Turning unboxing into play for children’s bike brand woom

Discover how Smurfit Westrock helped turn woom’s self-balancing bike packaging into an interactive brand experience.

For its new WOW self-balancing children’s bike, woom challenged conventional thinking around packaging, seeking to create something that goes beyond protection and logistics. Partnering with Smurfit Westrock, the brand set out to design a paper-based solution to enhance the product experience from the first moment, transforming unboxing into an engaging, playful and memorable part of the journey for families.

Watch the full unboxing experience of the woom WOW bike, from opening the box to the bike’s rollout.

The Challenge

woom sought to rethink packaging for its new woom WOW self-balancing bike. Instead of focusing only on protection and shipping, the goal was to create packaging that feels like an extension of the product experience. The aim was to give families a memorable first experience, combining surprise, practicality and brand storytelling, while still meeting everyday needs such as safety, efficiency and scalability. The challenge was heightened by the need to present the bike fully assembled and allow it to come smoothly out of the box.

The Approach

Smurfit Westrock’s Celpack plant in Portugal partnered closely with woom to bring this vision to life, combining technical expertise and creative design to deliver a custom-designed pack that allows the bike to “roll out” as the box is opened. The solution creates an engaging unboxing moment while reinforcing that the packaging is part of the overall experience, with internal corrugated fitments designed for reuse as interactive play and learning elements, such as obstacles, a cardboard handlebar for early riding practice or a miniature bike replica for coloring.

The Result

The final solution turns unboxing into a playful, game-like experience that delights children and parents from the first moment. The packaging reinforces woom’s premium positioning while adding lasting value through second-life use, encouraging creativity and play beyond the initial opening. At the same time, it supports sustainability goals and meets practical needs for strength, efficiency and scalability, showing how innovative, paper-based packaging can combine operational performance with emotional impact and become part of the overall product experience.