How is it that in spite of the overhaul the food product packaging industry has seen over the last decade, paper wrapped flour bags are still exactly that?
Sharpimagination,
Flour may still come in bags but the bag itself has changed a lot. There are new barier qualities to the bag now than there was say 20 years ago.
Also if you think of the experience of when and why flour is used then the package makes sense. Flour is used for baking things from scratch. This means that there is a very raw homemade felling going on when using it. And what better way to do that than to put it in a laminated paper bag. Its no different than why stick butter is still wrapped in wax paper or why clementines still come in a wooden crate.
I guess when it comes down to it most food packaging is based on the experance and function. This paper bag hits thier demographic of, the grandmother that has been using the same ingrediants for years to make her biscuts to the new age cook. It also has barier properties to keep the flour from drawing moisture and clumping.
I see where you’re coming from. Perhaps a better understanding of the demographic would help illuminate the cause. From a personal point of view, if I’m going to buy flour, I’d prefer it to come in a re-sealable container or bag, but I don’t really buy flour, my grandma does. She likes things the way they’ve always been, especially when it comes to something as therapeutic as baking. Assuming the grandmas of the world are content with laminated paper , and wouldn’t dream of switching to something a bit more functional, what market is left? If the answer to that question is zilch, then I’m going to go ahead and say, don’t fix it if it ain’t broke, but if the answer comes back swinging, then there’s significant room for improvement.
Why not come up with a solution that approaches both markets?
I drew up a few that are by no means original, but novel when applied to flour, as far as I know.
Thoughts?
I think a lot of people haven’t put much thought into purchasing flour over the years. There are pre-made piecrusts that most people buy. Most of my friends (in their 20s) don’t typically even have a bag of flour in their kitchen. Everything that has flour in it they buy pre-made - like bread! and cookies!
Flour seems “old school” and I think they haven’t changed it is because of how it is associated. I of course could be wrong.
I could see Publix totally revamping it like their graham cracker box. http://www.publixpackaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/grahamcrackers.jpg
i think, too, that when you talk about basic commodity items, simplicity is king.
Is it plausible that one of the factors contributing to the demise of flour is in fact its outmoded packaging?
With a clever marketing campaign and new vessels, I’d put money on renewed interest in the basics.
It’s like you said Package ID:
Flour is used for baking things from scratch. This means that there is a very raw homemade feeling going on when using it.
Why not use that allure and reach out to the pre-mix crowd. It’s just that part of that process has got to be reinventing the packaging.
Sugar could probably use the same makeover.
Finally figured out the interface, here goes:
Your sketches didn’t make a lot of sense to me…
but “flour cubes” ?? Most flour needs to be sifted and while most of it is sufficient on the shelves (for most purposes)… I would think that if it was compressed it would be hard to measure out as a lot of bakers tend to eyeball things…
Well first, using oneself as a referntial point is a good place to start, but you need to move beyond yourself, and your grandmother, to find out if what you are proposing really is a problem in search of a solution or if you have a solution in search of a problem/application.
and of course assuming makes and ass out of U and me…
I would say there is huge market you are missing, who may like/want and need a premeasured/way to measure/resealable bag packaging, and would be willing to pay a premium for it. Go to a high end kitchen or gourmet food retailer and check out what they have and offer. You may be pleasantly suprised as to what is out there.
For example: My wife is a pastry chef and has bags of flour that have: measured “ticks” on the inside in cup increments, a resealable roll top–like a coffee bag, and a vacuumed packed non gluten flour with a zip loc like closure. Thing of it is, she does not keep the flour in the bag, or in a plastic bag, she keeps it in hermetically sealed containers or barring that, wraps the opened bags in aluminium foil… much like cocaine…becasue moisture+flour=glue; and when she needs them she scoops it out with a measuring spoon, no eyeballing.
Your sketches seem to focus more on a flour “delivery system”, rather than a packaging scheme.
I think your frame of refernce on this may be a bit narrow. Just from seeing what my wife buys, there are over ten different types flour that has a different uses, different storage needs, and different packaging. Your premise that reports that flour is dead may be a bit premature…Go bigger, I think you’ll find something.
Really? People dont have flour on the shelf because the packaging isn’t right?
i find both parts of that assumption kinda hard to believe.
For me (I do cook and bake, relatively frequently), the current packaging isnt that bad. I mostly keep the paper bag in a ziploc plastic bag, and sometimes put it in a larger resealable container, but the paper bag imho is more a vehicle just to get the flour home from the store. I use up a 1kg bag of flour maybe every 2 months or so, so having it come in a complicated delivery bag/device seems overkill when i can just refill my containers/bags at home.
