Imagine how much waste in the form of plastic, paper and cardboard could be saved if the containers for our bottled water, fast food, coffee and soups were made of edible materials. While some of these 13 edible packaging and dinnerware concepts are a little strange, who wouldn’t want to drink their espresso out of a cookie cup?
Edible Water Bottle
Could this weird little blob totally change the way we drink water? The Ooho eliminates plastic water bottle packaging, a major scourge upon the environment, thanks to a skin of edible gel around the water. ade of brown algae and calcium chloride. It’s actual less expensive than the plastic currently used for water bottles, but there’s the problem of keeping it clean until it reaches the consumer – which would have to involve some kind of removable, biodegradable protective layer on the outside.
Burgers Wrapped in Edible Paper
Does that wrapping look like it would taste good to you? There are scant details on what it was actually made from and what the flavor might have been like, but what you see above is edible burger wrapping designed for a limited-time marketing campaign for the Bob’s restaurant chain. It was a success, with not a single customer throwing out the wrapper, so it must not have been too bad.
Veggie Cup and Bowl Set
This sculptural dinnerware set is made entirely from edible and biodegradable materials made from flat-pressed sheets of vegetable matter including tomatoes, carrots, peppers and peas.
Edible Furniture for ‘Times of Crisis’
If things get really bad, you could always eat your furniture. Or at least you could if this concept ever became a reality, and you actually thought having edible furniture in your home was a good idea. Design studio Lanzavecchia + Wai created a series of furniture with black iron bases supporting edible pieces that can be eaten away until only the base structure remains. The edible materials include bricks of rice, a blanket filled with beans, a chair made of hard candy and a table made of crackers.
Flour-Based Place Settings
Made from flour and water, these place settings might not hold up to the rigors of hot, soupy dishes or cutting tough meat and vegetables, but they make an interesting statement on how we could continue cutting waste in our homes and at restaurants.
Edible Crayons
A lot of kids eat crayons anyway, so why not make them edible? These crayons from Luxirare not only produce brilliant colors, but each color has a corresponding flavor, like corn and bananas for yellow, and marshmallows for white.
Cookie Cups
When you’re grabbing an espresso from a coffee shop, wouldn’t it be nice to have a cookie along with it? These cute little shot glasses by Italian company Lavazza are made of a light yet sturdy pastry with a sugar lining that sweetens your coffee as you drink it.
Edible Cups for Fast Food
A student at the Robert Gordon University of Art created these cool fast food packaging concepts made of what appears to be baked tortilla-like materials. They would be perfect for french fries and other finger foods eaten on the go.
Spoon Made of Edible Corn
Use these tasty corn-based spoons to eat your meal, and then bite right into them. The Eco-spoon by TriangleTree is 100% natural, made entirely from corn, and could be served in restaurants with appetizers and meals or sold in supermarkets for home use.
Frozen Yogurt Packaging Made of Fruit Membranes
WikiFoods is a lab looking to revolutionize the food packaging industry with natural, edible food skins. This particular product is a fruit-based membrane that maintains its strength and holds contents without damage – even frozen yogurt. The edible skins become stronger as they’re layered and could be used for everything from soup to beverages, all of which could be sold, like tomatoes or apples, without any other packaging. You would simply wash them before use.
Glasses Made of Sugar
Edible sugar glasses are sculptural objects, drinking vessels and part of the flavor of the drink they contain, all at once. Created by Mexican artist Fernando Laposse, they’re intended for use at one-time events ilk cocktail parties and art openings. The cocktail’s sweetness comes from the glass itself, and when the liquid is gone, you eat the glass like candy.
Edible Packaging that Dissolves in Water
Edible film pouches for tea, oatmeal, soups, gravies and other foods dissolve fast in hot water leaving no notable taste or odor behind. It’s an intriguing idea conceived by MonoSol, a company that also makes dissolvable packaging for products like detergents and fertilizers. But it appears that the film is made from plastic, which – edible or not – is less than appetizing.
Colorful Edible Plates
These ‘Taste no Waste’ plates by Diane Bisson aren’t just pretty, they’re also made out of vegetables. The biodegradable, edible containers have interesting colors and textures and are made of things like spinach and beets. They contain no preservatives, artificial coloring or sugar.

