The Last Blockbuster Beer

By: Rudy Sanchez

Nestled in central Oregon, at the eastern edge of the Cascade mountain range lies the city of Bend, home to the last remaining Blockbuster Video store in the US.

Some will still remember going into Blockbuster, going through the shelves looking for movies or games to rent, those halcyon days where one would pass the evening strolling around the aisles for hours on end trying to find something—anything—to watch. Now, of course, most of us browse what’s new on Netflix (or re-watch The Office for the 20th time) and haven’t worried about a late fee in years.

The folks at 10 Barrel Brewing, also based in Bend, is keeping the dream of the 90s just as alive as the folks in Portland by celebrating the last outpost of the once mighty Blockbuster chain in America with a limited-edition brew, aptly named “The Last Blockbuster.”

Officially set to be launched at a block(buster) party, the label harkens back to the blue and yellow of Blockbuster’s iconic corporate colors which marked shopping centers, street corners and strip malls all over the country at over 5,800 US locations at the chain’s zenith.

The bottle’s label also uses the old Blockbuster torn ticket stub. The blue and yellow are inverted, but otherwise, the use of the logo, the font choice, and the line around the label are all vintage callbacks to the video rental chain.

The Last Blockbuster is a black ale with “hints of red licorice,” a traditional movie snack, and will be available at 10 Barrel pubs while supplies last.

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Rudy Sanchez

Rudy Sanchez is a product marketing consultant based in Southern California. Once described by a friend as her “technology life coach,” he is a techie and avid lifelong gamer. When he’s not writing or helping clients improve their products, he’s either watching comedies on Netflix, playing the latest shooter or battle royale game or out exploring the world via Ingress and Pokémon Go.

E-Mart Introduces a Novel Way to Tackle Food Waste...But With Plastic Packaging?

By: Rudy Sanchez

E-Mart, a Korean chain of grocery stores, released a six-day pack of bananas, with varying degrees of ripeness so consumers can buy a week’s worth of bananas and not waste any of them. E-Mart’s produce buyer Lee Jin-pyo promises to “show more diverse ideas by listening to the inconveniences of consumers.”

Food waste is not only frustrating for consumers, but it also has a significant impact on the environment given the number of resources that are used to bring them to market in the first place. Bananas have a limited lifespan on the shelf, and in Britain alone,1.4 million bananas are thrown out every day.

E-Mart has created a novel approach to reducing thrown-out bananas. Although packaging bananas into plastic is superfluous—they come with their own natural packaging, to begin with—it’s a small step to reducing food waste, but aren’t we just creating more single-use plastic bound for our waterways or a landfill?

Another scientific approach is being developed by the US Department of Agriculture that replaces plastic film with a casein-based one that blocks microbes and oxygen better than plastic, is biodegradable, water-soluble, and edible. Produce can be sheathed against the elements without the need for plastic.

Other ways to reduce food waste include solutions designed to extend the life of produce. This gives retailers an opportunity to keep food on the shelf for longer, allowing customers more time to consume them. One such technology— called It’s Fresh!—uses an ethylene filter that’s added to any package. Ethylene acts as a plant hormone and causes fruits and vegetables to ripen. By absorbing and capturing ethylene, It’s Fresh! Filters delay the ripening of produce. Add this to a compostable package that could degrade in your home garden, and you could have a viable solution to food and plastic waste.

According to a study by Cone Communications, nine out of ten Millennials would switch brands to one associated with a cause. Generation Z, those right behind Millennials, also spend and, more importantly, stop spending based on social issues and causes. A study by DoSomething.org found that 76% of Gen Z’ers have purchased or would purchase based on the issues a brand supported. On the flip side, 67% of Gen Z’ers said they have stopped supporting or would consider doing so if a company stood for something they disagreed with.

Nielsen found that two-thirds of shoppers find things like sustainability and a commitment to social values more important than price, sales, or coupons. Brands should look at the causes these two demographics value the most, including sustainability, and put whatever initiatives to further those causes front and center in their advertising, marketing and even on the package.

Consumers are using their purchasing power to support causes they believe in, and that means reducing food and packaging waste.

One-third of all food is wasted, and with it, all the resources used to make, transport, store and sell that food. The next frontier in sustainability is finding ways to reduce the amount of food that goes to waste—in the US, 80% of food waste happens at the retail and consumer level. Consumer awareness and technical innovation will go a long way towards making our food habits more sustainable.

Let’s just hope it involves a lot less plastic.

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Rudy Sanchez

Rudy Sanchez is a product marketing consultant based in Southern California. Once described by a friend as her “technology life coach,” he is a techie and avid lifelong gamer. When he’s not writing or helping clients improve their products, he’s either watching comedies on Netflix, playing the latest shooter or battle royale game or out exploring the world via Ingress and Pokémon Go.

Scientists Find That Degrading Plastics Are Emitting Greenhouse Gases

By: Casha Doemland

Did you know 97% or more of climate scientists believe the shift in global warming is man-made?

The Greenhouse Effect, a process of warming the Earth’s surface by trapping heat in the lower atmosphere occurs naturally, but with certain gases like Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Methane, Nitrous Oxide (N20), Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and water vapor exposed to the atmosphere, it makes it difficult for the heat to escape. These gases can come from the burning of fossil fuels for energy,  agriculture such as livestock and rice production, forestry,  transportation and even electricity production.

Now, scientists at the University of Hawaii in Manoa have found one more reason— single-use plastic degradation.

According to the case study, “plastic is known to release a variety of chemicals during degradation, which has a negative impact on biota (animal and plant in a particular region). The most commonly used plastics produce two greenhouse gases, methane and ethylene when exposed to ambient solar radiation.”

