US 2002O168453A1 (19) United States (12) Patent Application Publication (10) Pub. No.: US 2002/0168453 A1 McCutchan (43) Pub. Date: Nov. 14, 2002 (54) KIT CONTAINING ASNACK FOOD AND Related U.S. Application Data DP-CONDMENT (60) Provisional application No. 60/217,999, filed on Jul. 13, 2000. (75) Inventor: Michael Dean McCutchan, Hamilton, OH (US) Publication Classification Correspondence Address: (51) Int. Cl. ................................................... A23B 4/00 THE PROCTER & GAMBLE COMPANY (52) U.S. Cl. .............................................................. 426/115 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DIVISION (57) ABSTRACT WINTON HILL TECHNICAL CENTER - BOX 161 The present invention provides a means for maximizing the 6110 CENTER HILLAVENUE presentation of a Snack food product in the form of pieces or CINCINNATI, OH 45224 (US) chipS and a dip-condiment therefor, while optimizing the use of Scarce resources Such as Shelf Space, transportation Space and packaging materials. The kit comprises packaging a (73) Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company plurality of Snack pieces in a container that are conducive to dipping with a dip-condiment and a tub that contains the dip-condiment attached to the container. The kit of the (21) Appl. No.: 09/905,540 present invention has a Space efficiency greater than about 0.1 g/cm. More particularly, the plurality of Snack pieces (22) Filed: Jul. 13, 2001 are placed in a nested arrangement within the container. Patent Application Publication US 2002/0168453 A1 Patent Application Publication Nov. 14, 2002. Sheet 2 of 6 US 2002/0168453 A1 s su -N Y Fig. 2. Fig. 2 N2s AS Patent Application Publication Nov. 14, 2002 Sheet 3 of 6 US 2002/0168453 A1 35 37 38 56 Patent Application Publication Nov. 14, 2002. Sheet 4 of 6 US 2002/0168453 A1 Patent Application Publication Nov. 14, 2002. Sheet 5 of 6 US 2002/0168453 A1 Fig. io Patent Application Publication Nov. 14, 2002 Sheet 6 of 6 US 2002/0168453 A1 US 2002/0168453 A1 Nov. 14, 2002 KIT CONTAINING ASNACK FOOD AND 0008 Even with all the above issues associated with DP-CONDMENT packaging of randomly oriented Snack pieces, it is possible for a consumer to obtain from a retail outlet a Snack package CROSS REFERENCE TO ARELATED PATENT which may have a proportion of large Snack pieces to 0001. This application claims priority to co-pending and facilitate dipping. In this event, the Subsequent challenge commonly-owned, U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. consumerS face is transporting this package of Snack pieces 60/217.999, Case 8169P, titled, “A Snack Piece & Dip Kit'; on their perSons, along with a separate package of dip filed Jul. 13, 2000 in the name of Michael D. McCutchan. condiment, to a remote location for consumption of the Snack pieces with the dip condiment at a future time. Both FIELD OF THE INVENTION the Snack package and dip package may be placed in a 0002 The present invention relates to packages or kits Separate container, for example, a lunch bag, lunch box, containing both a plurality of Snack pieces and a dip backpack, attache, purse, glove box of a vehicle, etc., for condiment, wherein the kit has an improved space efficiency later consumption. However, this additional handling can and Snack piece size. More particularly, the present inven cause further breakage of the chips due to collisions with tion relates to kits containing both a plurality of Snack chips other items, Such as the dip tub, with the Snack chip package. and a dip-condiment, wherein the kit has an improved 0009 Various executions of packages containing snack Shelf-Space efficiency, Snack piece size, portability and pieces with dips in a unitary package or kit are known. Snack pieces oriented in a nested arrangement. However, these kits make a tradeoff between the overall package's Space efficiency and portability Versus the Size of BACKGROUND the chip contained within the package. For example, it has 0003) Wholesale and retail store shelf space is a very been observed that to get both chips that are preferred for valuable commodity and is one element in the direct cost of dipping, i.e., large enough for dipping, and the dip into a marketing food items. Thus, the efficient utilization of this Single Overall package, the package is usually large, Space Shelf space is a critical factor in the economics of marketing inefficient and less portable. Or, the package is made Smaller and retailing food products. One way to maximize the to make it more Space efficient and portable but then the utilization of Store shelf space lies in the design of food chips are made Small and are not optimal for dipping. product packaging. By designing a product’s packaging to 0010. One such chip and dip kit comprises a composite be more efficient in its use of the Shelf Space, the more canister