When we talk about the importance of strong package design, we’re usually talking about the graphics. After all, most CPG products are sold in standard boxes and bags, and graphics are the element that really lets them stand apart from their competitors. However, an interesting and innovative packaging shape can also add a lot of brand equity by making the product distinct and memorable.
One of the best examples of this is Pringles®, which are sold in a tube that is completely unlike any other packaging found in the snack aisle. But how did this iconic shape come to be in the first place? Let’s take a closer look.
Who Invented the Pringles® Can?
The idea of the Pringles® canister was first invented by the chemist, Fredric Baur, in 1966. Because potato chips are fragile, Baur felt that simply tossing them in a bag was an inefficient method of storage. By putting the potato crisps in a can, Pringles® could offer consumers a compelling brand promise — that their snacks would be completely uniform, with every single crisp exactly alike.
Pringles® Packaging History: From Hesitation to Celebration
Despite Baur’s innovation, not everyone was sold on the concept of the Pringles® can shape. According to Phil Lempert of the Supermarket Guru, uniformity wasn’t always something that brands necessarily wanted to embrace. Potato chips in particular offered a kind of scavenger hunt element, since they can be so varied. Consumers like the idea of hunting for big chips, curled chips, or whatever their favorite shape happened to be, and there was a sort of gamified element that would be lost if shoppers already knew precisely what they’d get every time they reached into the can.
Developing the First Pringles® Can
Undeterred by the naysayers, Bauer set to work developing the first Pringles® can, approaching the challenge like a mathematician and engineer. At the heart of the chip’s packaging design is the snack’s unique shape: a hyperbolic paraboloid. In simple terms, this is a 3D surface that curves upward in one direction and downward in another, similar to a saddle or certain architectural roofs. This geometry isn’t just what allows consumers to make “duck faces” with their snacks; it distributes stress evenly, making each chip less likely to break under weight or pressure. In fact, this same shape is used in structural engineering for stability and strength.
Combined with the can’s cylindrical stackable design, this geometry is what allows Pringles® to be tightly packed without crumbling — something other potato chip brands couldn’t offer when sold in a standard bag. The result is a snack that stands out from the crowd, not only in taste and branding but in the elegant mathematical precision that keeps every chip nearly identical and intact.
A Packaging Design That Stands the Test of Time
Despite early hesitance from consumers (as well as opposition from competitors, who put pressure on the FDA to insist that Pringles® stop referring to their produce made from potatoes, wheat, rice, and corn as “chips”), Pringles® had finally found success by the 1980s. Their new boost in popularity was attributed to two different ad campaigns: One that introduce the tagline “Fever for the Flavor of Pringles®,” and another that starred actor Brad Pitt.
During this sales boom, the Pringles® mascot also underwent his first redesign. Interestingly, engineering students today sometimes use the Pringles logo and packaging as classroom projects, redesigning it to study branding, geometry, and structural efficiency, making the brand not only a delicious treat but a teaching opportunity that illustrates the importance of mathematics and engineering in brand identity.
The Pop That Just Won’t Stop Popping Up
Today, Pringles® are sold in over 140 countries. While their flavors are localized and come in everything from Piri Piri Chicken Flavor to Salt and Seaweed Flavor, the iconic can is the same wherever you go. Fredric Baur was so proud of his invention that he actually insisted on being buried in a can after he died. When he passed away in 2008, his family honored his wishes and were featured in the news all over the world.
It seems that the initial hesitation over Pringles’® unique design has gone to the wayside. In fact, the same snack giants that opposed the brand’s innovation now use the cylindrical design to inform their own packaging strategy. Brands like Frito-Lay have introduced their own twist on the saddle-shaped chips with their Lay’s Stax line. This kind of imitation speaks volumes: Pringles® didn’t just create a snack — it set a new industry standard that seamlessly blended geometry, engineering, and clever packaging to solve the persistent “broken chip” pain point for consumers, forcing their competitors to follow suit.
What the Pringles® Can Design Teaches Brand Leaders
So, what can brands learn from the Pringles® can? The unique packaging design of the Pringles® can isn’t just a novelty. Rather, it serves a real purpose that makes the product better and helps the brand live up to its promise. The fact that others have mirrored both the canister and the hyperbolic paraboloid shape underscores the brand’s impact as more than a quirky design choice; it became the benchmark for durability, uniformity, and snack presentation
Pringles® managed to be unique because they could deliver something to consumers that no one else had, which was completely uniform and unbroken crisps. If brand leaders want to emulate the success of Pringles®, they should think hard about their brand’s promise and unique selling features, and consider the different ways that packaging can support these positive attributes.