The Most Ridiculous Product Packaging We’ve Ever Seen

By: Kate Row | Published: Jan 05, 2023

You might not give much thought to the way things are packaged but we can appreciate companies who put some thought into the cases they sell their products in because packaging waste accounts for a huge portion of our trash.

However, not everything is packaged with forethought and care. These are some of the most ridiculous examples of unnecessary, silly, and excessive product packaging that we’ve ever come across. 

Would You Like a Coke To Go?

In a perfect example of unnecessary packaging comes these coke cans in individual boxes. We can’t think of one single reason why this would be necessary.

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Source: Bri An_ tvmost

Not to mention, it’s horrible for the environment! Soda cans don’t need an extra layer of plastic around them. They’re made to be taken on the go. We have to assume whoever thought of this did not hold onto their job for long.

Work Smarter, Not Harder

Now it seems like there is a fairly obvious solution to this situation. We are shocked that someone actually took the time to peel these oranges and place them in plastic containers. 

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Source: awlilnatty/ Twitter

I mean, orange peels are kind of nature’s way of packaging itself, right? Let’s work smarter, not harder! Hopefully, someone caught this and course-corrected before all the oranges in the store were packed in plastic boxes.

The Most Protected Pill

We can’t seem to figure out why one singular pill would need this much packaging? Does it really need this much protection? It has not one, not two, but three layers of packaging.

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Source: Neglected_Martian/ Reddit

We are all for safety lids on pills but this makes us seem like Claritin wants to make it really hard to get your medicine. The package says it’s “non-drowsy” but you might get tired just trying to open the package.

Protect the Socks At All Costs

Plastic air packaging is a great way to protect fragile items. Since we all order online now, it is necessary for many packages, but this is just not one of them. 

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Source:DeLaNate/ Twitter

When you see 7 ft of air packaging like this you assume it was wrapped around something fragile like glass. But in this case, all that plastic was used to protect a few pairs of socks! Those must be the most well-protected socks in the world.

An Extra Layer For Those Coconuts

Coconuts are known for their hard outer layer. In fact, lots of people actually have a hard time breaking into these fruits, so the last thing they need is more packaging.

Source: ProperEllipsis/ Twitter

This has to be one of the most ridiculous uses of plastic we’ve seen. We’re pretty sure the coconuts are good on their own. This plastic could be put to better use almost anywhere else.

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Amazon Going a Little Overboard

Amazon is the best way to get anything delivered to your front door fast, and they’ve saved most of us on many occasions. But, this time they really missed the mark with their packaging.

Source: Cakalusa/ Imgur

This gentleman ordered a chip that is as small as a fingernail. But the box it came in was almost as big as a microwave! They must have a smaller option. Might we suggest an envelope next time?

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No Disk Needed, No Plastic Needed!

This individual ordered a new laptop and it came with an antivirus program. But when they opened the case they found this: ‘No disk needed’. This begs the question: Why include the disk case?!

Source: BirdNerdthe3rd/ Reddit

If all they needed was a website link that surely could have been printed on the instructions or somewhere. The disk case is completely unnecessary and wasteful. 

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Worst Thing Since Sliced Bread

We’ve all heard the saying, “This is the best thing since sliced bread”, but we think this packaging might just be the very worst thing since sliced bread. Individually packaged slices of bread seem to have no purpose at all.

Source: SaveLakeCanton/ Reddit

Not only is it wasteful, but who wants to waste their time ripping open the plastic of each and every slice of bread they use? This is a nightmare for any parents making sandwiches for the family.

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Peel Your Own Avocados

A woman posted this sad picture online of an avocado that is pre-cut and wrapped in plastic and cardboard for seemingly no reason. After all, avocados have their own wrapping that is completely compostable!

Source: Christine Kizik/ Facebook

The store that sold these explained that this was for “avocado beginners” that don’t know how to pick out a ripe avocado. To be honest, that doesn’t seem like a good enough reason to wrap fresh produce in plastic waste.

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When the Packaging Doesn’t Fit the Product

Now a knife is a good example of a product that should be wrapped. We don’t need anyone accidentally hurting themselves while they’re perusing the aisles. But, they could have put a little more thought into the size of the packaging.

Source: Ferlon/ Reddit

This might have worked perfectly for a much larger knife but this little guy didn’t need so much room. Perhaps this was an accident and they meant to put a bigger knife in this packaging. We sure hope they didn’t waste this much plastic on a bunch of knives this size.

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Wrap… For Bubble Wrap

Amazon sent this person their bubble wrap wrapped in paper in some kind of Russian nesting doll situation. They were obviously confused as to why bubble wrap would need its own wrapping.

Source: gtbuzztim/ Reddit

This person was obviously buying the bubble wrap to wrap their own items. I guess they can use the paper that the bubble wrap was in to wrap their own stuff as well.

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Peeled Bananas in Plastic – No Thanks

This one must have been made for the laziest among us. We can confidently say we’ve never heard of ”pre-peeled” bananas before. Again, we must wonder why they took away nature’s protective layer to use plastic instead.

Source: Billa/ Facebook

Also, we can’t imagine that these bananas kept very well in this state. Who’s buying this kind of thing? We have to know!

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How is This “Less Waste”?

What has the world come to that we are packaging individual potatoes and selling them as “convenient portion sizes”? Whoever leads this marketing department should really reconsider their strategy.

Source: Stuart Gibson/ Twitter

The plastic casing even says “less waste” right on it but we can’t imagine how this is less wasteful than just buying potatoes that don’t happen to be wrapped in plastic. You’re going to wash them anyways so what’s the point of the bag?

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An Individually Wrapped Strawberry

One thing we definitely don’t need is individually wrapped fruits. This company sells singular strawberries in all this fancy packaging. Apparently, it’s an incredibly rare strawberry that is often given as a gift in Japan.

