Kickstart: Olive oil war with a plastics angle

Coke vs. Pepsi. Bud Light vs. conservatives. That's old news. The newest product battle is in the olive oil market, where two companies are battling over the brilliant idea of using plastic squeeze bottle packaging.

Drupely Inc., which does business as Graza, attracted attention in the usually sleepy olive oil market when it started offering product in easy-to-use plastic squeeze bottles — similar to the Sriracha sauce.

Seemed like a good idea. I'm sure most cooks use a lot more Sriracha than if it came in a conventional glass bottle. Why not encourage them to use the olive oil and not just admire the pretty package?

But then California-based competitor Brightland Inc. came out with its own squeeze bottle, and the battle was on. Fast Company reported that Drupely co-founder and CEO Andrew Benin wrote what it called "an explosive post" on LinkedIn, accusing Brightland of introducing a copycat product.

"… We are told to hush, not be rash, and that this is ultimate flattery and validation that we are onto something special. The issue is, thousands of hours of work, years of unpaid efforts, and taking enormous risks are the inputs necessary to do this, so personally, I think it's OK to get miffed when folks rip you off," Benin wrote.

Sounds like he's been reading some of the comments on LinkedIn posts related to plastics policy in Washington, D.C. LinkedIn may be the social media site for professionals, but it's not always friendly!

But I digress. Within a day, Benin amended for the first post, saying, "I want to apologize for letting my emotions get the best of me. I was heated, and reacted poorly, and have learned from the variety of comments that everyone has left today. Thank you to everyone for your candor, and for showing me that there was clearly a better way to address all of this."

So, it's all ended well, and plastic blow molders can go back to tackling new applications for plastic squeeze bottles. How about peanut butter?

If you're looking for a case history that can sum up the past few years of inflation and supply chain disruptions, then the market for automotive tires is a good place to start.

The nonprofit journalism site ProPublica — the people responsible for all the Clarence Thomas stories you've heard about — tackled the tire market with a really in-depth and interesting report, "Overinflated: The Journey of a Humble Tire Reveals Why Prices Are Still So High."

I already read more news about tire retailers than most of the Plastics News audience, since one of our sister publications called Tire Business has been covering the market for 40 years. TB Editor Don Detore told me that he talked with ProPublica's Michael Grabell several times.

If you haven't purchased tires in a few years, but you understand how inflation has impacted other products, then you might not be surprised to read that one person in the story was quoted a price of $393.56 for two tires, installed, including a road hazard package.

Bill Wood, our favorite plastics and rubber industry economist, is quoted in the story, talking about how tires got to be so expensive: "They can tell you it's going to cost whatever it's going to cost, and as long as it doesn't sound like it's made out of gold, you're going to say, 'OK.'"

But it's not really OK. Some consumers are now taking out loans or starting GoFundMe pages to buy new tires just so they can drive to work. It's a depressing story and brings home the plight of people whose wages have not kept up with inflation.

Hats off to South Elgin, Ill.-based injection molder Hoffer Plastics for supporting a deserving local organization, the Boys & Girls Club of South Elgin.

Made possible through significant community donations, including a $1 million donation from the Hoffer Foundation, the Boys & Girls Club recently opened a 20,000-square-foot Clubhouse, which is the largest building in the Club's history, that will serve more than 250 young people ranging from kindergarten through eighth grade at no charge to families.

The facility includes a state-of-the-art STEM lab, sensory rooms, a full library and learning center, a gym, a world-class art center, a leadership center and more.

"Through the Hoffer Foundation, we focus on what we can do to serve families in our community. The Boys & Girls Club is the first major youth-focused nonprofit in South Elgin, and we are grateful for the opportunity to support current and future generations through this club," said Hoffer Plastics Chief Financial Officer Gretchen Hoffer Farb.

Hoffer, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, was also recently named winner of the Plastics News Sustained Excellence Award.