"The EEASY Lid is the world’s first aluminium lug jar lid," Brandon Bach, President of CCT

Brandon Bach brings over 18 years of experience in project management, marketing, and video production, including expertise in video and graphic design and the coordination of live events. As the current president of Consumer Convenience Technologies (CCT), he leads the company behind the EEASY Lid, a significant innovation in jar lids that represents the first major advancement in over 75 years.

AL Circle: Tell us about yourself and CCT.

Brandon Bach: My name is Brandon Bach, and I am the president of Consumer Convenience Technologies (CCT). CCT is the maker of the EEASY Lid – the first jar lid innovation in 80 years.

AL Circle: What is the EEASY Lid?

Brandon Bach: The EEASY Lid helps take the struggle out of opening stubborn jars. It allows consumers to vent a vacuum-sealed jar by simply pressing a button on the lid, reducing the amount of torque needed to twist off the lid by up to 50 per cent.

AL Circle: How the concept of EEASY Lid was born? Why the name ‘EEASY Lid?’

Brandon Bach: The EEASY Lid was created after a friend of the company was diagnosed with breast cancer. After undergoing treatment, her strength decreased, and she struggled to complete everyday tasks like opening vacuum-sealed jars. She went to her friend, a packaging pioneer, Pete Stodd, and asked him why jars aren’t easier to open. Pete and the CCT team then spent the next eight years developing the EEASY Lid.

The EEASY Lid is designed to help brands provide unprecedented accessibility to their jarred food products. It is an accessible packaging option for everyone, opening the market up to all consumers regardless of age, gender, or ability. It is especially useful for consumers who have a disability or physical ailments such as carpel tunnel and arthritis or those who are growing older and face limited strength. We chose to call this innovation the EEASY Lid because anyone can use it—just push, twist, and open.

AL Circle: Why was aluminium chosen as the primary material for the EEASY Lid, and what benefits does it offer over traditional steel?

Brandon Bach: The EEASY Lid is the world’s first aluminium lug jar lid. Lug lids make up 80 per cent of the jar lid market and are found on common jarred foods such as pasta sauce. Numerous designs were considered to achieve a new jar lid innovation. CCT tried over 40 different score tool combinations to get the EEASY Lid to open and operate the way it wanted, including changing design, angle, and configuration.

CCT initially used tin plate to create the EEASY Lid, but found this material corrodes easily. To combat corrosion in the manufacturing line, production would be lengthier and costlier. CCT changed the material to aluminium to prevent corrosion and streamline the manufacturing process.  

AL Circle: How does the use of aluminium in the EEASY Lid align with sustainability goals?

Brandon Bach: The aluminium EEASY Lid, a more sustainable choice than traditional steel lids, is equally durable. Aluminium, a material that can be recycled repeatedly without losing its quality, is a low-carbon resource that supports a circular economy. With the aluminium EEASY Lid, you can be confident in its durability and secure in your choice for a sustainable future. 

Additionally, aluminium has lightweight capabilities. Soaring inflation has led many companies to focus on lightweight packaging materials to create cost efficiencies in the supply chain and decrease waste. The 63 mm aluminium EEASY Lid weighs 57 per cent less than traditional steel lids, meaning one pallet (40 boxes of jars with the EEASY Lid) weighs 400 pounds less than the same pallet of jars with traditional steel lids. Extend this calculation to ten pallets with 40 boxes in each pallet, and the EEASY Lid comes in at 10,000 pounds lighter than steel jar lids. The lower weight of aluminium can decrease fuel consumption and emissions.

AL Circle: Can you share with our readers about the new peer reviewed ‘White Paper?’

Brandon Bach: CCT recently announced a new peer-reviewed white paper, “New Aluminium Lug Closure Reduces Removal Torque while Ensuring Hermetic Seals in Glass Jars.” The white paper studied the EEASY Lid compared to traditional tin plate jar lids.

The Cornell University Department of Food Science reviewed the EEASY Lid for Food Protection Trends – a publication owned by the International Association for Food Protection. The white paper compares the EEASY Lid to traditional steel lug jar lids, which are the packaging industry standard. Both lids were studied to determine the sealing performance and torque needed to remove the lids from the jars. Jars packed with tomato sauce and capped with both lids were evaluated.

AL Circle: How did the EEASY Lid perform in these tests compared to conventional jar lids?

Brandon Bach: The study found that the EEASY Lid delivered a hermetic seal comparable to jars with standard steel lug closures, meaning the EEASY Lid does not affect sealing performance. Additionally, removal torque values for jars with the EEASY Lid were 20 per cent to 51 per cent lower than those for standard lids, making the jars with the EEASY Lid easier to open. This third-party validation proves that CCT’s EEASY Lid is an essential accessible packaging innovation for the food packaging industry.

AL Circle: Which products is the EEASY Lid currently available on and where?

Brandon Bach: The EEASY Lid is currently being used on products in more than 500 Meijer, Wegmans, Stop & Shop, Price Chopper, Tops Friendly Markets stores, and select specialty grocers in the Northeast. The EEASY Lid is also used on products in EDEKA Kempken stores in Krefeld, Germany.

Most recently, the EEASY Lid became available on Chilau Foods’ products in more than 250 Meijer stores across the Midwest. Chilau’s line of southern-inspired stew and boil bases offer a unique alternative to traditional beef, chicken, and vegetable stew flavors. This presents a significant opportunity to retailers like Meijer looking to expand their offerings – especially with products now being topped with the inclusive and sustainable EEASY Lid.

AL Circle: How do you see the shift to aluminium influencing broader trends in the food packaging industry? What is your vision for the future of aluminium usage in food packaging, and how does the EEASY Lid contribute to that vision?

Brandon Bach: The food packaging industry is shifting. Brands are having to meet customer needs in order to remain competitive in this oversaturated market. One of those consumer demands is more sustainable packaging. As discussed, aluminium is more recyclable than steel and just as durable. Brands like CCT are considering alternative materials, like aluminium, to make their packaging more sustainable for consumers.