Jesse Spungin, the general manager at Orville Redenbacher, calls it the “biggest thing to happen to popcorn in 25 years.” Is it a new flavor? A bigger kernel? Real “real” butter flavor? Nope. It’s a microwave popcorn bag that turns into its own bowl.
Designed by the folks at ConAgra Foods (Orville’s parent company) headquartered here in Omaha, the “Pop Up Bowl” is supposed to make our lives easier, as in “no more hunting for a bowl” kind of easy. As if microwaving a bag of popcorn wasn’t already easy enough.
The bowl-bag is cool, but what impresses me is the thought behind the bowl. In our house, microwave popcorn is a couple-times-a-week thing. Pause the movie or DVR and you’ve got a nearly instant, nearly guilt-free snack. I doubt that microwave popcorn was going the way of cassette players and VHS tapes anytime soon. But just because it was selling didn’t stop the folks at ConAgra from thinking. How to improve. How to grab a bigger handful of the market. How to add new “wow” to a staple in most American homes.
Every business needs to take note. Don’t rest comfortably in today’s market. Think you’ve reached your peak share? Think again. And keep thinking – a great idea might just “pop” into your head.
