food storage containers
Reduce Launches Vacuum Food Jar Sized and Styled for Kids
The new Reduce™ Vacuum Food Jar 10-Ounce expands the line of Fire + Ice vacuum insulated containers with the first offering sized and styled for kids. In bright blue or pink, this colorful, compact jar is spill-proof, lunchbox-friendly, easy to use, and reliably keeps food hot or cold for up to six hours.
The BPA-free Vacuum Food Jar features a 100 percent recyclable stainless steel jar and an attractive new twist-off lid of double-walled polypropylene. It is easy to open and close, yet stays airtight to keep food at the perfect serving temperature and to prevent messy spills.
Parents will appreciate the practicality of this reusable food jar, which eliminates the environmental waste of excess disposable packaging and the danger of glass containers. It fits into standard kids lunch boxes, while making it convenient to put nutritious homemade dishes, such as hot soups and cold fruit salads, on their kids’ menus when they eat at school or away from home.
The Reduce Vacuum Food Jar is 4.9 inches tall and 3.4 inches in diameter. Although designed for kids’ lunch boxes, this multitasking container can also be used for salad dressings or gravies when paired with larger Reduce Food Jars to transport a meal. This versatile jar can also be used for carrying medicines that require temperature control.
The Reduce Vacuum Food Jar 10-Ounce is available in pink or blue, with a suggested retail price of $11.99. It will be available for shipping May 2015.
For more information, visit reduceeveryday.com, or contact sales@basebrands.com.
Store Compost Without Attracting Fruit Flies
By Lorrie Baumann
CompoKeeper started as an answer to a smelly problem created when Boulder, Colorado adopted a municipal composting program. The municipal composting program was a well-intentioned effort to reduce waste going to the local landfills, which are expensive to build and maintain so that they don’t contaminate local groundwater, but like so many well-intentioned efforts, there were unintentional consequences.
The city handed out gallon-size plastic pails in which to collect organic waste in the kitchen. From there, the food scraps were to be taken to a curbside bin, where it was collected along with yard waste, recyclables and ordinary trash. The food scraps and yard waste went to a composting facility where it was turned into soil and distributed to local gardeners and various environmental rehabilitation projects. “My family was excited about it,” says Kristen Hess, Brand Manager and Co-founder of CompoKeeper. “What we found was that it was getting stinky in the kitchen, and also fruit flies were becoming a pain in the neck.”
The smell, the flies and the frequent trips outside to empty the small pail into the collection bin became obstacles that outweighed all the good intentions. “It wasn’t long before we stopped doing it – we stopped composting our food scraps,” Hess says.
Her dad, Van Hess, decided to do something about the situation, so he went to work on a bin system that would solve all the problems at once. It would be bigger than the small pail issued by the city. There would be no smell, and it wouldn’t breed fruit flies. “He found that he wanted the compostable bag to stay sealed when it wasn’t in use, but he didn’t want to use his hands to tie it and untie it, so he built clamps into the bin that are opened and closed with a foot pedal. Since the bag is sealed, odors are contained, and fruit flies are no longer an issue,” Hess says.
A Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to go into production didn’t raise enough pledges to give the Hesses their seed money, but it got noticed and people became interested enough to help the Hesses raise enough money to build a prototype. They also offered their ideas for improving the product, Hess said. “We made it better looking, added a bag tray to make it easier to extract the bag, added a charcoal filter,” Hess says. A local pitch slam in which entrepreneurs offered investment proposals to potential funders attracted an investor who put up enough cash to buy the necessary tools.
CompoKeeper went onto the market in September 2014, and it has continued to draw interest as more people have the opportunity to participate in municipal composting projects. CompoKeeper is currently available for $99.50 on the company’s website, and Sam’s Club has picked it up for a test run. The product is also available locally in Boulder and will be available online on Bed Bath & Beyond’s website this spring. The company is making its second appearance at the International Home + Housewares Show this year, and CompoKeeper is made in the USA. For further information, visit www.compokeeper.com.
