Companies are taking a hard look at their packaging and how they can adapt it for their disabled customers. We explore the latest innovations in accessible packaging.
The area of accessible packaging has been gaining in traction over the past year, with many food, FMCG and pharmaceutical brands looking closely at their products and adjusting their packaging designs for improved accessibility.
People with physical disabilities often search for products that enable them to perform tasks independently. In response, brands are revamping their packaging to be more inclusive, recognising the importance of accommodating these demographics.
By creating more accessible packaging solutions, these brands can expand their consumer base, demonstrate a deeper understanding of their customers’ needs, and foster a more inclusive market, strengthening their brand and ultimately driving revenue.
Here are just a few examples:
One-Handed Burger Packaging
Branches of McDonald’s across southern and western India now offer their customers the choice of accessible burger packaging that’s designed to make it easier for people with limb-related disabilities to open.
Burgers in traditional packaging requires two hands to eat, but since more than 21 million people across India live with a disability, with over a quarter of those living with disabilities related to movement, there was clear need to design packaging that’s easier to use for people with mobility issues related to the upper limbs.
“While the idea of a pack that enables people with limited upper limb mobility to enjoy their burgers with dignity is not a life-changing one, it’s an important one,” said Pallavi Chakravarti, creative head of ad agency DDB Mudra West. “Because this small step alters an experience for the better – an experience that most of us take for granted. Mostly it’s the little things that go a long way in levelling the playing field for us all.”
Accessible Pharmaceutical Packaging
Pharmaceutical packaging is notoriously hard to open, mainly for reasons of child safety but also because of poor design. When you add the challenges of being disabled to the difficulty of opening, the task becomes almost impossible to achieve.
Thankfully, a number of companies are designing safe pharma packaging that can be opened with one hand. One of those, SnapSlide, is an adaptive packaging solution that features a sliding two-step opening procedure for single-handed opening and closing.
Developed using less plastic than traditional pharma packaging, the user-friendly ‘no-torque’ cap requires less force and dexterity to open and close than the usual push-and-turn technology, with a design that’s 27% lighter than the average conventional child-resistant cap.
“The SnapSlide prescription vial caps have the potential to be better for all and life-changing for many,” said Rocky Batzel, inventor and CEO of SnapSlide. “For consumers with physical limitations, the cap provides convenience, accessibility, safety and independence.”
Easy-Open PlayStation Packaging
The world of gaming is one that’s traditionally been closed off to people with certain movement-related disabilities, but PlayStation opened up that world with the release of its ‘Access’ controller, a highly customisable PlayStation 5 controller kit designed to make gaming more accessible.
When designing the new controller, the company also developed the controller’s packaging to enable players with disabilities to open with one hand. The controller comes in a box featuring loops that can be pulled from the left or right side, allowing consumers to easily slide the controller out of its packaging. On the inside of the pack are additional loops and a single layer of slots for the kit components, including 19 interchangeable button caps and three stick caps for easy identification and access.
