Abcam

Abcam is a Cambridge based company dedicated to supplying the largest online catalogue of antibodies in the world. Its antibodies are used in microbiology, stem cell research and many other developmental biology activities.

The Challenge

The antibodies had been transported in vials that were housed in a plastic container. The container was shipped in an expanded polystyrene (EPS) box, along with an ice pack to control the temperature. Abcam was keen to reduce the size of the EPS box and to improve the design and versatility of the container, possibly through including some additional functionality so that it would be more reusable for their customers.

Approach

eg technology investigated the transportation requirements for the package and through thermal modeling were able to optimise the dimensions of the external box, thus reducing the environmental impact and minimising warming during transportation. Numerous new concepts for the vial containers were developed and presented back to Abcam for review over the course of the project. High quality renderings were produced for the three favoured concepts, before one design was taken forward to detail design.

The Result

Abcam have now optimised the package format against their courier's dimensional weight parameters whilst improving thermal performance. The brightly coloured, branded building blocks that eg technology developed have improved product presentation to the customer as well as being reusable around the lab and collectable for fun. They have built a marketing campaign around the new packaging and are using this to drive volume increase.