Source: hiroyatomoko/ Instagram

And based on the box it comes in, it better be the best strawberry you’ve ever tasted. I guess luxury comes in its own little package.

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You’ll Never Guess What’s Inside

You can buy M&Ms in bags, boxes, and even in tubes, but have you ever gotten them in a bag and a box? We assume this was just a mistake that happened at the factory, but this person found a bag of M&Ms inside their box of M&Ms!

Source: Caesar100/ Reddit

We don’t see why anyone would need an extra layer in between them and their movie theater candy. We imagine this person was awfully surprised to find this in their box of candy.

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“Environmentally Friendly” Bulbs

Something we’d like to tell all companies is that if you’re marketing an environmentally friendly product, your packaging should be kind to the environment as well! 

Source: Reddit

This bulb might be saving the earth with its low energy consumption, but they’re counteracting that with the insane amount of packaging used for the tiny appliance. It’s silly!

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Ever Heard of Festive Potatoes?

We have to admit we had never heard of festive potatoes before but here they are. They really exist and their packaging is just as silly as they are. These potatoes come with what looks to be an ornament.

Source: claRED_8/ Twitter

I can’t say that I’ve ever bought potatoes hoping for a Christmas decoration inside. We have to wonder how much cheaper it would be to just buy regular old potatoes and buy the Christmas ornaments elsewhere.

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Presentations Everything

This might be a fun way to display the colorful markers but it is completely and totally unnecessary. This individual showed just how small the package could have been to store the markers.

Source: Kieran_Aspden/ Twitter

Kids might love this circular pattern when they first open it but we all know as soon as they start using them those markers are never going to go back into that formation so it’s pretty pointless.

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Layers… Like an Onion

This candy wants to make you really work for it. They have not one, not two, but three layers of plastic before you get down to the thing you really want.

Source: Elikessler/ Reddit

We’re not sure why anyone would find this necessary and it is just going to make our earth sad. Hopefully, they have since reconsidered and found a way to package their candy that is not so wasteful.

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Peeled Garlic

We hate peeling garlic as much as the next person. We can admit it’s one of the least enjoyable parts about cooking, but we think we can sacrifice it to help out our planet a little bit. 

Source: AyeOhEwe/ Reddit

Pre-peeled garlic means way more plastic packaging. In reality, there should be no packaging involved when buying garlic.

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We Don’t Need to Wrap Everything

There are lots of things in the world that don’t need to be wrapped. Especially, when these items aren’t food! We are having a hard time imagining why a singular pencil would need its own bag.

Source: Cobain Schofield/ Twitter

This is one of many situations in which an item can just stand on its own. Plastic is so wasteful and as we/ve seen here today, usually unnecessary!

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Wrapped, and Wrapped Again

You certainly don’t want your raw chicken touching your other groceries. Salmonella is no joke! But, that doesn’t mean that chicken needs to be wrapped with this much plastic.

Source: Cdrow/ Twitter

These chicken breasts are individually wrapped in plastic and then wrapped again to keep them together in the plastic case. Not needed!

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All This For Some Honey Mustard?!

We get the luxury of brewing able to buy just about anything online these days. And it’ll be at your door before you know it (thanks Amazon). But, that means more excessive packaging than we’ve ever seen.

Source: Stoopkid17/ Imgur

This individual bought some honey mustard online and this was the insane package it came in. Next time, let’s just head out to the grocery store to pick up our condiments to save the world some unnecessary waste.

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Not So Cute

Cuties are a great on-the-go snack when you’re rushing around, but they certainly don’t need any plastic casing. Halos usually sell these in a mesh bag and that’s really all it takes. 

Source: hambergerlee/ Twitter

We don’t need portion sizes measured out into plastic containers for fruit like this. Cuties literally have their own shell that protects the fruit front from the dust and grime of the world. Let nature do its thing.

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Plot Twist

We can think of about a million things that could fit well in this package. But an earring is not one of them. How could someone actually look at an item this small and think that a huge box was the right thing to ship it in?

Source: BeerWrangler/ Twitter

We can probably all agree that this is one of the most ridiculous package jobs we’ve seen so far. It was actually probably difficult to even find the tiny item in the packaging, so not only is it not necessary but it’s not really effective either.

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Let the Bread Be

There is absolutely no reason that slices of bread need to be separated. The pieces of bread were once joined, so why can’t they touch in the package?

Source: blackbird9184/ Reddit

We can’t be sure if the bread was sold this way or if this was something a consumer took upon themselves to do, but let’s all just agree that we don’t need paper towels in between each slice of bread in the loaf.

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McWasteful

Most fast food joints aren’t really well known for their environmentally conscious efforts, but we can all play our part. Some use recycles materials to package their food. But, McDonald’s might be a little behind the times with this one.

Source: joantheunicorn/ Reddit

This person asked for some bacon on the side of their meal and they got just that, but the box it came in could have fit a whole meal on its own! Next time, we will just get the bacon on the burger instead.

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Jelly Belly

In a long list of things that don’t need their own individual packages comes Jelly Beans! There can’t be one single person who ever has just one. These are a candy you enjoy by the handful!

Source: Bridgiesmallz/ Reddit

One jelly bean might not seem like too much plastic but imagine how much plastic was wasted in wrapping an entire bag of jelly beans. 

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Plastic Bottles Wrapped in Plastic

We are already trying to move away from using plastic water bottles. You’ll notice lots of people carrying around their reusable bottles, trying to make a difference for the environment. 

Source: rejoove/ Twitter

So when we see plastic bottles that are wrapped in even more plastic, we can’t help but wonder who thought up this idea. We hate to see it!

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