Plastic Dinner Plates: Disposable Dinner Plates, Plastic Dinnerware.
Plastic Dinner Plates have been a part of celebrations everywhere since their creation. More and more, the flexibility and modern styles of today’s disposable dinner plates are embraced at even the most formal of occasions. Today’s vibrant selections and stylish shapes can be found at weddings, engagements, business functions, showers, birthdays, catered affairs, and other important events.
Plastic Dinner Plates grew up throughout the 20th century. Starting with the creation of the Melmac plastic plates in the 1940’s, plastic tableware has quickly gained acceptance at family dinner tables, formal occasions, and celebrations of all kinds. One form of plastic dinnerware that came along at around the same time was the TV dinner (all right this is a bit of a stretch, but we thought it was interesting, and hey, we get to choose the content around here).
Maxson Food Systems developed the first complete frozen meal (1945) called “Strato Plates”. (Wow, what an appetizing name!)
The Strato Plate contained meat, vegetable, and potato, but since it was never developed for retail (it was primarily used for airplane passengers, lucky them!) some argue it was not the first true TV dinner.
Jack Fisher’s FrigiDinners was next in the late 1940’s. However, they only served them to bars, which likely served them to their mostly drunk patrons.
When Albert and Meyer Bernstein got involved with TV dinners is when this meal finally took off. Forming Frozen Dinners Inc. in 1949, they went on to form Quaker State Foods and had soon served over 2.5 million dinners by 1954.
Swanson’s came along in 1954 and launched a huge marketing campaign that catapulted TV Dinners into the American consciousness. Soon, Swanson’s became the name synonymous with these meals and continues to have a prominent role in this industry today.
History of the TV Dinner
The story of who came up with the first TV dinner isn’t very clear. So, rather than get all heavy-handed and state this company created it, or that company was the one who came up with the idea, here’s a snapshot of the TV dinner evolution:Maxson Food Systems developed the first complete frozen meal (1945) called “Strato Plates”. (Wow, what an appetizing name!)
The Strato Plate contained meat, vegetable, and potato, but since it was never developed for retail (it was primarily used for airplane passengers, lucky them!) some argue it was not the first true TV dinner.
Jack Fisher’s FrigiDinners was next in the late 1940’s. However, they only served them to bars, which likely served them to their mostly drunk patrons.
When Albert and Meyer Bernstein got involved with TV dinners is when this meal finally took off. Forming Frozen Dinners Inc. in 1949, they went on to form Quaker State Foods and had soon served over 2.5 million dinners by 1954.
Swanson’s came along in 1954 and launched a huge marketing campaign that catapulted TV Dinners into the American consciousness. Soon, Swanson’s became the name synonymous with these meals and continues to have a prominent role in this industry today.
