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The First Stay-On-Tab

Client: Reynolds Metals Company (now merged with Alcoa)

When Reynolds Metals was looking for a new way to open cans, they flipped their lid over SIR's product development research.

As one of the world's first aluminum producers, Reynolds Metals (now part of Alcoa) wrapped up the market early on by rolling out innovations in aluminum can design, shape, and functionality. One of the biggest innovations came when Reynolds was challenged to replace the "pull tab" -- a ring pull design in which the tab detached from a can's lid completely. Not only did the easy-to-use "pull tab" effectively peel open aluminum cans, it also sliced open bare toes. They also wreaked havoc on wildlife as their shiny surfaces attracted birds that would eat the tabs. With one hundred million loose tab rings a year filling beaches, health and environmental concerns looked to Reynolds for a safer, more environmentally-friendly solution.

Reynolds turned to SIR to test the viability of a promising solution that Dan Cudzik, one of Reynolds' brightest engineers, had invented after five years of tirelessly working on this issue -- an all-metal stay on tab. Dan's idea was a tab that could be permanently affixed to the top of the can. One end, when lifted, would cause the other end to break the can's opening. The concept worked in the engineering lab, but would consumers embrace it on their cans?

SIR first conducted focus groups to identify potential barriers to acceptance of Dan's approach. They identified consumer concerns, including consumers' initial reaction to the new concept, comprehension of the opening instructions on the can, and ease of operating the stay-on-tab device. Research insights guided Dan and Reynolds' package designers in developing different prototypes of the stay-on-tab concept. SIR then held a second and more elaborate series of focus groups and mall intercepts to assess consumer reaction to the alternative stay-on-tab designs.

The stay-on-tab with the maximum consumer appeal and usability was ultimately selected and launched. Eventually, Dan's tab became the industry standard and made the world a better place. Three trillion tabs have "stayed on" since 1970, coming to the rescue of countless feet and fowl, and making our research an opening act that changed the world.

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