Cocktail Hour Conundrum Cracked

INGENIOUS & ELEGANT AWARD-WINNING PLATEWARE INVENTION, HOLDAPLATE™, FINALLY ALLOWS PARTYGOERS TO EAT & SHAKE HANDS GRACEFULLY, BALANCING-ACT-FREE PHILADELPHIA, PA (May 1, 2013) – We’ve all been there: that awkward balancing act performed exclusively during a cocktail party, when we must hold a plate of food and a glass—one in each hand—while attempting to shake someone’s hand or eat. It took a professional musician-turned-MBA product designer to finally solve the problem, once and for all; in fact, Philadelphia-based inventor John Zox’s eureka moment occurred while daydreaming about universal design challenges during a famed biz school meet ‘n’ greet. On May 24, 2013, the now-patented and A’ Design Bronze® and Good Design® award-winning Holdaplate™ will officially go on sale at www.holdaplate.com, in materials ranging from heavy-duty recyclable plastic and commercial-grade porcelain to compostable paper and eco-friendly bamboo. And unlike party platter solutions on the market, the Holdaplate™ is elegant enough for even the most formal of gatherings (no stemware hanging precariously off the edge), is easy-to-use (glassware stays in the user’s hand), and is versatile (works with any size cup or wineglass). It is objectively the only cocktail plate of its kind on the market today, simultaneously beautiful and cleverly useful, without fail eliciting the “WOW! Why didn’t I think of that!?” response from users and onlookers alike.

“The Holdaplate™ is literally the most innovative plateware product I’ve seen in years. It’s that good!” touts Joanne Stone-Geier, an International Housewares Association consultant and Author of Launch It! (Harper Collins). Because of the plate’s universal appeal in multiple marketing channels, depending on materiality–retail, grocery, catering, restaurant, hotel, party, or promo gift–distributors and suppliers have taken notice, clamoring to be the first to place preliminary orders. Much of the plate’s appeal rests in its simplicity: A subtle, almost whimsical contour, or LipGrip™, in its periphery allows for a cup of any size to easily nestle alongside, held in place by the user’s index finger and supported effortlessly by the remaining fingers below. Currently offered in a 6-inch standard cocktail plate size, eventually the patented LipGrip™ should come to be expected on all cocktail/appetizer plates within the multi-billion dollar plateware industry.

While pursuing his MBA, John Zox, formerly a professional musician, began taking design courses to nurture the right side of his brain. Hidden in plain sight at those famed biz school cocktail parties was an unsolved design challenge: how to hold both a plate and glass in two hands while also attempting to meet, greet, and eat. The eureka moment was realizing that the heavy center of gravity, the alcohol and glass, had to remain in-hand; current market solutions, all of which involve hanging or balancing glassware off a plate’s edge, were both precarious and inelegant. The Holdaplate™ was thus born, and with the skill of architect and product design partner Ding Liu, brought to life for cocktail partygoers everywhere to enjoy. The 6-inch plate, offered in materials ranging from plastic to paper to porcelain to bamboo, and generally dishwasher and microwave safe, is available online at www.holdaplate.com (along with a product in-use video), or wholesale via special order from the company’s Philadelphia headquarters.

Media Contact:
Holdaplate, Inc. PR
info@holdaplate.com | 401-439-9957