Changing the face of milk?!

[Ixiah]

Never thought I would see this - they are replacing the ordinary milk jug.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-063008-milk-carton-jul01,0,6725084.story

[SubGod22]

I'm fine with a change if it is supposed to actually help them and us save money. But that design looks like it sucks and it apparently does. If they really cared they'd do a slight adjustment so the dang thing is easy to use. It may not save consumers any money at all if they're dumping half the jug onto counter tops.

[RoyalShock]

I'm not an engineer, but I think they had to move the spout to the edge in order to create a stackable container. When you tilt it to pour, the milk gets to the spout faster.

I suspect after pouring a gallon or two people will get the hang of it.

[SubGod22]

It didn't look like there was much of any spout to speak of. Maybe I just can't tell from the photo.

[RoyalShock]

There is the part the cap screws on to, just like with old milk jugs. The difference is that instead of being tapered to the top-center it's recessed in the corner.

[Snapshot9]

Maybe, but it doesn't seem like too good of an idea to me, engineer or not!

[Shocker85]

Maybe, but it doesn't seem like too good of an idea to me, engineer or not!

Why isn't innovation to save producers, retailers, and ultimately customers money a good idea?

More product can be moved and stored in less space. In this millenium, ANYTHING that saves energy and water consumption is a good idea. In the case of milk, the elimination of crates will improve efficiency at all levels of product handling. A semi-trailer hauling milk is basically something like 40%-50% milk, the rest is crates and air (space between jugs). The new milk jugs are a great idea and will save real $$$ at the consumer level.

"I don't like it, it's different." is what old grandmas say.

Be prepared for lots of changes in the next decade in things in every phase of life. With the ridiculous cost of fuel and the push for "green" everything, the wasteful practices in the US will change. When you go overseas, you see things packaged and handled differently than you do in the US, often done to improve efficiency and reduce waste. Once you get used to the changes, they'll seem normal.

--'85.

[TxShox]

I saw a spot on CNN about this the other day. The sound wasn't on, so I had to follow the captions they put up on the screen. One caption said it reduced the number of shipments per week from 4 or 5 to 2. A store could warehouse about 3 times more the product as well. Less shipments means fewer truck loads. Fewer truck loads mean less use of gas.

People are going to complain. That's a no brainer. People hate change, but sometimes change needs to be forced in order to serve a better product.

If it keeps my milk fresher, costs less, and is eco-friendly, I think I can adapt.

[SubGod22]

NOBODY is complaining about the change to save evergy and money. I'm just sure it could be done in a way that the milk would still be easy to pour as opposed to what it appears we will now be getting. I'm sure they could slightly modify the stupid thing so that it's still all of the above but won't be as tough to pour. Nobody likes getting milk all over the cabinets. Kids seemed to have enough trouble with the current design. This one will make it worse.

[TxShox]

Oh, I know they're not complaining about the savings aspect, but on the design. I guess my point was that people get so used to how things are, they are sometimes unwilling to change, even when the change brings about certain advantages.

[rrshock]

How is milk going to be fresher if it sits in a storage room longer? I can't figure that one out. If a store was getting 4 or 5 shipments a week, that means the milk was constantly getting turned over. Now if they only get 2, that means it is sitting there longer.

[TxShox]

I think the article said it's fresher when it arrives in the store, so based on that, I would assume that it has a longer shelf life before meeting that "sell by" date.