I hate stale cereal. Absolutely and completely, I despise it. I like my cereal crunchy. It seems to me that it's awfully wasteful to use the double packaging of a cardboard box with a bag inside, a bag that has to be rolled up to keep the freshness in and even then isn't exactly airtight. I've seen some cereals, such as Corn Pops, that have a 2-ply bag, consisting of a foil outer layer with a wax-paper-like inner layer. But you still have to roll it up and pray that you rolled it tightly enough, and the cardboard box is completey pointless except as an advertising platform.

So I got to thinking... why not make the whole cereal box out of recyclable hard plastic, with a pump handle on top to siphon out the air after each use and keep your cereal (1) safe from being crushed, and (2) fresh?

Some chip (crisp) companies have done this already, such as Frito- Lay's Go Snacks. After doing some searching online, I saw that a large retailer chain in the UK, Sainsbury's, has taken the opposite route and is getting rid of the box and packaging its cereal in bags only, and this move has stirred up a lot of controversy because people don't want their cereal getting pulverized in transit, and flimsy bags don't stack neatly on shelves and refrigerator tops.

Clearly, something has got to go, but it just as clearly cannot be the box. So ditch the bag, and improve the box!
-- 21 Quest, Oct 22 2009

Plastic cereal container, $6.99 http://www.stacksan...m_source=googlebase
"handy, stylish, and innovative". Well, two out of three ain't bad. [jutta, Oct 22 2009]

KlipIt cereal container, $14.99 http://www.thehomem...EB&mr:referralID=NA
"Maximize cereal’s freshness!" [jutta, Oct 22 2009]

Tupperware container, $16 http://order.tupper...number=P10055072000
"Why let expensive cereal go stale?" [jutta, Oct 22 2009]

2 Gallon ZipLoc http://www.drugstor...o_2_gallon_size.htm
[MisterQED, Oct 23 2009]

They sell milk in bags in Canada.

...

And ketchup chips. Mmmmm. Ketchup chips.
-- CaptainClapper, Oct 22 2009


Malt-O-Meal has been packaging cardboard inside plastic for ages. Not what you're going for?

Make the plastic containers recyclable and I'll be happy. Or you could reuse them for cookies, chips, etc. Maybe fill a whole lot with water and use for water cannons?
-- bdag, Oct 22 2009


you can pour your cereal from the box into a tupperware container, a la Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
-- CaptainClapper, Oct 22 2009


CapClap, but then you're left with the empty cereal packaging to dispose of.

Recyclability added, dabg.
-- 21 Quest, Oct 22 2009


This seems wasteful over independently produced hard plastic containers (see links) and refills. The empty cereal packaging to dispose of is easier to make low-impact and recyclable than the hard box.
-- jutta, Oct 22 2009


I like the idea (and one of those pastries is from me) but I'm not totally convinced this is the best approach. The packaging would probably cost more than the status quo to manufacture and be more expensive at the point of sale. Some clever marketing (highlighting the freshness etc.) could mitigate this with a deposit/return system where customers are given financial incentive to participate.
-- Jinbish, Oct 22 2009


I quite like that idea, IT. Should I add the refill service to the post?
-- 21 Quest, Oct 22 2009


[Ian], the water could be delivered though a long tube
-- pocmloc, Oct 22 2009


And we could give the long tube a special name... Pumping In Potable Eau... PIPE.
-- 21 Quest, Oct 22 2009


Our milkman also delivers sacks of garden compost and kitty litter.
-- prufrax, Oct 23 2009


A few grocery stores still have bulk areas, and I've seen cereal in them. If there was a set of sealing plastic boxes with a fixed weight so the grocery store could tare out the boxes and just sell by weight, reusable boxes would save a lot of packaging in the long run.
-- MechE, Oct 23 2009


You'd think the stickler for reality guy [21Q] would realize that vacuum packing cereal would crush it flat, wait flatter, than a pancake. Maybe not GrapeNuts, but all the edible ones. :- )

But back to the idea, so you want to buy cereal in a ziplock bag? Well then go to the store buy a 2 Gallon sized ziploc and then transfer the cereal to that bag.

And [Jutta], I think I got you beat, my solution comes in at just over $0.39. (link) Though I guess it takes more work.
-- MisterQED, Oct 23 2009


QED, the whole point of my idea is to *not* use bags. That solution is Baked by cheap bargain brand cereal, and you needn't pump the vacuum handle so hard as to crush your cereal to get enough air out to keep it fresh long enough to eat it. I only need a box to last a week or 2, but I want it crunchy to the last bite. It doesn't even have to be very thick plastic. Wal-Mart brand knock- off Tupperware containers are awfully cheap, andthat material would work fine for this purpose. When you're done, mail the box back for a deposit refund, or keep it to store extra hardware in your toolshed.
-- 21 Quest, Oct 23 2009


// I only need a box to last a week or 2, but I want it crunchy to the last bite.

You're not supposed to eat the box!
-- jutta, Oct 23 2009


*looks around sheepishly*

Than they should put that on the BOX! *Plastic* wouldn't be edible, so that's another problem my invention would solve!
-- 21 Quest, Oct 23 2009


"What if the postman and milkman were the same woman?"

Is there a gender-identity problem in Britain?
-- Jim Bob of Merriam Park, Oct 23 2009



random, halfbakery