Taberu Me: Peanuts as business cards
For people looking to liven up the formal rigamarole surrounding the exchange of business cards in Japan, Arigatou Co., Ltd., a company specializing in the sale of laser-etched food products, offers “Taberu Me” edible business cards printed on peanuts.
Taberu Me cards are created using Arigatou’s high-grade CO2 laser engraver nicknamed “Shiawase-kun,” which can etch up to 700 characters per second on hard organic materials like beans, nuts, rice and pasta and which has been optimized to print clean-looking logos, names and telephone numbers on the irregular surfaces of peanut shells.
As for the product name, Taberu means “eat” and Me could either be an abbreviation of meishi (”business card”) or “me” in English, in which case Taberu Me would be saying “Eat me” — a message you probably don’t want to convey to your new business partner at the first meeting. Regardless, a set of 150 Taberu Me cards costs 5,800 yen (around $50), which is mere peanuts considering the lasting impression you will make on your new counterparts.
[Link: Taberu Me via Gizmodo Japan]
Clever idea. Totally clever. But, um, what happens when the recepient cracks open the business card to eat the peanut within? Sorta defeats the prupose, yes?
Ah well.
Cheers!
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I’m surprised no one has released business card Budweiser bottles for the American market.
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That’s pretty cool, I wonder how long it takes to learn how to write on that. The craggy surfaces of a peanut seem like it would be immensely difficult to write on.
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how fun! the image at the bottom actually prints “thanks.” which is a nice way to say thank you to the customers.
i have certainly contemplated this many a times to print my business name on something food like m&ms or fortune cookies. but i don’t think i have ever booked a hotel based on the yummy chocolates they left on my pillow. all i remember was mmmm. chocolate….
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How can we find out more on the printing type used and where to buy the printer, material etc. thanks
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Definitely out of the ordinary, which is good for businesses that really need to stand out in the marketplace. I don’t think food cards will replace traditional business cards anytime soon, but they are cool looking (and probably pretty tasty too).
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