Even worse, once plastics are exposed to the sun, the emissions can continue even in the dark.

Only 9% of all plastics are recycled, the rest being tossed into landfills or floating through our oceans in gyres, disrupting, killing and injuring marine life. Now, according to this study, it’s contributing to global warming.

The consequences of climate change are dire, resulting in, amongst other things, the shrinking of glaciers, prolonged heat waves and growing season for farmers, as well as shifts in precipitation that could result in flooding, droughts and even erosion.

Now is the time to get serious about reducing the use of plastic, cleaning up our oceans, rivers and coastlines, and finding sustainable alternatives for single-use plastic items. While bans have been enacted by countries the world over, corporations and manufacturers need to step up their efforts to reduce plastic waste by finding alternative materials for everyday use.

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Casha Doemland

LA-based and Georgia-bred, Casha Doemland spends her days crafting poetry and freelance writing. Over the last two years, she’s been published in a variety of publications and zines around the world. When she’s not nerding out with words, you can catch her watching a classic film, trekking around the globe or hanging out with a four-pound Pomeranian.

Rebel Cookie's Branding and Packaging Comes With a Fun Patterned Look

Gordon Reid designed the eye-catching patterned packaging and branding for Rebel Cookie, a new bakery.

“I was commissioned by two ex advertising folk who had this great idea to create a reactive bakery to whatever social media frenzy was happening in the world.

This was an opportunity for me not to miss as I knew I had two people here who really wanted to create an exciting brand and fun design. So thankfully they had the trust to let me really go a bit wild with the branding.”

“The brand was built around the strong wordmark and striking colours. From there I created a large brand illustration with core elements that can be pulled out and used for other sections of the brand. Once the brand and core illustration was created, we got down to the website, social, packaging, stand design, outdoor advertising and loads of merch.”

 

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Designed By: Gordon Reid

Location: London

12 Dental Product Packaging Designs

Here at The Dieline we take our oral health very seriously. We’ve rounded up 12 dental products that come with great-looking packaging design solutions. 

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1. Cocofloss Comes With Beautiful Bold Packaging

 

2. MontCarotte

 

3. Natural Orthodontics Products

 

4. Dental Product Packaging Never Looked So Sleek

 

5. FOREO: Designed To Make You Smile

 

6. VT Beauty & Health Lifestyle Brand

 

7. LEBON Is More Than Toothpaste, It’s An Experience

 

8. Dollar Shave Club Now Includes Stylish & Confident Oral Healthcare for Men

 

9. Teagrance is The Jasmine Tea Flavored Toothpaste With Beautiful Packaging

 

10. Enlighten

 

11. Candid Co Wants To Help You Get The Straight Smile of Your Dreams With Serious Style

 

12. Hippo&Crate is a Subscription Service Made to Help You With Your Dental Needs

Pro Delight Is a Playful High Protein Ice Cream Brand

Hochburg designed this playful packaging for Pro Delight, a high protein low sugar ice cream.

“That’s how ice cream tastes. And that’s how ice cream must look. Simply better than everyone else, with more taste and style and less superfluous. HOCHBURG has designed a tasty shopper to make a better-tasting bestseller. Velvet logo, illustration, packaging and high recognition value for the eye. A delicious comeback of more protein and less sugar and fat in four flavors that already tastes on the shelf.”

 

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Designed By: Hochburg

Location: Germany

Motorluxe Returns After 40 Years In Hibernation

Designed by Supreme—DBA, Motorluxe returns to the scene with minimalistic, yet elevated designs featuring gold embossment on solid green and mustard yellow boxes. 

“Following more than 40 years in hibernation, Supreme—DBA were tasked with reawakening and repositioning the Motoluxe brand and establish it to satisfy the sartorial needs of gentlemen, of all ages and across the world, with an appreciation for British style and the culture of Motorsport.”

“We began the project by conducting in-depth research of the 1955’s; invaluable time spent in the beginning of the project designing and developing the brand architecture sourced from the period cars, the food, the fashion, the movies and the tone — days spent immersing ourselves in the culture; listening to 24 hour radio transmissions of endurance racing, sifting through 1000’s of classic photographs and behind the scenes photos from period Hollywood films informed us (along with our participation in the scene) how to position Motoluxe as the epitome of the Hollywood star and the Great British Brand. ”

“With ambassadors including Steve McQueen, James Dean and Paul Newman— these gents were true Americans with an unquenchable addiction to great British brands, motorsport and the gentlemen’s attire worn by the likes of Mike Hawthorn, Jim Clark as well as icons like Salvador Dali, Mick Jagger and Winston Churchill.

Taking a dormant brand and positioning it perfectly into what would have been its zenith became our quest and one that fits perfectly with our ethos of attention to detail, and the understanding of the classic car and gentlemen’s fashion categories.”

“In the 1950’s there were no brand guidelines for how a logo should appear on a race car, they were hand painted and individual. No two liveries were the same — perhaps not even symmetrical, creating a living organism that champions alignment, not consistency. This ideology evolved to become the basis of our living brand, with the same idiosyncrasies applied to Motorluxe’s new reformed, varied and organic identity.”

“Supreme—DBA created a brand identity consisting of multiple elements; a sophisticated ‘brass cast’ badge and detailed word-mark, along with variations for different applications — All of these epitomising the idiosyncratic and unsymmetrical nature of the period. 

These, together with an extended family of unstructured sports coats, laid the foundations for a modern collection of performance tailoring that breathes heritage, a brand that is perfect for a contemporary lifestyle and, of course, for travel — whether that be on the road, sea, or by air.”

 

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Agency: Supreme—DBA
Creative Director: Justin Barrow
Paper: G.F. Smith
Location: London