The story of plastic transparent Bubble Wrap begins in 1957
with two inventors and engineers: Al Fielding and Marc Chavannes, from New Jersey, USA. They originally set out to produce a textured wallpaper.
The pair began by sealing two shower curtains together, which in the process would capture air bubbles that they envisaged would give their wallpaper a textured feel. However, the wallpaper idea failed to gain any traction so they looked for an alternative use for their new product. Their thoughts turned to greenhouse insulation but again, the idea did not take off.
Into the frame stepped Frederick W. Bowers, a marketer at the Sealed Air Company, which just so happened to be co-founded by Fielding. Bowers realized that the new 1401 computers which IBM had just launched could benefit from using Bubble Wrap to protect them in shipping. He pitched the idea to IBM and showed them the protective qualities of Bubble Wrap. IBM embraced the product and used it to transport their new 1401 computers and other fragile products all over the world. By the mid-1960s about half of all the computers in the world were the IBM 1401, many of which would not have arrived at their destination in one piece without Bubble Wrap.
It’s said that each year Sealed Air produces enough Bubble Wrap to wrap around the Earth’s equator, about ten times. It’s estimated that around $400 million of Bubble Wrap is sold annually. Simple though the product is, it has moved with the times to the extent that there is a new ‘DIY-inflatable Bubble Wrap’. Customers buy the product flat and lease a special machine from Sealed Air to inflate it, thereby reducing the costs of transportation for the manufacturers of products.
Today Bubble Wrap is most commonly used for food packaging but it is also widely used by householders to protect fragile possessions in house moves or in the post – and of course, for popping as a pastime.
Contribution to Retail History
Bubble Wrap, now in its 60th year, has helped bolster the popularity of mail order and online shopping as retailers and consumers have gained a greater confidence in its ability to protect all types of merchandise during the shipping process. Bubble Wrap has evolved to become even stronger and more protective as well as being offered in more vibrant colors and creative patterns. It has significantly reduced product damage and returns and created more opportunities for global purchases. The global bubble wrap packaging market is expected to reach more than $10.73 billion by 2023.