Tag Archives: lid

Heinz’s New Lid Has 3 Settings Based on Your Love Language

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Ketchup people are serious people. Not in an uptight way, but in the way that they know exactly what they want: a precise drizzle over scrambled eggs, a controlled zigzag down a hot dog, or the kind of generous pour that basically constitutes a second course. Ketchup rituals are personal, and Heinz, after 157 years of watching people argue silently over the bottle, has finally decided to do something about it.

The Heinz Love Lid is a customizable ketchup lid, and yes, that is exactly as delightful as it sounds. It replaces the standard cap on any existing 20-ounce Heinz bottle and comes with a rotating dial that moves through three settings: Like, Love, and Crazy Love. Each one adjusts the flow by raising an internal core to widen the aperture, so the more love you dial in, the more ketchup comes out. It’s patented, it’s made from recyclable polypropylene, and it was developed in partnership with Beta Design Office and Wieden+Kennedy London.

Designer: Heinz

What makes the Love Lid genuinely interesting isn’t just that it’s functional. Plenty of products are functional. What makes it worth talking about is the design thinking behind the naming. “Like,” “Love,” and “Crazy Love” aren’t just cute marketing fluff; they’re actually communicating something true about how people relate to condiments. Not everyone wants the same amount, and more importantly, the amount they want changes depending on what they’re eating. A fries-and-dip situation calls for something very different from a burger situation, and treating those two moments as identical has never really made sense.

Packaging rarely gets this kind of attention. Most brands treat the cap as an afterthought, a functional necessity that doesn’t need to earn its place on the shelf. Heinz seems to have realized that the lid is actually where the entire experience lives. It’s the last thing between you and the food, the part that determines whether you’re satisfied or standing over the sink trying to salvage a plate. Getting that right is not a trivial design problem, and Heinz approached it with the same brand language it uses everywhere else. Warm, a little playful, rooted in the idea that ketchup is a love story. That coherence is what elevates this from a gimmick to a decision that actually makes sense.

The bundle is limited edition, available online during grilling season. It comes with one bottle of Heinz Tomato Ketchup, the lid itself, and a printed guide suggesting which setting to use for different foods. The guide is a nice touch. It’s the kind of thing that feels unnecessary until you’re standing at a backyard barbecue at noon in August and suddenly very grateful someone thought this through.

I’ll admit the cynic in me noticed that this is a limited run, not a permanent product shift. You can’t just walk into a grocery store and grab one, and there’s a real chance many people will never know it exists. That does take some of the wind out of the sails for a design that clearly had real engineering effort behind it. A patented two-part closure with a mechanical flow adjustment deserves more than a grilling-season window.

But the more generous read is that Heinz is testing an idea before committing to it at scale. They’ve been doing a version of this with recent packaging experiments, including the Heinz Dipper, a fry box with a built-in condiment compartment, also a limited run. The pattern suggests a brand that’s genuinely curious about where its packaging can go, not just chasing a headline. If this gets traction, it’s hard to imagine Heinz leaving it as a seasonal novelty.

Ketchup, at the end of the day, is one of the most democratic foods we have. It belongs to everyone, and Heinz has always known that its market isn’t a type, it’s a spectrum. The Love Lid is proof that they’re still paying attention to that spectrum, right down to the pour.

The post Heinz’s New Lid Has 3 Settings Based on Your Love Language first appeared on Yanko Design.

Someone Finally Gave Aluminum Cans the Resealable Lid They Always Needed

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The aluminum can has been one of the most successful packaging formats in history, but it carries a fundamental flaw. Pull that tab, and it’s open for good. You either finish it on the spot or accept that it’ll go flat, spill, or collect whatever finds its way in. For something this ubiquitous and this widely loved, that’s a surprisingly basic problem no one has managed to fix.

ReLid USA thinks it shouldn’t be that way. The company has developed a patented resealable lid that replaces the standard aluminum can end with a sliding mechanism, letting you open the can, take a drink, and close it back up again. The seal locks into place, preserving what’s left inside, and the whole thing stays 100% aluminum from start to finish, with no plastic involved whatsoever.

Designer: ReLid USA

The mechanism is about as intuitive as it gets. You lift the tab end the way you would on any standard can, then slide it back to open the drinking aperture. To reseal, slide the tab forward and press it down, and the can closes back up airtight. ReLid says the mechanism holds up for at least 14 reseals, covering a lot of sipping sessions before a can ever needs replacing.

What that means practically is that an unfinished energy drink can go back into a bag without soaking everything else. A half-consumed sparkling water can stay sealed and carbonated until you come back to it. Someone at the gym can set a can down between sets without worrying about spills or flatness. These aren’t exotic demands. They’re the basic expectations we’ve had from bottles for decades.

