A method of marketing food items may include displaying in an upright, on-edge orientation on a horizontal shelf in the retail establishment a plurality of generally dumbbell-shaped packages with high-protein food items. The package may be generally dumbbell-shaped as viewed from the front and/or from other angles, and may comprise a center portion that is narrower and/or shallower than adjacent end portions. This may facilitate handling of the product by the consumer and also may help to provide the product with an impactful appearance and theme at retail when the product is viewed from the front and/or from other angles. The product may include high-protein food items, consistent with the theme established by the shape, and may include prominently-displayed information about the protein content of the food items.

A method of marketing food items may include displaying in an upright, on-edge orientation on a horizontal shelf in the retail establishment a plurality of generally dumbbell-shaped packages with high-protein food items. The package may be generally dumbbell-shaped as viewed from the front and/or from other angles, and may comprise a center portion that is narrower and/or shallower than adjacent end portions. This may facilitate handling of the product by the consumer and also may help to provide the product with an impactful appearance and theme at retail when the product is viewed from the front and/or from other angles. The product may include high-protein food items, consistent with the theme established by the shape, and may include prominently-displayed information about the protein content of the food items.

A cup, a blank for a cup, and a method for forming a cup. As an example, a cup includes a base having a circular bottom and a rim coupled to a perimeter of the bottom; a sidewall extending upwards from the base between an upper edge and a lower edge, the sidewall being continuously coupled to the rim at the lower edge; a plurality of closure panels integrally connected to and extending from the sidewall at the upper edge, the plurality of closure panels includes a first closure panel having a first cutout and a second closure panel having a second cutout; a straw connected to and extending from a second end of the sidewall and extending upwards from near the lower edge to beyond the upper edge; and a tab connected to and extending from a first end of the sidewall and attaching the first end of the sidewall to a second end of the sidewall.

A lid assembly for a beverage container is provided. The lid assembly has a lid base, a mouthpiece and a lid dome. The mouthpiece is connected to the lid base and has a first end having a generally flat surface that is provided at an angle to the top surface of the lid base, a second end adapted to receive a straw, and a drink aperture therethrough. The lid dome is pivotally connected to the lid base and pivots between an open position and a closed position. The lid dome has a protrusion that extends from an inner surface of the lid dome. The protrusion has a seal surface at an angle to the top wall to seal against the first end of the mouthpiece to close the drink aperture when the lid dome is in the closed position.

A packaged product unit including a package with an inner cavity having a pocket portion containing a product and communicating with an elongated portion in which a straw is housed. The straw has a proximal end which leads into the pocket portion and a distal end which is closed by a cap portion of the package. An outer wall of the straw is welded perimetrically to the package in a proximal sealing area at the proximal end of the straw to prevent leakage of the product from the pocket portion along an outer surface of the straw.

A recyclable or reusable assembly is described. The assembly includes a lid having a first side disposed opposite a second side that engages an opening of a container and a hole extending through a width of the lid. A corrugated flex pipe configured straw fully extendable for use of the assembly is configured to collapse on itself in a telescoping movement and has a first and a second portion. A second side of the first portion engages the hole on the first side of the lid and a second side of the second portion engages the hole on the second side of the lid. A first sealing plug is affixed to the first side of the first portion of the straw and a second sealing plug is affixed to the first side of the second portion of the straw to seal an inside of the straw.

A drinking container comprising a vessel; a cap, atop said vessel; a flexible drinking straw extending from said cap, in flow communication with an interior of said vessel; a slidable, generally flat lid defining a cavity between said cap and said lid; wherein said lid is generally co-extensive with a top of said cap, and is slidably mounted to said cap to slide between an open position in which said flexible straw is extended for drinking, to a closed position in which said straw is flexed into said cavity.

A method of manufacturing a bendable paper straw and a paper straw made in accordance with the method, the method including the steps, in any convenient order, of coating plies of flexible material, such as paper, with a generally liquid adhesive, such as food grade glue, forming on a mandrel having a generally smooth outer surface a tube composed of a plurality of plies of such coated flexible material, such as helically-wound plies, if necessary, cutting the tube into lengths suitable for forming finished straws, and before the adhesive has set, mounting the or each tube on a respective mandrel having a smooth outer surface and thereafter forming a series of generally concentric grooves on the outside the tube, such as by rolling, pressing or crimping the grooves, and thereafter moving one end of the tube towards the other end along its major axis, such as by pushing or pulling, whereby to axially compress the series of grooves to form a set of annular corrugations, and thereafter allowing the adhesive to set, whereby to form a straw bendable around the corrugated region into a temporarily deformed shape.

A drink cup having an automatic retractable straw is disclosed herein. It comprises a main body having an outer cup, an inner cup having a guide inclined surface at a bottom thereof, and a vacuum insulation layer between the outer cup and the inner cup; a lid covered on the main body and having an opening at one side thereof for corresponding to an upper end of the guide inclined surface, a containing groove adjacent to the opening on a top surface thereof, and a flip cover pivotally disposed on the containing groove and having a convex part corresponding to the opening; and a straw accommodated in the inner cup and having a connecting member formed with a first perforation at one end thereof for connecting to an upper end of the straw and a second perforation corresponding to the bonding part of the lid at the other end thereof.

A drink cup having an automatic retractable straw is disclosed herein. It comprises a main body having an outer cup, an inner cup having a guide inclined surface at a bottom thereof, and a vacuum insulation layer between the outer cup and the inner cup; a lid covered on the main body and having an opening at one side thereof for corresponding to an upper end of the guide inclined surface, a containing groove adjacent to the opening on a top surface thereof, and a flip cover pivotally disposed on the containing groove and having a convex part corresponding to the opening; and a straw accommodated in the inner cup and having a connecting member formed with a first perforation at one end thereof for connecting to an upper end of the straw and a second perforation corresponding to the bonding part of the lid at the other end thereof.