Packaging students at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) thought a lot about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. If you make them early in the morning, the bread gets soggy by lunch. If you take a rigid container with you, that is bulky, and you need utensils to spread the food over bread, especially if you are not sitting at a table.
So, they developed a way to put the peanut butter on one side of a flexible pouch and the jelly on the other side, using the bread-shaped pouch itself as a tool to spread the contents after they are squeezed out.
The EZ PB&J Pouch prototype took the top awards—First Place and Best Video—in FPA’s 2025 Student Flexible Packaging Design Challenge. The contest included over 50 packages from schools nationwide.
“Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are a staple for children’s school lunches, but college students love them, too,” says Amanda Szymanoski, who graduated in May from RIT in New York. She was one of five students to work on the package. “I pack a PB&J sandwich almost every day for lunch.”
With cheerleading practice starting at 7 a.m. each morning, she had to prepare the night before.
“This led to me eating many soggy sandwiches and inspired the idea for EZ PB&J,” she adds. “We wanted to design a convenient package that would allow for fresh peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at lunchtime, and a dual- chamber flexible pouch emerged as the best solution.”
Judging Process
The contest winners were picked by three judges from the Emerging Leadership Council (ELC) of the Flexible Packaging Association (FPA). The heavy lifting of the contest was spearheaded by the ELC’s Education and Recruitment Committee, with assistance from Lily Sevin, FPA’s former administrative assistant. Committee Chair Kara Stoney, key brand manager of packaging at Dow, and Committee Vice-Chair Patrick Clark, vice president of product development and procurement at Bryce Corporation, were joined by the ELC Co-Chair Alana Carr, inside sales and marketing manager at Hosokawa Alpine American, Inc.
The contest guidelines call for students to design packages that advance the use of flexible packaging; make improvements over an existing flexible package; convert a nonflexible package into a flexible package; or package a product that is not currently available in flexible packaging.
Over approximately 90 minutes in May, the judges reviewed each prototype and considered whether a package would receive a green, yellow, or red light to proceed to the final deliberations. At times, the judges noted that the concepts are already in the marketplace. Or, in another case, the package had a foundation in rigid plastic, so it didn’t quite compete with the other entries.
EZ PB&J was among the packages that impressed the judges, partly due to its convenience. Consumers could take the pouch to school or work and make the sandwich there, using the pouch to help spread the contents.
The judges also wanted to see strong marketing videos, where students touted their prototypes in unique or innovative ways. Several of the videos offered detailed specifications and technical presentations, which the judges appreciated. But they were most impressed when students attempted to set a scene or otherwise create a pitch that would appeal to consumers.
In the final round of the competition, the judges focused on 16 packages to which they had given a green light—almost half of the entries. They then examined those entries until naming the other winners that included a second place, as well as two honorable mentions.
First Place and Best Video
The RIT video for EZ PB&J Pouch depicts three young adults sitting on a bench when one of them uses the flexible package to easily make a sandwich, while someone else attempts to make one the old-fashioned way and fumbles, causing the food to fall onto the ground and severing his finger in the process.
“We really wanted to have fun with our video, especially since our product’s target demographic was children,” the winners say in a written response to questions about the contest. “One of the main challenges we had was finding the right balance between humor and communicating information. The middle ground we arrived at was depicting the product in an intended-use case, while exaggerating the humorous stakes of the situation to capture our audience’s attention.”
In the video, a narrator eventually comes on and talks about the package’s attributes.
“EZ PB&J is an innovative single-use flexible pouch with separated compartments for peanut butter and jelly, intended to make school lunches as quick and convenient as ever,” the narrator explains. “The bread-shaped pouch will be easily recognizable to customers, and the colorful design is eye-catching to children.”
The video then touts a tear notch that would make it simple for anyone to open it.“Our packaging utilizes lightweight multilayer pouches, which, while not recyclable through conventional curbside programs, offer sustainability benefits in other ways,” according to the students. “These pouches require significantly less material by weight compared to their rigid alternatives.”
