Nabeel Akbar Mokal Sardar

Tin Can – History Perhaps one of the greatest luxuries we have in modern times is to eat whatever food we want and whenever we want it. It wasn’t always the case. Throughout history we see that food shortage has not only affected the lives of people but has destroyed empires. One reason for this is that there was no effective method of storage of food. The Tin Can played a revolutionary role in food packaging and storage and, therefore, changed this. The tin’s history began in1795 when Napoleon Bonaparte, who famously noted that an army “travels on its stomach”, offered a prize of 12,000 francs to anyone who could invent a method of preserving food[ CITATION Bes09 \l 1033 ]. The history of the can is, literally, a history of western civilization, and its innovation an engine of prosperity in the United States. The can has moved as fast as consumer demand has grown; always adapting, innovating and satisfying while preserving the qualities that provide its inherent value—protection and strength [CITATION Can \l 1033 ]. The can’s shape, size and structure has gone through monumental changes that, figuratively, represent the changes that civilization itself had gone through. One giant leap in the evolution of tin can came in the form on the Sanitary Can by the early 1900s. By then can production and canned food was already on its way to becoming big business. But how did the consumers respond to these changes and why? Consumers’ reactions to innovative new products and their willingness to embrace them are, also, of course driven by the benefits they expect to derive from the products[CITATION Tro12 \l 1033 ]. However, it is an understood phenomenon that products with significant technological innovation often carry a risk for market failure as they require a change in consumers thinking and are likely to change consumer behavior. Therefore, consumers are often wary of innovation that they barely know about. However, the sanitary can passed this test as its benefits surpassed criticism. For instance it could hold larger quantities food and beverage than the, former, hole and-cap can. 1920 was another landmark year for the history of Tin can. Zinc compounds were introduced to lengthen the life of the can’s contents. Around this time citrus fruits and tomato juice were among the major canned foods. In the late 1920s Pabst and Anheuser-Busch, sensing the eventual end to Prohibition, asked American Can to start working on the beer can again. By the early 1930s American Can had developed a can strong enough to withstand the pressures of packaged beer[ CITATION Edd \l 1033 ]. These advances, however, posed many risks for the producers. Often, potential customers tend to ignore new technology unless they are convinced it will be worth their effort and cost or they may delay obtaining the product until they are secure with the amount of knowledge they possess about it. These things should be considered by the manufacturers and marketers in the development stages of the product. Krueger set out to find a solution to this problem. In June of 1934 four cans of beer each were delivered to one thousand homes in the Richmond, Virginia area. They were delivered with a questionnaire and the results were better than anyone expected. By January 1935 Krueger’s canned beer was being sold throughout the city[ CITATION Edd \l 1033 ]. This was also the era when Continental European producers introduced a beer can shaped like a bottle. As a result of such advances in Tin can manufacturing, the beer can became a household item by the 1930s and its demand skyrocketed during and because of the World War 2. Today, there are more than 600 sizes and styles of cans being manufactured. The amount and combination of tin and steel used to form the tinplate varies as well, depending on the function of the can[ CITATION Can1 \l 1033 ]. Bibliography BestInPackaging.com. (2009, March 31). The Revival of the Tin Can - The Collectible as Marketing Tool. Retrieved from Best In Packaging: http://bestinpackaging.com/2009/03/31/the-revival-of-the-tin-can-the-collectible-as-marketing-tool/ CanCentral. (n.d.). Complete History - Entreprise. Retrieved from Can Central: http://www.cancentral.com/hist_enterprise.cfm CanCentral. (n.d.). Complete History - Overview. Retrieved from Can Central: http://www.cancentral.com/hist_overview.cfm Eddings, B. (n.d.). The Beer Can - A Brief History of Beer in a Can. Retrieved from About.com: http://beer.about.com/od/historyofbeer/a/BeerCanHistory_2.htm Trott, D. P. (2012). Innovation Management and New Product Development. Prentice Hall.