To me, your sketches really show that you dont use flour. Prepackaged flour wouldnt work so well given most recipes require your to sift the flour into the bowl, and/or adjust the amount pinch by pinch. Not to mention that a big open container is easy to stick your fingers in to grab a bit to dust a pizza tray…
Not saying that the package couldnt be better, but for the majority of uses the paper bag seems OK. My only gripe is that flour dust comes out the seams in the bag sometimes and coasts the inside of the panty in a white dust.
Perhaps a solution in search of a problem here?
R
First and foremost, I appreciate the feedback.
Is it plausible that one of the factors contributing to the demise of flour is in fact its outmoded packaging?
Really? People dont have flour on the shelf because the packaging isn’t right?
Considering something plausible is not an assumption, it’s a theory, we need those, and the sarcasm, although generally appreciated in your many posts, doesn’t really sit right on this occasion.
I think your frame of refernce on this may be a bit narrow.
That’s sort of why I decided to post this topic in the first place, but you’re right, it is. Considering your first hand knowledge of the modes and functionality of flour I was hoping you might have some ideas of your own to share. Maybe you could ask your wife what would make storing and measuring flour an easier task?
Thing of it is, she does not keep the flour in the bag, or in a plastic bag, she keeps it in hermetically sealed containers or barring that, wraps the opened bags in aluminium foil… much like cocaine…becasue moisture+flour=glue; and when she needs them she scoops it out with a measuring spoon, no eyeballing.
For me (I do cook and bake, relatively frequently), the current packaging isnt that bad. I mostly keep the paper bag in a ziploc plastic bag, and sometimes put it in a larger resealable container, but the paper bag imho is more a vehicle just to get the flour home from the store.
Don’t both of these observations support my theory that flour needs a new packaging/delivery system? Why should a chef, or a home cook have to find make-shift ways to store/reseal the product? Whenever something “isn’t that bad”, it stands to reason that it can be improved, unless of course, you disagree.
Well first, using oneself as a referntial point is a good place to start, but you need to move beyond yourself, and your grandmother, to find out if what you are proposing really is a problem in search of a solution or if you have a solution in search of a problem/application.
and of course assuming makes and ass out of U and me…
As designers, do we really need problems to justify solutions? If that were the case, wouldn’t the chair have been “solved” a long time ago? As for making an ass out of oneself, I think that’s only the case when one treats assumtion as truth, and then acts accordingly.
Your sketches didn’t make a lot of sense to me…
but “flour cubes” ?? Most flour needs to be sifted and while most of it is sufficient on the shelves (for most purposes)… I would think that if it was compressed it would be hard to measure out as a lot of bakers tend to eyeball things…
Perhaps you could explain what it is that doesn’t make sense. I would like to know. As for the compressed cubes, you may be right, I was just brainstorming a concept that follows along the lines of the sugar cube. If sifting is required then perhaps my pepper grinder-like solution would work well. One full turn produces premeasured amounts of sifted flour, and when the flour runs out, just pop in a new canister, like you would in a calk gun. I could have drawn this one more clearly, agreed.
I’ve noticed the grandmother argument being tossed around. You’ve got to make it for the kids. Every business knows that the money isn’t in the product itself, it’s in the accessories.
Reguarding the dispensing issue, they need to make a box with a spout on it. This goes for Pancake mix too. Look at the boxes of cat litter, or powdered laundry detergent. You pull out a spout, and dump stuff out. Holy crap, there’s your marketing campaign. “Pull out a spout… Dump stuff out!”
Another Satisfied customer!
i don’t bake, but i often use flour when cooking, and i, too, prefer to dump it into a sealable plastic container than keep it in the paperbag. to you, it may mean there’s a problem with the bag, to me, it’s just more cost effective to buy 1 container that i can reuse again and again then to buy an expensive bag of flour with fancy gimmicks.
If you look at the products that use single portions you will notice that they are not geared to the enthusiast. They are more marketed towards the on the go quick meal consumer.
I also agree with ah.heng about the container. There is a fine line in Pkg where you need to give the consumer what they want but you can’t give the too much to where there is a drastic price increase. Once the price starts to go up they start to reconsider your improvement and that is when they say “I can buy a Rubbermaid container and put the cheap stuff in it.” Or they start wondering what the differance is in the cheap flour and the expensive flour other that the package.
Consider the manufacturer: perhaps flour mills / packagers are stuck in time and use layered paper bags because they’ve always used paper bags. However, there may be another more profound reason: plastic films’ inherent latent static charge would probably be dangerous in a powdery environment.
One must also consider history, flour and baked goods are one of the oldest food items: paper or cloth bags have been the only storage for millenia.