This story was originally published in the March 2015 issue of Kitchenware News, a publication of Oser Communications Group.
Evie Bett Luxe Lunch Bags
Vivien Insulated Cooler
Food storage options for the foodie fashionista are finally here. Evie Bett insulated coolers are luxe lunch boxes disguised as chic handbags for all your food transport needs. The lunch bags go beyond a patterned or bright colored exterior, the usual methods of proclaiming a lunch box as something that is different or not entirely boring. Evie Bett bags shirk those means, instead opting to blend seamlessly into a fashion oriented life by taking on the appearance of a handbag that is simply well constructed and classic.
Evie Bett Founder and President Caryn Javinsky realized there was a void in the lunch bag market once she took time off from working in new product development and management for a Fortune 100 company to start a family. After her first child, she found herself carrying around food, snacks and bottles but didn’t like the available options for containing them. The available totes weren’t attractive, didn’t clean well, or didn’t do what they intended to, or sometimes were a combination of those undesirable factors.
“I also just happen to be what I consider a foodie fashionista,” says Javinsky. “Basically, I really felt there was a gap in the market for that, and that there is a large segment of people who would like to have a nice-looking bag that is both functional as well as fashionable. I really did want something special and something that you’d be proud to carry and put on your desk or bring in the break room, take to the gym, take on the subway, or the bus or the train – a mom swinging it off the back of the stroller – whatever your lifestyle might be.”
Ava Insulated Cooler
She settled upon neoprene as the insulating fabric for her lunch bags, a material used for wetsuits that insulates both hot and cold. Neoprene is also machine washable, which was a key feature for Javinsky, since she’d found that with other coolers a spill tended to mean the end of the line for the carrier. The smell of spoiled milk never quite went away, and they never felt as clean as they should, considering they contained food for both her children and herself. From there, she enlisted handbag designers who have worked with handbag heavy hitters like Kate Spade and Rebecca Minkoff to bring the bags to life.
The end result is a collection of bags with exteriors that do not scream “Lunch Bag!” There is gold hardware on one, brushed nickel on another. Some have vegan leather trim or vegan croc trim and detachable shoulder straps. The charcoal and black colors are neutral and timeless. The neoprene lining either detaches by snaps or by a zipper, depending on the bag, and can be used independently from the bag itself if desired. They are all BPA-free, lead-free, and phthalate-free. Diaper bag models are available as well. Javinsky says that customers have even whispered that they use them as a regular handbag with no one the wiser.
The bags have names such as Ava, Lana and Vivien that are inspired by 1950s and 40s movie stars from the era of Javinsky’s grandmothers, the brand’s namesakes. Her grandmother Evie was a traditional grandmother who would send her away from visits with food “Care Packages,” while her grandmother Bett was a dress maker and designer who was always well dressed.
The aim of the Evie Bett line is to add glamour to food carrying, and Javinsky says that her company research has proved that the office lunch crowd to be a large market segment indeed. “What our research has shown is that 83 percent of Americans actually eat lunch at their desks and white collar workers are more likely to carry their lunch or bring food with them. Of that, almost half make over $70,000 a year. So it’s really not just about economics for taking food with you anymore, it’s really about the choices you’re making.”
Lana Insulated Cooler
Javinsky believes that Evie Bett is well suited to the working or on-the-go foodie who is typically concerned about what they are putting in their body and most likely falls into the category of those bringing their own lunch to work. From a retail perspective, Evie Bett can fit into the gift category or round out the coolers selection as a more attractive option for the customer looking for a daily piece to complement their own personal aesthetic. For the average person, the bags just might shift the conversation away from wondering why they are bringing lunch to work to how good-looking the bag is.
“These are unique in that they are like handbags and it’s definitely a fashion statement as well,” says Javinsky. “I think that a lot of retailers haven’t even thought about carrying coolers, and they’re missing that market because their customers are buying them somewhere else – whether it be an organizational store, or a hardware store, or even a department store – there’s a need. It’s something that folks use and need whether they buy it for themselves or they have it bought as a gift for them.”