The sustainability angle is worth noting, too. Because the entire lid is aluminum with no plastic parts mixed in, it goes into the same recycling stream as any standard can, without any separation or special handling. There are no mixed materials to complicate the process, and since aluminum is infinitely recyclable, none of the material is lost when the can eventually reaches the end of its life.

The technology was originally developed starting in 2020 by Re-Lid Engineering AG, a Liechtenstein-based packaging design firm. ReLid USA, headquartered in St. Charles, Illinois, holds the exclusive North American license and engineered the product to slot into existing beverage-filling lines without any new equipment or changes to production. It works with standard 202 and 206 can end formats, covering the vast majority of cans already in use. The can format hasn’t changed much in decades, and this might be the most sensible edit it’s ever gotten.

The post Someone Finally Gave Aluminum Cans the Resealable Lid They Always Needed first appeared on Yanko Design.

This Smart Jar Lid Uses UV Light to Keep Your Food Fresh Longer

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You know that moment when you open your fridge and discover that beautiful container of berries you bought three days ago has turned into a science experiment? We’ve all been there. But what if I told you there’s a clever piece of design that could help solve this perpetual kitchen problem, and it looks pretty fantastic while doing it?

Meet SmartLid, a reusable jar lid created by designers Hakan Gürsu and Sezin Hasgüler that’s basically giving your ordinary glass jars a serious tech upgrade. Instead of just sitting there looking cute (though these lids definitely do that with their array of fun colors), SmartLid actively works to keep your food fresh using UV-C light technology.

Designers: Hakan Gürsu, Sezin Hasgüler

The concept is surprisingly simple yet brilliant. Inside each lid sits a 254 nm UV-C LED that emits light known for its bacteria-fighting powers. When you pop this smart lid onto your jar, it creates a chemical-free preservation system that inhibits mold and bacteria growth. No weird sprays, no mysterious additives, just clean ultraviolet light doing what it does naturally. And here’s the kicker: it uses less than 1 watt of energy, so you’re not exactly running up your electricity bill for fresher strawberries.

What really caught my attention is how SmartLid tackles the sustainability angle from multiple directions. First, there’s the obvious benefit of reducing food waste. When your food stays fresh longer, you’re throwing away less, which means fewer trips to the grocery store and less strain on your wallet. But the designers went deeper than that. The lid itself is made from recycled ABS plastic and bio-based silicone, so even the product’s materials align with circular design principles.

The modular design is particularly smart. That geometric cutout sleeve you see wrapping around the jars isn’t just for looks (though those organic shapes definitely give off modern design vibes). It’s functional, allowing you to see your food while protecting the jar and creating a cohesive system. The lids come in a gorgeous palette of colors, from soft lavender and mint to bolder oranges and teals, making them equally at home in a minimalist Scandinavian kitchen or a more eclectic space.

Looking at the technical side, SmartLid is waterproof and sensor-controlled, which means it’s actually thinking about when and how to deploy its UV powers. This isn’t some primitive gadget that just blasts light constantly. The intelligence built into the system helps optimize the preservation process while being energy efficient. For anyone who loves tech-forward solutions to everyday problems, this is pretty exciting stuff.

The best part? SmartLid transforms containers you probably already own into active preservation systems. You don’t need to buy a whole new set of specialty containers or invest in some bulky appliance. Just screw one of these lids onto a standard glass jar, and suddenly you’ve upgraded your food storage game. This approach feels particularly relevant right now when we’re all trying to be more conscious about consumption and waste.

From a design perspective, SmartLid hits that sweet spot where form meets function. The product feels approachable rather than overly technical or intimidating. You could see it fitting seamlessly into contemporary kitchen aesthetics that celebrate both style and substance. There’s something refreshing about a product that doesn’t hide its technology but instead makes it part of its visual identity, with that purple glow visible when the UV light is active.

The designers made sure to connect SmartLid to broader global sustainability goals too. It aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, specifically Zero Hunger and Responsible Consumption and Production. That might sound like corporate speak, but it actually matters. Design that considers its impact beyond the individual user and thinks about systemic change is design that can genuinely make a difference.

Kitchen gadgets often feel gimmicky or solve problems nobody actually has but SmartLid addresses something universally relatable: the frustration of wasted food and money. It does so with thoughtful design, legitimate technology, and a sustainability mindset that goes beyond surface-level greenwashing. Whether you’re a design enthusiast who appreciates clever problem-solving, a tech lover excited about practical UV applications, or simply someone tired of moldy leftovers, this little lid deserves your attention.

The post This Smart Jar Lid Uses UV Light to Keep Your Food Fresh Longer first appeared on Yanko Design.