The story: Einstein Bros. Bagels has redesigned its bagel bucket with side-loading inserts that creatively showcase its bagels and shmear (cream cheese). The new packaging has increased efficiencies in its stores and helped the bagel chain reduce materials usage. Packaging Technology Integrated Solutions, a division of HAVI Global Solutions LLC and a global leader in packaging solutions with expertise in the quick-service restaurant and foodservice markets, led the effort.
The challenge: Einstein Bros. was rebranding itself and wanted a bagel bucket that reflected the whimsical image of its brand characters. The bagel chain also sought a new design that would allow tubs of shmear to be inserted in its popular Hate to Wait? prepacked buckets of bagels without reopening and closing the buckets. Before the redesign, crew members would open the filled buckets, insert a paper liner on top of the bagels, lay the tubs of shmear on top of the paper and then reclose the buckets — a multi-step process that belied the efficiency implicit in the Hate to Wait? concept.