One of the most difficult aspects of attending a cocktail party is juggling a dessert cocktail plate and a glass at the same time while attempting to perform any action that requires the use of the hands. If you should find yourself at a cocktail party and are suddenly confronted with a ringing phone or handshake, an immediate crisis ensues in which it’s nearly impossible to find a place to put either your plate or glass down.
Placing stemware on the side of cocktail caddies is an unwieldy process, and attempting to hold a champagne flute at the same time as a sample plate of canapes is almost guaranteed to result in an unsightly stain on formal wear.
A highly innovative new solution, however, is promising to revolutionize cocktail parties around the world with an ergonomic, simple, and effective cocktail plate that uses an incredibly comfortable, stable and easy to use design to make holding a glass and plate at the same time effortless.
The Holdaplate is a groundbreaking new cocktail party and event plate that offers the ultimate solution to balancing food and drink. In this article, we’ll take a look at the Holdaplate and find out how it works to see if it’s the right addition to your next event.
What is the Holdaplate?
The Holdaplate is incredibly simple. Designed to be able to both temporarily free up a hand at a cocktail party in order to eat or to shake hands with a coworker, the Holdaplate is highly functional. The creator of the Holdaplate, John Zox, came up with the idea for the Holdaplate while studying for his MBA. Cocktails are an intrinsic aspect of business school tradition, and it was at one of these parties that Zox experience the “eureka” moment that led to the development of the Holdaplate.
There are other solutions on the market that attempt to provide a solution to the problem of balancing a glass and a plate in one hand at the same time, but all of them place the plate as the focal point of balance, hanging the glass off the side. This creates an inelegant, cumbersome, precarious, spill-prone solution that has a cup size limit and can’t be used with anything but stemware, precluding the enjoyment of beverages in bottles or glasses.
Zox, while attending a business school cocktail party, realized that in order for a plate-cup combo to work, the glass needed to be the center of gravity. By joining forces with established design expert Ding Liu, Zox created the first prototype for the Holdaplate, which is now available in a range of options.
The Holdaplate consists of a small cocktail plate that has a unique ergonomic cutaway in one side, complete with a rounded bracing fold that can be placed against a glass or bottle. The cutaway is completely with a rounded shallow scoop in which the user places the index finger while hooking it around the bottle, allowing for comfortable and easy glass and cup control.
The Holdaplate has won multiple awards for its innovative design, capturing the 1st place in innovation at the 2015 QSR/FPI Foodservice Packaging Awards, the Gold Medal at the 2016 International Invention Innovation Competition, and the winner of the Foodservice Equipment Reports 2014 Tabletop Competition.
Holdaplate has also captured a large amount of attention from the press, with publications such as Inc. Magazine, Fast Company, the Chicago Tribune, Nutritious Life Magazine and more extolling the virtues of this incredible elegant solution to a common problem.
The Holdaplate Range
The Holdaplate solution is available in four different materials that provide solutions for specific events. The Everyday Plastic Holdaplate is available in black or white, and is completely free from BPA plastic, making it a health-conscious serving choice. The Everyday Plastic material solution is also dishwasher safe and semi flexible, ensuring the plate won’t break in case of accidental droppage.
Holdaplate also offer a Heavy-Duty Melamine solution that is far more rigid and tough than the Everyday Plastic solution, and delivers a ceramic finish for upscale events. Also on offer in the Holdaplate range is two disposable options. The Single-Use Plastic Holdaplate is constructed from recyclable rigid polystyrene, but Holdaplate also offer a far more environmentally friendly option.
The Compostable Sugarcane Holdaplate is a completely biodegradable Holdaplate that not only improve the vibes at your cocktail party, but also help to minimize the damage caused to the plant by disposable plastic cocktail plates.
The Holdaplate Verdict
The Holdaplate solution is one of the most elegant and innovative products on the market in 2017. If you’re hosting a cocktail party, a wedding reception, or event, and want to ensure that your guests have the capacity to feast and greet at the same time, the Holdaplate is the best option available.
