Tetley's Nails It

If you drink tea, you are familiar with the method of plopping your wet tea bag against the side of the mug to drain it. No more! Tetley's has a drawstring tea bag that eliminates the need for wet plopping! It's fantabulous!

This is what the packaging looks like. I'm not certain if these are available stateside yet.

And here, from the package, are the step-by-step directions for using the drawstring bag. Pretty clever!

Thank you, Nutella!

...for not only producing one of the most delicious substances on the face of the Earth, but also for providing built-in self control with your single serve pouches. Kudos. It's a packaging win for Nutella!

 

Orville's New Bag Needs No Bowl

The Orville Redenbacher's Pop Up Bowl is pretty neato. Click through to watch the video - unfortunately they don't have one available to embed. The bag unfolds and expands similarly to other popcorn bags. Once it pops up, you tear off one edge and end up with a bowl-like package suitable for snacking. Beats coating your knuckles with shiny goodness when reaching deep into the greasy salty sides of a regular bag for the last kernels...

Heinz + Chick-Fil-A = Smart Ketchup

When touring North Carolina I have certain items on my must-eat-list: pork bbq, Bojangles, Cook Out shakes, and Chick-Fil-A. Acquired the Chick-Fil-A yesterday, and it was delicious as usual - and accompanied by a truly nifty ketchup packet from Heinz. Practical, intuitive - the only complaint I have is that I missed the free waffle fry day at Chick-Fil-A that accompanied the product launch in March.

Skip the Pots this Year

Biodegradable plant pots abound! The Home Depot sells many of its veggie and herb varieties in peat pots, and also sells empties for those of you who start from seed. Local garden clubs tend to be even better about this. As the growing season gets underway, consider what you're buying when you choose your plants - who needs a bunch of cheap plastic plant pots?

Snobject: SodaStream brings the Power of the Bubbly to you

My husband had a serious habit - he drank in the morning, throughout the day and the evening - he was and remains a seltzer fanatic. Then we brought the Sodastream into his life and now he's a changed man - he can make his own seltzer for a fraction of the cost and without tearing through seemingly millions of plastic bottles to get his fix. I highly, highly recommend it!

Also, for those of you wondering, the CO2 cartridges are exchanged at any store carrying the products - for $14.99 you get a recycled cylinder and yours is sent back to the company. That's $14.99 for ~65 bottles of whatever carbonated treat tickles your fancy. Again, highly recommended.

This week's Winner for Ugliest Packaging

Skintimate shave gel - if the brand name doesn't make you feel icky the packaging probably will. It's exhausting to see so many companies try to make "cool, different" packaging. I can just imagine the Marketing VP exclaiming that they need something New, Fresh!!!! And what they end up with is this hot mess. Offers nothing to the user and may even confuse them or turn them off. Try solving people's problems with your packaging next time and skip the New, Fresh! You'll actually end up with that which you seek.





-- Post From My iPhone

I Feel Violated by Tropicana's Packaging

Tropicana recently launched new juice cartons, which seemed curious because the old ones were nicer. These just look.....generic. Even my babysitter thought I'd accidentally purchased store-brand juice when I brought it home. This morning when my husband came home with a carton, Tropicana had taken it a step further - just look at the cap! Who wants to touch that every morning?


UPDATE, Feb 23rd: Tropicana has apparently seen the light. I just wish I could have saved them the time and money--maybe next time.