Koozie
A koozie ( /ˈkuːzi/ KOO-zee), or – in Australia – a stubby holder is a fabric or foam sleeve that is designed to thermally insulate a beverage container, like a can or bottle.
Name, origin, and trademark dispute
The name "Koozie" is a coined, trademarked term. The KOOZIE brand first started with the Radio Cap Corporation (RCC). RCC specialized in baseball caps. RCC registered a trademark for the name KOOZIE in 1980 and it introduced the styrofoam can cooler in 1982. As the promotional product industry grew, more products were added to the KOOZIE brand, including drinkware, more styles of can coolers, cooler bags, outdoor leisure items, travel accessories accessories and business accessories.
Norwood Promotional Products acquired RCC in 1991 and continued to grow the KOOZIE line of products. In 2009, BIC Graphic purchased Norwood and its sub-brands. BIC Graphic dropped the "RCC" in favor of the KOOZIE brand name and expanded the line to include additional styles of can coolers, cooler bags and totes, as well as housewares.[1]
Other alternate names for can coolers are:
- "qoozie"
- "bawdle"[2]
- "beach"
- "beer hugger"[2]
- "beer huggie"[2]
- "beer rubber" [3]
- "beer sleeve"[citation needed]
- "bottle jacket"
- "can cooler"[2]
- "candom"[citation needed]
- "coastie"[citation needed]
- "coldy-holdy"[2]
- "coozy"
- "kolder holder"
- "scungi"
- "coolie"[2]
- "cozy"[2][4]
- "drink sheath"
- "insulated can holder"
- "lovely pupper" [citation needed]
- "mopler"[citation needed]
- "stubby cooler"
- "stubby holder"
- "tin can tauntaun" [citation needed]
- "cuezie"
- "quezie"
In Australia, the beverage insulator is called a stubby holder because local beer was traditionally sold in 375 mL (13.2 imp fl oz; 12.7 US fl oz) bottles colloquially known as "stubbies" due to their short, squat appearance in comparison to the alternative packaging of 750 mL (26 imp fl oz; 25 US fl oz) bottles ("king brown", "tallie", or simply "bottle"), and the 300 to 375 mL (10.6 to 13.2 imp fl oz; 10.1 to 12.7 US fl oz) longneck bottles commonly used for beer imported from North America and Europe. Most Australian domestic beers have now adopted longneck bottles and/or aluminium cans ("tinnies") for their 375 mL (13.2 imp fl oz; 12.7 US fl oz) packaging, and 750 mL (26 imp fl oz; 25 US fl oz) bottles are now sold much less commonly than was the case historically. Victoria Bitter (VB) is notable for continuing to use the traditional stubby, albeit with a twist top replacing the traditional crown seal.
Norwood was in a dispute, on-and-off over several years in the 2000s, over the Koozie trademark status with an online retail business called Kustom Koozies.[5] Norwood asserts that names such as beer hugger, can cooler, and huggie do not infringe its trademark, but that koozie, coozie, coolie, and cozy do.[2][6] Kustom Koozies asserted in 2005 that the trademark had become generic.[2][6] In the years since, Norwood and Kustom Koozies came to a licensing agreement over the use of the trademark, but by 2009 they were in dispute again, as Kustom Koozies tried and failed to cancel the trademark licensing agreement in response to Norwood instructing it to make certain changes to its website, one of which was that "Koozie" should be set out in all-capital letters as "KOOZIE," and another being that the registered trademark symbol "®" be used to identify genuine Norwood KOOZIES.[7]
Use
Insulated beverage containers, or KOOZIE branded products, are used to insulate a chilled beverage from warming by warm air or sunlight. Using an insulated beverage container, or KOOZIE branded product, can reduce the rate a drink warms in the sun by up to 50%.[8]
Secondary uses include easily identifying one's beverage from another person's and for marketing. By imprinting on the insulated beverage container, or KOOZIE branded product, many different companies have used the good as a promotional giveaway because it is not only inexpensive to manufacture, but its frequent use is more likely to bring the company's name to a household presence. Originally a logo or image was screen-printed on a round foam cylinder with a foam base, which generally has a hole at the base to ease inserting and removing beverage containers.
Tertiary use (though linked to the primary use) is for keeping the drinkers hands warm whilst consuming the chilled beverage in the KOOZIE.
Materials and styles
The insulated beverage container, or KOOZIE branded product, has evolved in both material and style. Materials used include leather,[9] neoprene, EVA, polyester, vinyl, and various open-cell and closed-cell foams. There are insulated beverage containers for 40 oz. bottles,[10] and adjustable insulated beverage container, or KOOZIE branded product, that fit different beverage container sizes.
Multiple insulated beverage containers linked together have increased in popularity, giving the wearer a Rambo type look. The Bandie is such an example that allows the wearer to carry multiple cans in individually insulated beverage container.[11] There is a hole in the bottom of the koozie for suctioning
See also
References
- ^ https://bicgraphicblog.com/2017/05/22/a-brief-history-of-the-koozier-brand/
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Snell 2006.
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20141221173741/http://www.beerrubbers.com/About-Us.html. Archived from the original on 2014-12-21.
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- ^ http://www.kustomkoozies.com
- ^ a b Glenn 2005.
- ^ Farrell 2012.
- ^ Tillett, Darren. "Performance and properties of commonly used drink insulators". Retrieved 14 January 2013.
- ^ For example https://www.etsy.com/listing/181556145/handmade-leather-beer-coozie-hand/
- ^ http://www.uncommoncovers.com/shop/the-forty/
- ^ "The Bandie". The Bandie. Archived from the original on 2015-09-25. Retrieved 2015-09-23.
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Sources
- Farrell, Kenan (2012-01-06). "Indiana Trademark Litigation Update — Norwood Promotional Products v. KustomKoozies (DECISION)". IndianaIntellecualProperty web log.
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(help) - Glenn, Brittany (September 2005). "NORWOOD BATTLES FOR THE KOOZIE NAME". Promotional Products Business magazine. Archived from the original on 2011-12-06.
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suggested) (help) - Snell, Teddye (2006-01-20). "Drinkthink: Keeping it hot and cold". Tahlequah Daily Press. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014.
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