There are consumer habits that brands try to promote through communication campaigns. And there are others that have been part of everyday life for decades and offer opportunities to innovate in product design. This is what the food brand Lala has done in Mexico, where it has decided to adapt the packaging of its cream to a widespread practice among homes in the country: reusing empty containers to store other foods in the refrigerator.

The initiative is called “Mexicontainers” and has been developed by the creative agency Zurda México, with the collaboration of Conciergency in the packaging design. Its starting point is a situation recognizable to many Mexican consumers, which involves opening a container of cream hoping to find its original contents and discovering that inside there are beans, salsa, tinga or leftovers from the previous day’s meal.

Far from modifying this behavior, Lala has decided to incorporate it directly into its product. To this end, it has introduced a specific space in the design of the container in which consumers can write what the container contains during its second life, facilitating its reuse and avoiding the usual confusion.

The idea is part of a broader campaign for Lala’s cheese and cream category, called “Échale un poco más,” which is also inspired by Mexican gastronomic habits.
In this case, communication revolves around the habit of finishing preparing the dishes once they are served, adding ingredients to the taste of each diner. This is the case with traditional preparations such as chilaquiles, enchiladas, sopes or esquites, which each person completes by incorporating cream, cheese or other ingredients.

Both initiatives share the same creative approach: identifying behaviors that are already part of consumer culture and finding a way for the brand to participate in them. “Anyone who grew up in Mexico knows this kind of culinary Russian roulette. You open the container expecting to find cream and you discover beans. Or sauce. Or who knows what”explain Jorge Cordero and Rubén Cabezas, Creative Directors of Zurda México, in statements collected by Little Black Book.

The creatives emphasize that the value of the proposal lies in having recognized an existing behavior. “We didn’t have to invent a behavior. It was already there, it was deeply Mexican and we had it in front of us. Our job consisted of recognizing that there was an idea for Lala in it.”

Packaging designed for after consumption

To transfer the idea to the packaging, Zurda México worked with Conciergency, which was in charge of developing a graphic proposal capable of integrating the new use without losing Lala’s identity elements. The design incorporates illustrations, graphic resources and a space intended to identify stored foods. In this way, the packaging maintains its original function as a cream container and acquires additional utility once the product is finished.

“The most interesting thing was that we did not have to invent a new use for the packaging because that use already existed and was part of Mexican culture”says Valentina Zuchiatti, Creative Director of Conciergency. “Through the design we wanted to recognize it and make it visible, keeping the packaging unequivocally associated with Lala and naturally welcoming that second life.”

“There is something very powerful about design being able to take everyday behavior and incorporate it into a brand’s identity. We are not telling people what to do with the packaging, we are designing around what it already does”adds Zuchiatti.

The initiative has also found continuity on social networks. As explained by Conciergency, the appearance of the new containers generated conversations, memes and publications in which consumers shared their own experiences reusing cream containers.

“It was incredible to see how people made the design their own. Not only did they like the packaging: memes started appearing and people started sharing what they kept in their containers”explains Laura Yanguas, Chief Creative Officer of Conciergency.