I’m 43 years outdated. Initially from the Republic of Moldova. I’m the proprietor of the Southern Jar Firm Ltd.

I wish to share my story of how I’ve began to promote glass jars with lids.

Let’s begin with a short historical past of what glass jars imply to Moldovan folks.

For a very long time, folks in Moldova and most of Jap Europe had been storing meals in vessels. Earlier than the glass jars began to be obtainable on this space, meals was saved in different-sized clay pots. Initially of the twentieth century, many of the meals began to be saved in glass jars. We’re speaking extra about preserves, pickling, various kinds of jams, and heated vegetable combine.

Being a part of the USSR, the meals problem was on a regular basis a precedence. So, Moldovans, having a convention of storing meals for the winter time, had been shopping for and utilizing glass jars of any measurement in very giant portions.

An vital distinction between the UK glass jars trade and the Soviet glass jars trade was the kind and measurement of the jars. The most well-liked within the Soviet space had been and nonetheless are the 1l, 1.5l, 2l, and 3l glass jars. The second large distinction is the neck sort. Within the Soviet space, there have been no twist-off lids in any respect. All jars had been appropriate for heat-resistant tin lids for canning. In accordance with my reminiscence, even honey was sealed with the identical canning lids as effectively.

I’ll write one other article in regards to the distinction between Western and Jap jar trade within the final 50 years.

Okay, so after I began to promote jars?

It was 1994. I used to be 14 years outdated. My father was the primary jar vendor within the Republic of Moldova, beginning this enterprise in 1992. With large difficulties, I’d say, as all jars at the moment had been imported from Tiraspol/Transnistria, a Russian-influenced territory inside the Republic of Moldova. I bear in mind the occasions when my father was accompanying each lorry from Tiraspol to Chisinau to make sure the lorry would go each cell and static police station and the “customized” between Transnistria and Moldova. It was a really mentally demanding course of. Generally he had two or three lorries to be accompanied in 24 hours. This was very powerful.

In 1994, I and my two brothers began to be concerned very deeply on this enterprise, largely within the summertime. From June till late August. In September we would have liked to go to highschool/college.

In the course of the weekdays, we had been loading/unloading jars. On the weekends we had been promoting jars within the villages at large open-air markets.

To be talked about is that we had been unloading jars by hand. Jar by jar. No units. Jars began to return in units by the start of 2000. 7-8 years every jar was touched a minimum of twice – when loading and when unloading.

So, the entire week we had been loading/unloading jars, and on Saturday morning we had been making ready a full 5t type of Luton van, a Soviet one, GAZ-53. On this truck, we had been heading to village markets or simply villages. Stopping in the midst of the village and promoting jars. At the moment, largely we had been promoting 3l (hottest), 2l, 1.5l and 1l. Beginning with late August the 0.7 l turned widespread as effectively, so it was the 4th product in our vary. If to check, now I’m promoting within the UK 86 sizes/shapes of jars.

Usually, between 1994 and 1998, a full truck was offered in two days, touring 2-4 villages. This implies about 2000 of 3l jars, 1000 of 1l jars, and 200-300 of 1.5l/ 2l jars. After 1998, the demand decreased and we didn’t have any cell promoting factors. We had been promoting solely from the warehouse and a few non permanent factors on the busy streets, close to the warehouse.

Verify for brand new weblog posts. I’ll relate extra about jars, bottles, lids, cork stoppers, and screw caps.