake containers sitting above the text.
C O L O R P A L E T T E
I wanted to go with bright fun colors in order to draw consumers into a sustainable brand that didn’t necessarily fall into the same guidelines that most sustainable brands fall under; lots of green green green! With some brown as well as tons of nature imagery. My goal from the very beginning was to stray as far from that as possible in order to make Retake appeal to all types of consumers.
C O N T A I N E R S
Perhaps the most important component of Retake is the reusable containers. Within Rhino, I designed a system of five containers that vary in size in order to accommodate for different meal and portion sizes. the goal was to create a sleek and modern design that differed from traditional takeout trays. The containers are also designed to be stacked inside each other once they are completely empty, making them more functional and compact.
A C L O S E D L O O P S Y S T E M
Retake operates on a closed loop system meaning that our containers never leave the cycle of being used/consumed once they enter. This makes reusable business models more successful at reducing waste in comparison to recycling models because new product enters the cycle at a much smaller rate/number if at all, depending on the business. Overall, it’s a much more effective method at reducing plastic waste.
D R O P O F F B I N
Each retake container will have a QR code on top for consumers to scan. The drop of bins would each be equipped with a scanner that users can use to scan in their containers before dropping them in the bin. Once the container is scanned it would update you via the Retake app that your container has been returned. It's an easy way for the businesses and consumers to keep track of each container.
T H E P L U G - I N
The retake app is meant to operate like a plug-in within existing food delivery apps such as GrubHub, UberEats, Postmates, etc. If the user was ordering from a restaurant that only utilized retake containers, it would let them know at checkout within the food delivery app. They could then click on the retake icon to learn more about what it means to order food delivery from a restaurant partnering with Retake.
T H E A P P
This prototype of the Retake app below is a glimpse of what the entire app would look like. I designed specific screens that show the process of scanning in a Retake container. The app would helps users keep track of how long they have had their containers and send reminders for how many weeks they have left to make their way to a Retake bin in order to return their container. The sooner the user returns a container, the larger the amount of "points" the user can get to go towards discounts or coupons to use at restaurants partnering with Retake. The goal is to create an incentive in order to ensure a return for all the containers.
T H E W E B S I T E
This prototype for Retake site is the platform businesses can use to sign up for a subscription with Retake. Subscriptions are separated into tiers that offer different amounts of containers that businesses can receive to use with their food delivery orders. It also offers general information about the brand and can be a place where businesses can check on their subscriptions.
