View news and innovations from PACK EXPO 2024
View all the latest news and innovations from PACK EXPO International 2024

Shapely, Reusable Steel Can for Shell Drives Motor Oil First

Shell introduces a two-piece, contemporary stainless steel can for its lubricant products for trial in the Loop reusable shopping platform in France.

The stainless steel container for Shell lubricants was designed to be reused up to 100 times, effectively eliminating the need for 100 plastic containers.
The stainless steel container for Shell lubricants was designed to be reused up to 100 times, effectively eliminating the need for 100 plastic containers.

For Paul Drake, founding partner and Creative Director of global design agency JDO, his firm’s work in 2019 on a reusable, stainless-steel container in a contemporary, elegant design for Shell’s Helix Ultra Net Zero Carbon lubricants range is a good example of the “lane-change moment” the CPG industry is experiencing—of which, he said, “we don’t get many.”

“As an industry, I think we have become more and more aware of the wastefulness of everything we do,” he says. “I believe COVID and other things are forcing a lane-change moment. There’s an opportunity to look at the world differently. I think it’s [reusable packaging] long overdue; we desperately need it.”

From a design standpoint, he adds, the opportunity to “design the perfect pack for a product,” rather than designing around the constraints of the supply chain, such as manufacturing tolerances, palletization, shelf-ready packaging, brand standout on shelf, etc., is an exciting one. “There’s a whole new potential for what a package does and how we live with it,” he says. “In theory, it might be beautiful and more elegant, and we might keep it at home for longer. And from that perspective, it’s very exciting.”

The Shell container was designed for trial use in France in the Loop circular shopping platform, which allows consumers to purchase products in reusable packaging that is returned for cleaning and refilling. When it announced its involvement in Loop in May 2019, Shell said it was “the first lubricant company to create a reusable container for motor engine oil in this century.”


Watch video   Learn more about Loop and partner Seventh Generation in this video from PACK EXPO Connects.

It added that its Shell Helix product is a perfect fit for the Loop system, due to the brand’s PurePlus Technology, which comprises low-viscosity and low-friction formulations. “Just like Loop aims to reduce impact on our planet, using Shell Helix can result in greater fuel economy, leading to lower CO2 emissions,” the company remarked.

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