Winesmith Koala Topper

The Brief

The project called for a unique wine topper that would transform ordinary boxed wine into a conversation starter about sustainability. The design needed to feature a koala’s head crafted from food-grade silicone, complete with a pressable nose that would function as the wine dispenser. This creative concept would serve to highlight both the environmental benefits of boxed wine and support koala conservation efforts.

When Winesmiths approached Inck, they presented an innovative vision that would merge sustainability with wildlife conservation. Their goal was to create a promotional product that would not only serve a practical purpose but also communicate a powerful environmental message through everyday use to benefit the Australian Koala Foundation (AKF).

Inck embraced this challenge by manufacturing the item with a supplier that prioritized both quality and sustainability. Our team created custom tooling and molds to capture every detail of the koala design, while ensuring the product met strict food safety standards. The manufacturing process required precise engineering to ensure the pressable nose mechanism worked flawlessly while maintaining the product’s durability.

Implementation

The production phase involved meticulous attention to detail, from selecting the perfect food-grade silicone material to implementing rigorous quality control measures. Each topper was crafted to fit universally on standard wine cask taps, ensuring broad compatibility across different boxed wine brands. The final product successfully balanced functionality with playful design, creating an engaging user experience.

The campaign proved to be a remarkable success on multiple fronts. It effectively raised awareness about sustainable wine packaging while generating substantial funds for koala conservation. The product gained significant social media traction, creating organic buzz around both brands’ environmental initiatives. Most importantly, it demonstrated how promotional merchandise could serve a greater purpose while maintaining commercial viability.

Key Learnings

This project reinforced several valuable insights for our team. We discovered that purpose-driven merchandise creates deeper connections with consumers than traditional promotional products. The importance of material selection and quality control in food-safe products became evident throughout the process. Perhaps most significantly, we learned that collaborative design processes, though challenging, yield superior results when all stakeholders remain engaged and aligned with the project’s goals.