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Bad Packaging Design
| 10.16.2005
In a world with Zip-Lock this and re-sealable that, why are there still so many products that don't use any of the latest "stay-fresh" packaging technologies? Cold cuts, shredded cheese, nuts, coffee are all just a few of the items that have re-sealable packaging. Why not flour, cereal or Paul Newman's organic pretzels. I'm getting sick and tired of eating soggy Captain Crunch. You would think if anyone wanted to conserve and preserve the planet, it would be Paul Newman (Newman's Own). The bags tear easy and they're all stale before you can say "chipped tooth!" Even Oreos have a zip lock on them now. If the king of white trash cookies can do this, you'd think Paul would ask for a few dollars back from his charities to employ a similar solution, especially given the premium we all pay. The real killer for me is packaging that's designed to contain goopy stuff like spreads, cottage cheese and yogurt. Under the re-sealable lid is a thin plastic film that’s glued to the outer edge of the tub. This is to be removed when you're ready to use it. Thus, here’s where we can separate the package designers into two camps: those that make it easy on us, and those that make it hard.
The bad camp glues the plastic film around the edge, with not nearly enough of an overlap. The overlap is crucial for being able to grab the excess film with your fingers, pulling it off quickly and easily. Removing the film in this scenario involves piercing with a sharp knife, then peeling it back. The pierced film nearly always comes in contact with the food below, resulting in a messy removal. It’ll also split into several pieces, requiring multiple peels.
The good camp leaves a little “tab” of excess film at one spot on the tub’s edge. this little tab is big enough to grab with your fingers, easily pulling the entire film off the tub without piercing. No mess.
So lets make the world a better place to get fat in. Email Paul and ask him when he's going to do the right thing. If that feels a little to intimidating, email Hood and suggest that they put a little more film around the edge of their cottage cheese.
I've become an expert at precisely holding a knife's blade just low enough to pierce the film as i rotate the container. I'm getting pretty good at it but I shouldn't have to be....why is this important you ask? No idea!
Thanks to "BITS"
posted at 10:19 AM
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2 Comments:
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
it was obviously inspired by bits (see credit) but lets just say we both share many of the same obsessions.
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