SOFT-GOODS DESIGN • CHARACTER DESIGN • FACTORY DEVELOPMENT
FREEZABLE FRIENDS: DOG & UNICORN
Two character-driven freezable lunch bags designed to make a fridge-cold lunch something a kid actually wants to carry. Lunchtime is a social time for kids, a chance to recharge and connect with friends, so these bags are built to be part of that: fun enough to share and talk about at the table. My work covered the full process: trend research, material exploration, tech packs, and setting up a new factory to build them.
DISCIPLINES
Soft-goods design / Color, Material & Finish / 3D-printed prototyping / Overseas factory management
PHASE 01
RESEARCH, MARKET & TREND CONTEXT
DESIGNING FOR THE SCHOOL-LUNCH GENERATION
Gen Alpha shoppers, and the parents buying for them, respond to lunch gear with personality. Trend research pointed toward character-led silhouettes, huggable trims and pieces kids form an attachment to, not just carry. Freezable Friends translates PackIt's freezer-gel cooling tech into several characters built around that insight.
Bright, fun colors capture kids' imaginations.
Portability and customization are top priorities for kids’ lunch products, with demand for bento boxes and stackable containers.
Lunch is seen as a social moment that fosters connection, sharing, and self-expression.
Licensing and cute designs are drivers leading to opportunities for character collaborations and playful graphics that boost emotional engagement and attachment.
NEW FINDINGS — CONCEPT VALIDATION
The case for an original family of characters
WHAT MAKES FREEZABLE FRIENDS A SOLID STRATEGY
Follow-on research asked a specific question: should PackIt license a children’s franchise for its freezable bags, or build its own mascots? Trends and financial data point towards original, non-licensed characters, each mapped to cater to a documented demand pocket. Doing so avoids the double-digital royalties associated with franchises.
PackIt can build its own brand equity that compounds over time instead of renting someone else’s.
Insulated bags lead a growing category
INSULATED CONSTRUCTION IS THE DOMINANT, PREMIUM SUB-SEGMENT OF THE KID’S LUNCH BAG MARKET.
168%
Growth in insulated bag sales, July-September 2025, as back-to-school demand peaks
Why not license a franchise
CHARACTER LICENSING IS A RECURRING COST STACK. AN ORIGINAL MASCOT IS A ONE-TIME DESIGN INVESTMENT THAT PACKIT KEEPS.
Owned characters build brand equity
70%
MORE EFFECTIVE AT BUILDING BRAND SHARE THAN A BORROWED INTEREST DEVICE
37%
MORE LIKELY TO DRIVE BRAND RECOGNITION
30%
MORE LIKELY TO COMMAND ATTENTION THAN CAMPAIGNS WITHOUT A CHARACTER
Where packit’s white space sits
Competitors win with proprietary prints or with named mascots and both rarely are paired with a functional technological edge, EcoFreeze™. Freezable Friends is the first to combine a named character platform with patented cooling technology.
Competitor playbook
Character-by-character trend evidence
NEXT STEPS…
STAGE 1 — NOW
LOCK THE FOUR-CHARACTER PLATFORM
Treat Dog, Unicorn, Fox and Truck as named, reusable mascots, not one-season prints. Design unique trademarks for each.
STAGE 2
DESIGN FOR COORDINATED SELLING
Extend each character across lunch bag, snack bag, and bottle carrier to enable bundles and gifting, following the Bentgo/Skip Hop/ Wildkin model.
STAGE 3
INVEST IN THE MASCOTS AS EQUITY
Give each a name, personality and mini-story. Track recognition and sell-through per character over 2-3 back-to-back school cycles.
PHASE 02
CONCEPT & SILHOUETTE
COLOR, MATERIAL & FINISH
Each bag starts from PackIt's standard and patented gel technology. The character comes entirely from what's built on top of it: dimensional ears, a sculpted brow, and a face laid out so every seam reads as an expression rather than a printed graphic. A large part of the development involved material and trim selection.
DOG MATERIAL STUDIES — Part of the development for each character was selecting materials that were playful and cute. These studies helped push the boundaries of what PackIt normally does for bag development.
UNICORN MATERIAL STUDIES — Similarly to the development of the Dog freezable friends, the Unicorn used materials that emphasized more girl-oriented colors and finishes. In particular, the use of glitter spray for the body material.
PHASE 03
TECH PACKS
TECHNICAL DRAWINGS / FACTORY COMMENTS
Full construction and hardware specs went back to the factory as marked-up tech packs. See the annotated pages here.
PHASE 04
WHERE THE PERSONALITY LIVES
TRIM & DETAIL DEVELOPMENT
This is the part that turns a lunch bag into a friend. Every trim choice below went through its own materials and construction review before it earned a spot on the bag. Multiple revisions improved details like the Dog’s floppy ears and bone ID holder, or Unicorn’s gold plush horn and layered mane.
FIRST SAMPLES — Initial samples were made to spec per the tech packs. Most materials were digitally printed instead of lab dipping early in the development process. Hardware and trim selections were also tentative, since better alternatives or factory-recommended materials were still being sourced to pass safety testing.
FINALIZING TRIM — The final sets of samples perfected the Freezable Friends Dog’s trim package and fit & finish. Screen printing was redrawn to emphasize design details like the tip of the tail. Details include the front pocket using a gray liner instead of PackIt blue, indicating a “not a fridge-cold” section.
FIRST SAMPLES — Freezable Friends Unicorn used a significant amount of PU trim. A lot of attention was paid to color and finish. An unexpected issue was the PU trim needing to be flexible enough not to crack in the freezer or when used.
FINALIZING TRIM — The most recognizable feature of Freezable Friends Unicorn was the golden horn and layered mane. Special attention went into making sure the PU plush pieces were repeatable during production and making sure during packaging the PU pieces weren’t damaged in the case packs.
PHASE 05
FINAL DESIGN
IN-PRODUCTION & ON SHELVES
DOG SAMPLE ROUNDS
4
UNICORN SAMPLE ROUNDS
3
CHARACTERS LAUNCHED, TWO DESIGNED BY ME
4
COLLECTION - FREEZABLE FRIENDS
1
