𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲'𝐬 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖𝐋𝐄𝐃𝐆𝐄 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 : 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐏𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐖𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲

𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲'𝐬 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖𝐋𝐄𝐃𝐆𝐄 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐏𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐖𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲

A Memphis grocer's cost-cutting innovation in 1916 inadvertently created the conditions that made plastic packaging indispensable to modern commerce.

History, as usually taught, focuses on big actions leading to big results — Caesar, Napoleon, the American and French Revolutions, etc. That is not always the case. Sometimes a small act can have oversized consequences. The most astonishing ones are those whose impact can be directly anticipated, but in an area far removed from its original intent.

One hundred ten years ago (September 6, 1916, to be exact) in Memphis, TN, Clarence Saunders, someone who knew nothing about plastics, did something that drastically changed the future of our industry. The results were entirely predictable, but seeing that would have been challenging. Looking directly at the fledgling plastic industry would not have provided clarity. Leo Baekeland had invented the first plastic just a few years earlier, so no connection was obvious.

What Saunders did was open the first Piggly Wiggly grocery store. The chain has had its ups and downs, having more than 2,600 stores during the Depression, but now just one-fifth that many stores can be found. If you have not traveled through rural sections of the Midwest and southern US lately, you may not be familiar with their extremely recognizable logo.

What made self-service grocery stores revolutionary

What made these stores so different from all other grocers before them was that they relied on self-service. Prior to this, stores would have one or more clerks taking the customers' shopping lists and heading around the store grabbing the items. Auto parts stores still operate on this model.

Saunders saw self-service as a way to reduce operating costs. Customers were now doing what the clerks used to do, and they did it for free. We are so used to this business model nowadays that the innovation may not seem that revolutionary, but Saunders did patent the idea and licensed it to other grocers.

In #PigglyWigglys, customers were now strolling the aisles and looking at items before selecting them for purchase. In some cases, they had to choose between two or more similar options. This gave producers one last chance to influence customers just as they were making that final decision.

For products to have success in the new grocery environment, two factors suddenly became more important. The first was branding. Product branding was established well before Piggly Wiggly, but self-service stores let it expand its wings.

The second factor and this is where the plastics industry has been so greatly affected was that #packaging took on new importance. All the benefits of primary packaging were kicked into overdrive, and we all know the huge role plastics play in this.

source : Plastics Today