Too much of a good thing: a perfectly sound product idea can be sidelined by attractive but impractical packaging

American Demographics, Dec, 1997 by Robert M. McMath

A perfectly sound product idea can be sidelined by attractive but impractical packaging. Barbecuing is a great American pastime, famed the world over. Retail shelves are jammed with every conceivable flavor of BBQ sauce.

In 1992, a division of M.S.T. Industries in Camarillo, California, broke out of the standard sauce mode with Bar-B-Q Buddies Original Spray Glaze. This new concept was targeted to the millions who loved the taste of BBQ, but hate the messy pans and brushes that marinating and basting always leave behind! The label proclaimed: We have the answer.

I liked that answer when I first saw it. The product offered an all-new way to apply delicious barbecue sauce to your meat, fish, and poultry and it came in six great-tasting flavors. It was fast and easy to useno basting or marinating required. It also claimed to be lighter and healthiermore economical because it lasts a lot longer than brush-on sauces.

The problem was the package, a 12.5-fluid-ounce glass bottle. At first, I was worried the glass might break. But it seemed stable enough. The major difficulty was its height. Once you screwed on the trigger spray top, the unit was almost 12 inches tall. The box the product came in was also a foot tall.

This elegant package certainly attracted attentionfor shoppers who spotted it on the top shelf at the supermarket. It had to go there because it wouldnt fit anywhere else. It turns out that it wouldnt fit in pantries and refrigerators either. It was simply too tall. Sometimes being eye-catching has its practical drawbacks.

Five years later, Kikkoman is offering a scaled-down version of the same concept, a short squat bottle of Kikkoman Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce in a 15-ounce bottle with a smaller trigger sprayer. Spray on the Secret! the package says. Theres no end to the ways to spray! This package is two-thirds the height of the Bar-B-Q Buddies bottleplenty of room on the supermarket shelf, pantry, and refrigerator.

Another company, Food Aire, Inc., of Omaha, Nebraska, has also introduced a third version of the spray sauce. Bry is a Brushless Baste for grilling. It features a squat plastic bottle. It has no overbox or extra top. What a difference a little height makes.

Dont get carried away with package innovation to the extent you forget how it will be displayed, stored, or used. Bar-B-Q Buddies never became a shelf sitter because it didnt fit on the shelves.