Prepackaged quantities may be a good idea offered as part of a recipe kit, there may be market potential for the occasional user scared off buying entire bags of flour.
I bake/use flour about twice a week. I think right now I might have around 4-6 different kinds ( all purpose, rice, spelt, rye, several kinds of corn…there are some more, there are mainly there because I have friends who are sensitive to gluten). Most of them came packaged in plastic bags, only rye and all purpose are packaged in paper. I prefer paper. Paper bags have more “structure†to them, yet stay pliable. They can be opened up wide and stand up on the counter so I can easily scoop the flour up. After I close them for storage, they can be crammed into a cupboard. Yes, some flour dust seeps out, big f’ing deal.
Also, after I shake them out they can go into my paper recycling bin. I can’t do that with the plastic bags the other flour is packaged in, place where I live just doesn’t recycle them. I’d hate to buy flour packaged into something that consists of a fancy plastic closure attached to some foil laminated bag…I’m not a pastry chef, I just like baking cupcakes for friends, that level of freshness and flour flavor (?) is irrelevant to me.
Spout? Part of the fun is touching the flour w/ your hands. The amount of flour you add is often related to amount of liquid, and not all eggs are exactly the same size, a teaspoon less of milk, etc etc and you end up adding more or less flour till it feels right. How a spout would address that issue when you remove the “hands-on†aspect? Spout helps when you don’t have to and don’t really want to touch things. I don’t really want to knead my cat’s litter till it feels right, as I don’t want concentrated detergent to touch my hands.
There are cake/pancake mixes…so i am not sure what new a baking “kit” would bring…
20 something grandma bakin’ here.
Interesting observations all around. I particularly like the idea of an entire flour factory exploding because some newbie in R&D thought it’d be cool to use plastic instead of paper. That’d definitely be worth a blog spot on the main page.
So basicly what seems to have come out thus far is as follows:
Many people that bake like the texture, feel, and interface that the current laminated paper bag system gives them. The minor inconvenience of flour dust in the pantry, and/or having to empty bags into plastic containers is justifyable, and possibly even one of the quirky faults that makes baking endearing. Professional chefs may or may not fall into this category.
Improving something that is simple, well liked, and entirely adequate may be a fools errand, but it may be possible if the right focus is maintained. For this group of fans, keeping natural materials as part of the packaging is a must, as is designing so that the user’s hands can fit into the package to scoop and pinch the flour. Sealability is important, but should not compromise user interaction.
Wood, Glass, and Aluminum box/bowl/jar designs may be worth considering as they both improve the aesthetic, stackability, stability, and sealability of a loose paper bag while recyclability, and reusability are maintained.
This solution is basicly cutting the corner and combing a raw product with a finished, sealable, refillable, packaging design.
The end market may be infrequent flour shoppers drawn to the aesthetic, and the convenience of not having to buy a second container, shoppers who buy the most expensive brand because it’s the most expensive, and regular bakers who appreciate the added texture and interface a flour specific container brings to the cake-making experience, even if they do refill the containers with the cheap stuff, or ideally the brand specific refill pouches.
This is slightly tangential, but read this description from Rumford (a long time baking powder manufacturer) about their newly introduced corn starch:
Rumford Cornstarch represents the most exciting thing to happen to cornstarch in several generations.
What did they do that was so exciting?
Made from certified non-genetically modified corn, it is 100% pure cornstarch and comes in > a convenient resealable, recyclable container.
They put it in a steel can with a resealable plastic lid, just like their baking powder packaging. If you’ve ever used their competitors’ corn starch, you know what a mess that stupid plastic bag stuffed into a cardboard box can make.
I think flour in a can with a plastic lid would be fantastic, and I use a lot of flour (relatively). Paper flour bags are hard to open cleanly, hard to seal, always tip over when I open the cupboard, and always make a mess when I use them. I hate the paper bags. I’ve been meaning for years to buy a sealable canister for transferring flour to, but I always forget.
So much of this stuff is tradition and inertia. Someone decided 100 years ago that baking soda comes in an orange box that can’t be reclosed and ruins the contents in a few months, while baking powder (the same product with two extra ingredients) comes in a handy resealable can. It took literally almost a century before someone decided that it would be awfully handy for baking soda to come in a can too.
Came across this today. Food (ahem) for thought:
Separately, at a recent quilt show (I am a loyal advocate but not a practitioner myself!), I learned that in the 20’s flour sacks were decorated with beautiful designs with the intent that the sacks would find a new life as clothing (which was done before being beautifully decorated, but as an added attraction, the decoration brought loyalty and “stickiness.â€