slam #1: sugar sticks

well u asked :wink: :blush:

worth it. rationing as a reason did not occur to me. its why development history is always one of my first questions. entire chain can be broken. rearranged. by removing one factor.

it was actually between february 1917 and january 1918 that sugar satchets were used in restaurants - between 1918 and 1928, serving sugar in public places, was prohibited - sugar was an extremely valuable commodity (it was usually one of the first things to be rationed at wartime). the sachets that civilian rations were in, were a lot bigger than the restaurant/cafe sachets - 3-4 oz (75-100g) … interestingly enough, soldiers rations sometimes came in the form of sugar tablets :neutral_face: - we have sugar cubes, now - but making them is time intensive - so sachets have the advantage of efficiency. apart from the hygiene factor, establishments also prefer satchets as they can carry advertisements

i’ve googled Fizzies - seems they didnt use sugar, but a sweetner that turned out to b a carcinogen :open_mouth: problem with carbonated tablets is the bubbles and acidic taste :frowning:

i’m not feeling well.

well, these are my options so far :

1.a stir stick that’s made of sugar (like a sugar cube, but stick shaped)

2.a stir stick made of a wafer roll, filled with granulated sugar, coated in edible, waterproof film, so that it doesnt go soggy during stirring, and a ricepaper stopper that dissolves on contact with water, thereby releasing the sugar

  1. an effervescent sugar tablet

  2. a sugar dispenser machine (like a vending machine)

  3. a personal sugar dispenser (like a pez dispenser, that can be filled by the machine on 4.)

  4. a chip thats implanted in your tongue, that triggers ur sugar-tasting taste buds, when ur tongue detects coffee or tea

  5. a sugar reservoir that’s attached to the top of your cup - you drink through it, and your beverage is sweetened as it passes through the reservoir

Sugar cubes do not allow for portion controle.

Related with the topic, Naoto Fukasawa’s choco stick with sugar and liquor, not new but still cool stuff (couldnt find pix).

http://www.axisinc.co.jp/English_f/etalkshop_f/65/65talk11.html

Oh, that’s interesting… just stir the coffee with a readily available After Eight mint stick. Let’s take it further… Starbucks no-fat with a Hershey’s Kiss. Just in time for mid-month.

:)ensen.

cool :smiley: thanx for the link … i found the write up on chocolate exploration on ideo’s homepage … http://www.ideo.com/portfolio/re.asp?x=50084

maybe i could do something like one of these, but with edible sticks

cinnamon sticks?
mmmmmmmmmmmmm

lol - not quite - i was thinking of edible sticks that people are likely to eat, afterwards - like rolled wafer, stick-shaped cookies :smiley:, rusks, etc… i was also intrigued by the cornstarch used in the Naoto Fukasawa chocolate stick :slight_smile:

this is more like what i was thinking of

or even

:blush:

nice sketches.

please explain why this solution compelling to a consumer. how does this make them want to change behavior? why give up paper packet for these? what of consumer perceptions? cleanliness? germs? etc? feel i’m missing something. help me understand.

The question is, you still need to pack these sticks for transportation, distribution, sale? And the pack cannot be edible, and that is why I liked Ideo proposal on the choco-liquor sticks, it did not pursue that much the reduction of packaging, but the experience, and the pleasure-enhancement if you want.
By the look of your sketches I see that direction as more interesting (the fortune stick i very sweet (no pun intended)) than the enviromentally friendly one.How could those sticks (if they are sticks in the end) enhance the coffee drinking experience?

i agree that there will always be packaging for transportation, distribution and sale… but everything has to start somewhere - getting rid of the tiny sugar sachet wrapper, might be the first step towards producing environmentally sound packaging. maybe thats too idealistic, but it is a possibility :slight_smile: this project started off as wanting to eliminate the packaging of the sugar sachet, but as it went on, it became apparent that the stir stick could be incorporated into the design, thereby making the separate plastic stir stick redundant - so the stick-shaped design was killing two birds with one stone…

i think your idea to enhance the coffee drinking experience is great :slight_smile:

well, after much thought, it was decided that the sugar sachet is far too convenient for people to stop using it : so… an environmentally friendly sugar sachet that looks exactly the same as a normal sugar sachet is likely to be used without much opposition. my final design, is exactly the same as a normal sugar sachet, but with a edible, quick-dissolving film used instead of paper - as added value to the consumer, the film can also be flavoured (like the breath-freshner films on the market at the moment). sachet is used in conjunction with a biscuit/wafer stirrer, which is coated in edible waterproof film. ultimately, in a utopian world, the cookie tube sugar stick would be used, but i guess i’ll have to wait a while for that :cry: (my apologies for the bad drawings :blush: - need to get home)