The students knew they had a good concept, and the contest was an opportunity to design a package from start to finish. They add that they were able to apply their knowledge of packaging materials and design software in a fun and challenging way.
“The difficult part was nailing down the details of the package,” they also say. “Our sticking points largely came from manufacturing topics, especially which materials would be best to use for the film and how to get such an interesting-shaped seal area. We found our solution to sealing by cutting out Teflon® as a sealing barrier in the shape of the pouch compartments.”
Second Place
The second place award went to a team at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly). The package called Pancake Pack is a “preportioned pancake mix.” Consumers “just add water and squeeze,” according to the students’ submission.
“Finding the right shape and material was tough because we needed something that mixed easily while preserving the pancake mix,” says Emma Powers, one of four students who worked on the prototype. “We tested multiple plastic films to get it just right.”
In their contest entry, the students note that one of the biggest problems with regular pancake mix is that it requires numerous tools and measuring cups to make the batter. The Pancake Pack, on the other hand, is a portable and convenient way to enjoy pancakes while traveling, living in dorms, or in small spaces.
“The pancake pouch includes a built-in fill line so you can add just the right amount of water without needing a measuring cup,” the students say in their pitch. “The pouch also features a resealable cap so you can effectively make and mix the batter inside the package instead of using a bowl and whisk. This makes pancake preparation faster, cleaner, and easier, especially for people on the go.”
Honorable Mentions
Another team of students at RIT earned an honorable mention for their concept of a Bounce® Dryer Sheets Resealable Pouch.
“Are you sick of your dryer sheets losing their scent before you even use them?” says the team’s video presentation. The flexible package is fully resealable, unlike the cardboard boxes that it would replace. “Traditional boxes crack, spill, and let your dryer sheets go stale. Not to mention the annoying flaps that never stay shut. You deserve better. And your laundry does, too.”
The idea for the dryer sheets came after numerous brainstorming sessions, says Cole Teeple, one of the three people on the contest team.
“The product selection process was probably the most difficult. Over the years, the development of flexible packaging has been exponential, and it is hard to find products without already suitable flexible packaging,” Teeple adds. In the spring, he started a six-month internship with Fanatics Collectibles, where he hopes to work with a variety of flexible packaging solutions.
“It’s a really interesting kind of concept: How can flexible packaging be more innovative than just the package itself? There were some thoughtful, great prototypes.”
—Kara Stoney, the ELC Education and Recruitment Committee chair, key brand manager of packaging at Dow, and contest judge
“The journey from the original idea all the way to the final physical product was my first taste of what packaging engineers do and what the industry can be like.”
A second honorable mention went to a different team at Cal Poly for its GlowGo: Single Serving Skincare. Efforts to reach the student designers were unsuccessful. However, they state in their presentation that the vision for this design was based on consumer convenience for individuals who want to apply makeup on the go. Skincare products are sold in many sizes of jars and containers. Single-use packs are available, they add, “but none consists of an entire routine distributed as one unit.”
A series of tear-away packs contains different products.
“The product could be catered to men and women separately, to different ages, and to different skin types,” the students add. “It can accommodate the addition of makeup remover, face masks, and hand cream to the set.”
Carr and Stoney commented on the convenience of the concept.
“I love it,” Stoney says. “I think that would be very helpful.”
The judges say they saw a lot of promising prototypes.
Stoney notes that the students gave a lot of thought to what went into flexible packaging, but also how flexible packaging itself can create a product.
“It’s a really interesting kind of concept: How can flexible packaging be more innovative than just the package itself?” she says. “There were some thoughtful, great prototypes.”
Clark says he appreciated how the students focused on sustainability, too.
“Every student led with how they can make the flexible packaging more sustainable,” he explains. “Convenience was another theme throughout. I was impressed with the time and effort the students put into the contest, especially with the ways to expand the use of flexible packaging.”
Thomas A. Barstow is senior editor at FlexPack VOICE®.