Boudin Bakery is a bakery and restaurant chain originally from San Francisco, California, known for its sourdough bread. It was established in 1849 by Isidore Boudin, son of a family of master bakers from Burgundy, France, by blending the sourdough prevalent among miners in the Gold Rush with French techniques and longevity.

Today, it is famous for its “Bowl of Soup”, which is a sourdough boule with clam chowder inside of it. In 2018, with well over 160 years of history, Boudin decided to preset its audience with a new brand identity and to-go packaging system, one that represents its same spirit but with a 21st century vibe.

Goal: 100% Plastic Free Food Packaging
In the ArtCenter College of Design’s first 100% plastic free packaging course, students were challenged to rebrand a fast or fast casual food brand, and redesign their packaging system to be fully sustainable, using no plastic or bioplastic. Students were challenged to use new and old materials including biomaterials such as wood pulp, plant cellulose, food waste, grass, algae, and mushrooms that are sustainably sourced, and at the end of their lives, can be composted into bio-mass to regenerate depleted farming soils.

Students were no allowed to use the following materials:
PET (Polyethylene terephthalate), PE (Polyethelene) (LDPE and HDPE variants), LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene), HDPE (High Density Polyethylene), PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride), PP (Polypropylene), PS (Polystyrene), PC (Polycarbonate), PMMA (Acrylic), ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene), PA (Nylon), PLA (Polylactic Acid—Starch Based Bioplastic), Any Non-Edible “Biodegradable Plastic” or “Bioplastic” (AcC, PBS, PCL, PES, PVA, PHA).