I don't know if this thing works. I don't know if lives up to it's hype. I don't know if it is easy to clean, hard to use or will last more than a week. What I do know is this: it's something new. And not "new" like the iPhone X is new or titanium credit cards are new or thigh-high Ugg boots are new. Those things aren't really new: they're updates to existing products which were "new" back in 2007 and 1999 and 1978 respectively. It's like that Ford commercial, the one when Denis Leary screams at you "Hut hut, gunslinger. This is the new 2018 Ford F-150. It doesn't just raise the bar, pal. It is the bar." Well, he's lying. It was new in 1948. I just would never have the guts to tell him that.
In fact it's incredibly hard to invent something truly new. More often than not those things die on the vine due to lack of funds or commitment or demand. Kickstarter is filled with great new ideas that go nowhere not because they aren't revolutionary but because they can't get traction. Admittedly not everything there is groundbreaking: current projects looking for funds include a light shaped like a kangaroo and packable instant oatmeal. They can't all be the computer mouse.
Even folks who have plenty of money and backing don't always get it right. Consider Jeff Bezos and Amazon. Great track record introducing stuff that is definably original like the Echo and the Kindle. But remember the Fire Phone? Nope, no one else does either. And if anyone could have made a go of it, they could. Of course, that wasn't truly new, just another "me too" product. So there is that.
All of that is background as to why Jane Och's and Sharon Prince's idea is so impressive. Maybe even more so because it's not software or an app or an e-something. It's not a slow this or a fast that or a multi-anything. It's a one trick pony, aimed at that most pedestrian of tasks, keeping food fresh. And not just any food either. In fact, with this weekend being the Super Bowl, those who have it will put it to the test with the stuff that is practically synonymous with tailgating. And no, I'm not getting paid to shill for it, nor do I own one or have even seen it the flesh. I just admire original ideas. Plus, it has a great name: the Guac-Lock.
That's "guac" as in guacamole. You may have your own recipe, but it likely includes some combination of squished avocado, lime juice, cilantro, garlic and onion. Making it is easy. Eating it is very easy. But storing it? Ah, that's the hard part. Unless you make a batch and eat it all right away (a very real possibility and not a bad idea in any case), it will turn ugly in short order. Same issue if you make it in advance for a screening party for the aforementioned sporting event or just a casual get together. You can try sealing it with plastic wrap, top it with sour cream or bury a pit in it, but no dice. While the taste won't suffer, it will go from appealing green to not-so-appealing brown before you can stick a chip in it.
Jane and Sharon just hated that. And so they put their thinking caps on and spent four years and about $100,000 each coming up with a solution. They knew nothing about engineering, material science or food chemistry, not to mention marketing, branding and distribution. But learn it all they did, or more to the point, found the right people who did know and could help them. Through trial and error, they created a non gas-permeable push-up container that allows you pile the guac in, push the air out like a giant tube of toothpaste, and seal it up tight. Their invention was acquired by home products company Casabella, and was trending towards $1 million in sales last year.
Hollywood, take notice. Also General Motors, Proctor and Gamble and Hersheys. Specifically, there are still ideas out here beyond "Iron Man 2" or Crest Super White. Sure, there will be a few Apple Newtons along the way. But every now and again the stars align, and a truly unique idea flourishes. Put another way, in this case, the guac really is always greener.
-END-
Marc Wollin of Bedford loves chips and dips. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
In fact it's incredibly hard to invent something truly new. More often than not those things die on the vine due to lack of funds or commitment or demand. Kickstarter is filled with great new ideas that go nowhere not because they aren't revolutionary but because they can't get traction. Admittedly not everything there is groundbreaking: current projects looking for funds include a light shaped like a kangaroo and packable instant oatmeal. They can't all be the computer mouse.
Even folks who have plenty of money and backing don't always get it right. Consider Jeff Bezos and Amazon. Great track record introducing stuff that is definably original like the Echo and the Kindle. But remember the Fire Phone? Nope, no one else does either. And if anyone could have made a go of it, they could. Of course, that wasn't truly new, just another "me too" product. So there is that.
All of that is background as to why Jane Och's and Sharon Prince's idea is so impressive. Maybe even more so because it's not software or an app or an e-something. It's not a slow this or a fast that or a multi-anything. It's a one trick pony, aimed at that most pedestrian of tasks, keeping food fresh. And not just any food either. In fact, with this weekend being the Super Bowl, those who have it will put it to the test with the stuff that is practically synonymous with tailgating. And no, I'm not getting paid to shill for it, nor do I own one or have even seen it the flesh. I just admire original ideas. Plus, it has a great name: the Guac-Lock.
That's "guac" as in guacamole. You may have your own recipe, but it likely includes some combination of squished avocado, lime juice, cilantro, garlic and onion. Making it is easy. Eating it is very easy. But storing it? Ah, that's the hard part. Unless you make a batch and eat it all right away (a very real possibility and not a bad idea in any case), it will turn ugly in short order. Same issue if you make it in advance for a screening party for the aforementioned sporting event or just a casual get together. You can try sealing it with plastic wrap, top it with sour cream or bury a pit in it, but no dice. While the taste won't suffer, it will go from appealing green to not-so-appealing brown before you can stick a chip in it.
Jane and Sharon just hated that. And so they put their thinking caps on and spent four years and about $100,000 each coming up with a solution. They knew nothing about engineering, material science or food chemistry, not to mention marketing, branding and distribution. But learn it all they did, or more to the point, found the right people who did know and could help them. Through trial and error, they created a non gas-permeable push-up container that allows you pile the guac in, push the air out like a giant tube of toothpaste, and seal it up tight. Their invention was acquired by home products company Casabella, and was trending towards $1 million in sales last year.
Hollywood, take notice. Also General Motors, Proctor and Gamble and Hersheys. Specifically, there are still ideas out here beyond "Iron Man 2" or Crest Super White. Sure, there will be a few Apple Newtons along the way. But every now and again the stars align, and a truly unique idea flourishes. Put another way, in this case, the guac really is always greener.
-END-
Marc Wollin of Bedford loves chips and dips. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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