A leading multinational company in the packaging industry and Desall invite you to design a new refill dispensing cap for refilling perfume bottles at home, featuring a simple, intuitive, and safe mechanism that ensures a quick and convenient refilling experience while preventing direct contact between the user and the fragrance.
We are looking for a new cap that enables perfume bottles to be refilled at home through a simple, intuitive, and safe process.
The project shall propose an innovative solution that enables the transfer of the fragrance from the refill container to the perfume bottle, while preventing the user from coming into contact with the liquid and minimizing the risk of leaks and product contamination.
Particular attention shall be paid to the simplicity of the mechanism, the sustainability of the refill cap, and its integration with existing packaging.
The refill cap shall also be reusable for multiple refill operations and ensure easy fitting and removal.
Guidelines
To ensure the proper development of your projects, please carefully consider the following guidelines:
Project type
You are invited to design a reusable refill cap to be fitted directly onto the perfume bottle after removing the pump, allowing the fragrance to be transferred from the refill container to the bottle.
The refill cap shall be suitable for filling a glass perfume bottle equipped with a removable screw-on pump.
The solution may be activated through simple and natural actions, such as pressing, rotating, or screwing, or through other intuitive movements, without requiring particular strength or skills from the user.
It may also use gravity or other fluid dynamic principles to facilitate the transfer of the liquid, provided that the process remains controlled, quick, and safe.
The refill cap shall provide a stable connection between the refill container and the perfume bottle, ensuring a controlled transfer of the fragrance while preventing leaks, drips, or accidental spills throughout the entire refill process. Once assembled onto the refill container and turned upside down, the system shall ensure a leak-tight seal.
The system may include an automatic flow shut-off when the maximum filling level is reached, preventing the perfume bottle from being overfilled.
Solutions introducing innovative interaction modes compared to the refill systems currently available on the market will be positively evaluated.
State of the Art Analysis
You are invited to review the solutions currently available on the market and conduct an appropriate patent search to avoid proposing systems that already exist or are protected by intellectual property rights.
To view examples of products currently available on the market that are relevant to this brief, please refer to the Inspiration section of the contest.
User Experience
The refill cap shall provide a simple and intuitive user experience, making the refill process quick and accessible even to users with no prior experience. The refill cap shall be easy to assemble, use, and remove, without requiring complex procedures or dedicated tools.
Throughout the refill process, the following shall be minimized:
– accidental leaks or spills;
– risk of contamination during fragrance transfer;
– user contact with the fragrance;
– assembly or operating errors.
The refill procedure shall also clearly communicate to the user both the correct connection between the components and the completion of the refill, including in cases where the perfume bottle does not allow the fragrance level to be visually checked.
Visual Appearance
Given the product positioning within the premium fragrance market, the design and aesthetic quality of the refill cap are key elements of the project.
The proposed solution shall convey quality, precision, and attention to detail, while remaining consistent with the perceived value of premium perfume bottles and packaging.
The solution shall integrate harmoniously with existing perfume bottles, resulting in an elegant and discreet product.
Clean, contemporary concepts that can be easily customized through geometry, colours, surface finishes, or graphic details will be positively evaluated, provided that the product’s structural simplicity is not compromised.
Sustainability
Sustainability is one of the key elements of the project.
The proposed concepts shall pursue maximum structural simplification, giving preference to:
– a configuration consisting of the smallest possible number of parts and, where technically feasible, a single-component design;
– ease of assembly and disassembly;
– the use of recyclable materials;
– reduced material usage and overall product weight;
– a design approach focused on reusability and end-of-life circularity.
Manufacturing Technologies and Materials
The proposed concepts shall be technically feasible from a manufacturing standpoint and compatible with the main industrial plastic injection-moulding technologies. The use of a single polyolefin material, either PP or PE, is preferred to facilitate the manufacture, disassembly, and recycling of the refill cap. To maximize recyclability, metal components and materials that are incompatible with the recycling stream of the predominant material, whether PP or PE, should be avoided.
A detailed level of engineering is not required; however, the concept shall be credible, manufacturable, and consistent with the requirements of the packaging industry.
Dimensions
There are no specific dimensional constraints.
The dimensions of the refill cap shall be consistent with the most common configurations of glass perfume bottles equipped with a removable screw-on pump and shall ensure practical and ergonomic use at home.
Target
The product is intended for premium fragrance brands wishing to offer their customers a simple, sustainable at-home refill experience consistent with the premium positioning of their brand.
The target users are consumers who value product experience, aesthetics, and sustainability.
Submission materials
Provide detailed descriptions and up to 5 images to effectively present your projects. Images should be in 4:3 format, with .jpg, .gif or .png file formats acceptable. The colour mode should be RGB and the maximum size of a single file should be 1 MB.
You’re invited to use the designated field on the submission page to attach a .zip file containing 3D files and high-resolution versions of the project images. The maximum file size for the .zip archive is 100MB.
Judging criteria
When evaluating the submissions, the Sponsor will consider the following criteria:
Functionality: 5/5
Degree of Innovation: 4/5
Technical Feasibility and Economic Sustainability: 4/5
Sustainability: 4/5
Aesthetic Quality: 3/5
Awards:-
1°: €5000
Extra Award (option right fee)
€2500
For the duration of the option right, the Sponsor may acquire a licence for the commercial exploitation of any non-winning project by paying the participant a fee of €2500. The selection of the winner will be made at the Sponsor’s sole discretion.
Deadline:- 26-11-2026
