Who Invented The Cellophane Bag

Cellulose is a material that has been quite handy ever since its inception in the early 1900s, when it was Jacques Brandenberger who invented the cellophane bag. Not only is it dependable when it comes to protecting food but it has also become a decorative tool in large events and celebrations. Recently, cellophane bags have been used as gift wrappers, besides serving as the base product for products such as self-adhesive tapes and many others. The manufacturing of cellophane became was progressive as its moisture-proof property was widely sought after by food packagers, and its reliability became a replacement to other materials, such as wax paper.

The Man Behind the Bag

As stated before, the Swiss chemist Jacques E. Brandenbergerwas who invented the cellophane bag, but he went through different discoveries before engineering the actual bag we know today. His first inspiration was a spilled bottle of wine at a restaurant, where Brandenbergerstarted to imagine a special material that would actually repel the wine, avoiding the table cloth from becoming wet. Later on, he sprayed a water proof chemical on a cloth and even though it served the purpose of repelling liquids, the cloth became too stiff.

Realizing that nobody would want to purchase such a hard piece of material, he kept experimenting until he was able to remove the stiff part and found out that the chemical could actually be separated from the cloth. Cellophane was a thin clear film that preventedthe liquid from being absorbed, and it was without a doubt Brandenberger who invented the cellophane bag.

The Cellophane Bag’s Shining Years

Brief timeline of the development of cellophane in the industry of food packaging and decoration:

• 1912 – Whitman’s Candy Company was the first company in the United States to use cellophane to wrap their candies.
• 1924 –WCC became the biggest importer of cellophane bags in the US, which were coming from Brandenberger, who invented the cellophane bag. Around the same year, a company by the name of Du Pont decided to start their own cellophane manufacturing company in the US. The sales were notimpressive at first, but they surely started a competitive atmosphere.
• 1938 – With the help of hired chemist William Hale Charch, Du Pont was able to manufacture moisture-proof cellophane and this increased their production and sales for up to 25% that year.
• 1939 to Present – Cellophane bags evolved into different sizes and designs that now can be used for different purposes, proving to be convenient for a number of things.

Not Only for Food

Brandenberger, who originally invented the cellophane bag, may not have thought of additional purposes for his discovery. Even though it all started with the packaging of food, time has proven that cellophane bags can be used to wrap other items, such as office materials and school supplies. The cellulose that is characteristic of cellophane bags can also be used in the manufacturing of other materials, such as

• Tapes (adhesive)
• Battery membrane
• Medical equipment (dialysis tubing)

Certainly, Brandenberg became more than just the person who invented the cellophane bag.

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