Dayton company reinvents the jar lid

Dayton companies and entrepreneurs have a history of devising consumer-focused innovations. Here’s another one.

Consumer Convenience Technologies (CCT) is unveiling what it calls its “EEASY lid,” which makes opening a vacuum-sealed jar up easier — with just the push of a button.

The company says the lid is “the first significant innovation in the metal jar lid industry in 75 years.”

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“The patented EEASY Lid allows consumers to vent a jar by simply pressing a button on the lid, which opens a tiny slit that breaks the seal,” CCT said in a recent release. “After use, the lid is re-closed by pressing the button from the inside of the lid to help keep the product fresh and prevent spills.”

“I’ve worked closely with CCT to thoroughly test EEASY Lid for its suitability to ensure safety and stability of food products hot-filled into glass containers,” Bruno Xavier, a professor in the Cornell University Department of Food Science. “Through our studies, we’ve found that these lids provide a stable hermetic seal.”

“About a third of consumers can’t open a jar, so the EEASY Lid expands the market for manufacturers and retailers by making the product useable to everyone,” said James Bach, CCT managing partner.

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The company will begin producing versions of the lid in December. CCT has also developed the world’s first aluminum lug, which it will begin using for EEASY Lids in January. Testing on the lug version of the EEASY Lid showed a 58 percent reduction in the amount of torque needed to open a jar compared to a traditional steel lug, the company said.

EEASY Lids will first hit stores in January, the company says. Pennsylvania-based Boyer’s markets will use the CT EEASY Lids on its Darci’s brand pasta sauce in all 18 of its stores. The product will be produced and packaged by Stello Foods and distributed by Cavallaro Foods.

“After working in the food packaging industry for over 30 years, it is nice to see an advancement in packaging design as simple and effective as the EEASY Lid,” Nickki Stello, owner of Stello Foods, said in the company’s press release. “I could easily see this lid becoming the preferred jar lid packaging solution for the industry, accepted and appreciated by all consumers.”

Since the early 20th century, Dayton inventors have played a crucial role in the development of the airplane, the cash register, the self-starting ignition for automobiles, and the pop top beverage can, the stepladder and the parking meter and many other innovations.

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