Have you ever noticed that the plastic soy sauce packets you receive with your takeout order in Chinese restaurants resemble freezer pops? There’s a reason for that: the familiar packets filled with brown-colored salty liquid are direct descendants from the plastic tubes filled with multi-colored sugary liquid that we throw in the freezer for a hot day.

That’s not a completely random association between two plastic-encased liquids. Kari-Out, one of the companies that supplies food containers and condiment packets to Asian food restaurants, was founded by a man whose father made the packaging for freezer pops. In 1964, he started his own company in the family business. He entered a new market by building on his father’s knowledge about sealing liquids in plastic,

The catch: he was an outsider. He was trying to sell an improved product to Chinese entrepreneurs, and he is Jewish. His first contract actually came from an airline, and he found more customers by traveling across the country.

Soon, you might have a drawer full of these, instead. The soy sauce fish is an alternative less likely to spray sauce on your shirt.

The main advantage of the soy fish is that it’s sturdier and reusable, not to mention refillable. Similar squeeze bottles are in use in other countries.

The Mysterious, Murky Story Behind Soy-Sauce Packets [The Atlantic]

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