Evie Bett insulated coolers retail from $29 to $68. For more information, visit www.eviebett.com.
This story was originally published in the March 2015 issue of Kitchenware News, a publication of Oser Communications Group.
Boelter Brands and Charles Viancin Partner to Launch Officially Licensed Sports Lids
America’s passion for sports generates billions in consumer spending every year across all demographics. Boelter Brands, a leading consumer products licensee for the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA and over 250 Colleges is expanding its product line to include officially licensed silicone lids manufactured by Charles Viancin for Boelter Brands.
Home-gating is celebrating your team in the comfort of your own home. Boelter Brands product offering is positioned to capitalize on consumer demand for functional entertaining products. The collection includes hand painted, screened and sublimated glassware, ceramic mugs, coasters, bowls, glassware accessories and refrigerators. The addition of the silicone lid further expands their line of tailgating and home-gating merchandise.
Boelter Brands products will be on display at major gift markets and industry shows throughout the year. The 2015 catalog is available by calling 877.233.7287 or by email to sales@boelterbrands.com.
Laptop Lunches Rebrands and Unveils as Bentology for Spring 2015
The eco-friendly bento-ware brand Laptop Lunches has undergone a complete brand revitalization and launched Bentology with a new logo, tagline and website (to come March 8th). Under the new brand, Bentology will continue to provide premium bento-style meal systems for every member of the family, now with an enhanced aesthetic focused on design and functionality.
“Our mission from day one was to help and encourage families to make more nutritious and easy-to-pack lunches. Since then we’ve grown leaps and bounds and we’re excited to take the company to the next level. With the introduction of Bentology we are going beyond school lunches to eating by design through a healthy lifestyle,” states founder Tammy Pelstring. “It’s been an organic progression and we believe the increased array of products combined with original and engaging content on Bentology.net will make our mantra of ‘Eating by Design’ a way of life.”
The Bentology team partnered with award winning product design firm FATHOM, an advanced product development technologies expert, to establish a new logo, tagline and website while working closely with the staff to build an identity that reflects the brand’s core values and future strategy. The new brand maintains Bentology’s continual commitment and evolution to create innovative meal solutions that make lunchtime fun and hassle-free for the modern family as well as providing inspiring content to help people live a healthier life.
Laptop Lunches was originally founded by a California mom, Tammy Pelstring, whose mission was to simplify lunch-making, increase nutrition and minimize waste. Initially the line was geared towards school-age children, but it wasn’t long until both teachers and parents began using the bentos for their own daily lunch needs. As a natural response to this demand, Laptop Lunches grew to accommodate parents as well.
The new Bentology collection launches with two bento style food storage systems: the Bentology Bento Boxes (offered in five and six piece sets) and the Bentology Box Set. Both products include bento style food storage and carry systems in premium grade polypropylene that are BPA, phthalate and PVC-free, dishwasher safe and long lasting. The playful Bento Boxes with watertight-lidded containers will be available in new color ways and in combinations of clear/multicolor, raspberry/baby blue and midnight/apple (MSRP $19.99). The Bentology Box Set comes with four containers in assorted sizes that you can mix and match, and are available in raspberry and turquoise colors (MSRP $12.99). Longtime family favorite bentos such as the Dual Kit and Portion Perfect will still remain under the new Bentology brand.
A major part of the rebrand efforts is the launch of the new Bentology website that will provide educational and lifestyle content to Bentology users and community. The online component will be a resource for menus, inspirational images and healthy living tips. Bentology aims to create an online community of health conscious families that showcases how eating by design, entertaining by design and cooking by design is easily achievable. Furthering their goal to make lunchtime fun, Bentology will offer a creative user-friendly app titled “Lunch Ideas” that is free for download at the App store.
For more information on Bentology or to view the collection in its entirely, please visit www.Bentology.net.
You must be logged in to post a comment.