The cardboard drink tray that is used to keep beverages stabilized when you get takeout from a fast food restaurant is usually discarded after use, but the McDonald’s Boombox aims to help encourage you to keep it around. The drink tray works to allow a smartphone of any make or model to be amplified through the unit without requiring any electricity to do so.
The McDonald’s Boombox was created in collaboration with Stacklab, which is the University of Waterloo's Audio Research Group and industrial design company. The limited-edition cardboard drink trays were made exclusively available in Canada at a one-day even that was held at the Woodbine Beach location in Toronto on July 28. The drink trays have no electrical accouterments and are fully recyclable.
What's Driving This Trend
- Upcycling Packaging
- Creating innovative products or experiences using discarded packaging materials, like the McDonald's Boombox made from a cardboard drink tray.
- Amplification Without Electricity
- Developing solutions that leverage passive amplification to enhance the sound experience of smartphones, as seen in the McDonald's Boombox.
- Collaborative Design
- Exploring partnerships between research groups, institutions, and design companies to create unique and sustainable products, such as the collaboration behind the McDonald's Boombox.
Who This Affects Most
- Fast Food
- Fast food chains can explore opportunities to innovate with their packaging, like creating functional and eco-friendly products.
- Consumer Electronics
- The consumer electronics industry can explore alternative methods of sound amplification, such as passive amplifiers, for a more sustainable and accessible audio experience.
- Industrial Design
- Industrial design companies can partner with research groups and institutions to develop creative solutions using sustainable materials, like the collaboration behind the McDonald's Boombox.
