Grillo’s Pickles has unveiled new packaging to prevent spillage. It’s gone viral.

Originally published by The Boston Globe on May 6, 2024

Written By Dana Gerber

Pickle fans, rejoice: Diving into a fresh jar of Grillo’s spears is about to get a whole lot easier.

The Westwood-based pickle company recently unveiled new twist-top packaging, designed to sidestep the vinegary spillage common with its previous containers, which required snackers to break off a plastic tab before popping open the lid.

The new packaging was announced on April 1 — timing that resulted in some pickle aficionados thinking it was a prank — and it is currently being rolled out in stores, starting with the brand’s 32 ounce dill spears, hot spears, and dill chips.

Fans of Grillo’s relished the news on social media, with one user dubbing it the “most significant tech advancement of the last decade.”

“This must be what it felt like when people first saw sliced bread,” one wrote.

“Finally I can stop opening the jars in the sink,” another mused.

Others took the opportunity to bid a not-so-fond farewell to the old packaging, recalling their full-sour experiences with it.

“In college, the last night before my final capstone paper was due, a jar of Grillo’s exploded in my bag, frying my laptop. I graduated 7 months late!” one Instagram user wrote. “Talk about being in a pickle.”

“Thank you for this. However, I still need reparations for the time where I struggled opening the old pickle jar and it exploded all over my mattress and bed frame,” wrote a TikTok user in a comment of a video announcing the new packaging, which has been viewed over two million times.

Grillo’s, founded in 2008 by namesake Travis Grillo, can be found in local grocery stores such as Shaw’s, Star Market, and Whole Foods Market. The brand started as a pop-up, eventually opening a brick-and-mortar storefront in Cambridge’s Inman Square, which closed in 2015.