The Distance

When Al Capone needed crates to smuggle liquor to his speakeasies, he bought boxes from a Chicago manufacturer called Ideal Box Co. Today, the company is run the Eisen brothers, whose great-grandfather started the business in 1924, and the Eisens are shaping a future that goes way beyond corrugated boxes. Ideal makes the point-of-purchase displays that dot the ends of supermarket aisles and beckon consumers into making impulse purchases. The Eisens believe that specializing in displays is the way out of the commoditized brown box.
For more on Ideal, including photos, check out https://thedistance.com/ideal-box-co.

Show Notes

When Al Capone needed crates to smuggle liquor to his speakeasies, he bought boxes from a Chicago manufacturer called Ideal Box Co. Today, the company is run the Eisen brothers, whose great-grandfather started the business in 1924, and the Eisens are shaping a future that goes way beyond corrugated boxes. Ideal makes the point-of-purchase displays that dot the ends of supermarket aisles and beckon consumers into making impulse purchases. The Eisens believe that specializing in displays is the way out of the commoditized brown box. For more on Ideal, including photos, check out https://thedistance.com/ideal-box-co.

What is The Distance?

What's the hardest thing about business? Not going out of business. The Distance features stories of private businesses that have been operating for at least 25 years and the people who got them there. Hear business owners share their stories of hard work, survival and building something that lasts. The Distance is a production of Basecamp, the company behind the leading project management app.