having a diameter greater than about 101.6 mm, economical or profitable the product can be. Additionally, a wherein the canister contains Small, randomly packed chips. Space efficient package better utilizes valuable distribution A flanged tub of dip Sauce is Suspended in the opening of the Space, i.e., Space on trucks, Warehouses, etc., and thus is canister and occupies the Space near the top of the canister. more economical. Economical use of Store shelf and distri This kit combines chips and dip into a Single package; bution Space can be measured by the package's Space however, it has a low Space efficiency due to the large sized efficiency. The package’s “Space efficiency', as used herein, canister. Furthermore, the package contains Small Snack chip is defined as the ratio of the total net weight (net wt.) of the pieces, and due to the large headspace, it permits the chips product contained within the kit, to the total exterior kit or to move Substantially, which results in further breakage in package Volume (ext. Vol.). transportation or handling. 0004 Snack food pieces, such as potato chips (or 0011) Another commercial chip and dip kit comprises a “crisps”) or tortilla chips, and dip-condiments (hereinafter thermoformed tray with Separate wells designed to contain “dips), Such as chip dips or Salsas, have individually been a Sealed tub of dip and a separate Sealed bag of Small, available for years and consumers enjoy them together as a randomly shaped and packed Snack chips. Both the chip bag combination food item. and the dip tub are placed into the Separate wells of the tray 0005. However, the majority of Snack chip packages and and the entire assembly is Sealed using a film Seal to contain dip packages are Sold Separately. This individual retailing of the inner packages. This increases the costs of the kit. The the Snack chips separate from the dip creates Several prob average projected area of whole chips found in this kit is lems. approximately about 1590 square millimeters (mm). Also, 0006 First, the majority of Snack piece packaging, i.e., the tray has a large exterior Volume compared to the net bags already have low Space efficiency and package density. weight of chips and thus this kit has a low Space efficiency. Second, due to the packaging of the Snack pieces and the dip 0012. It is an object of the present invention to provide a in Separate packages, the Space efficiency and bulk density unitary kit for providing a plurality of Snack pieces and a of Snack pieces and dip as a food combination is even lower. dip-condiment. It is another object of the present invention Third, once purchased, the user must carry, Secure and Store to provide a unitary kit for providing both a plurality of two separate items when they transport the chips and dip to Snack pieces having a projected area of at least about 1500 a remote location for eventual consumption. And, Finally, mm and a dip-condiment, wherein the kit has a space generally these packages randomly pack the Snack chips efficiency of at least about 0.2 g/cm. within the package and thus permit chip breakage, which is leSS conducive to dipping. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 0007. Therefore, this food combination is not optimal as 0013 The present invention relates to a kit for containing a portable food item. ("Randomly packing', as used herein, both a plurality of Snack pieces and a dip-condiment in a is defined as the packing of products without affirmatively Space efficient package System. The kit includes a canister, orienting the product into any nested arrangement or packed a plurality of Snack pieces contained within the container, alignment.) wherein at least one of the Snack pieces have a projected area US 2002/0168453 A1 Nov. 14, 2002 greater than about 1300 mm, a tub attached to the container, 0028 FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an alternative and a dip condiment held within said tub. This kit has a embodiment of the kit, including the band wrap (pre-shrunk) space efficiency greater than about 0.1 g/cm. found in the preferred embodiment. 0.014. The present invention also relates to a kit that DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE includes a container, which contains the plurality of Snack INVENTION pieces in a nested arrangement and a tub connected to the 0029. The present invention relates to a package or kit container, which contain the dip-condiment. containing both a plurality of Snack pieces and a dip 0.015. In a further embodiment of the present invention, condiment, wherein the kit has an improved space efficiency the kit comprises a container, a plurality of Snack pieces and Snack piece size. More particularly, the present inven contained with the container and a tub connected to the tion relates to a unitary kit containing both a plurality of container.