May 18, 2006 While there are any number of noble research pursuits, we have not yet solved some seriously basic problems with products we handle every day – like an effective seal on a cereal packet. It remains in most cases as an often large cardboard box (such as 750 g Maxi Packs) with a plastic inner pack, filled to the brim with crunchy stuff that doesn’t stay crunchy for long once it’s opened. Package design in cereals has not really evolved much. The lack of progress in the area has been such that you might consider the cereal producers have an interest in ensuring their product is consumed at its best or discarded. It is also without doubt that an effectively sealed cereal packet will keep its contents fresh much longer, so the Belgian-developed Cerealtop fills a much needed void in the market. Cerealtop is an adjustable cereal box lid (so it fits any box) with a dispenser flap.
Made from food-safe plastic, Cerealtop is a box lid made up of two parts and sealed with a handy dispenser flap and is also suitable for other boxed products such as rice and flour, as well as dog and cat food.
Cerealtop was invented by 29-year-old Belgian product designer Philippe Meert, who has already made a name for himself with his much-talked-about furniture designs.
The prestigious design publication Wallpaper described him as “the new Arne Jacobsen swan.” Shuttling between Aaigem and Los Angeles Philippe has created a design style all his own. “There I was on a workaday morning in sunny California, eating a bowl of cereal and going through the usual fiddling around with the awkward plastic bag inside the box, when I thought to myself that there had to be a much easier and more practical way!” he recalls. The design not only had to be practical, but it also needed to look funky and great. The result was Cerealtop. Philippe is seeking distribution and licensing partners for Cerealtop and can be contacted here.
