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GILBERTS – Inside her Gilberts business, Ingrid Kosar is still creating products nearly 30 years after she first invented a slice of pizza history.
After many trials and tests in 1983, Kosar, a 65-year-old Sun City, Huntley, resident, received a patent for being the first person to invent the insulated pizza delivery bag.
Later that year, she, along with a business partner, opened Thermal Bags by Ingrid to sell and market the new product that would help transform the pizza industry. In 1984, Kosar, a Des Plaines native, earned her first major contract with Domino’s Pizza.
Thermal Bags by Ingrid, decades later, still manufactures a variety of insulated bags for companies such as Panera Bread, Tyson Foods and Papa John’s Pizza. Kosar recently sat down with reporter Stephen Di Benedetto to discuss her revolutionary invention and business.
Di Benedetto: How did the original invention happen?
Kosar: I was at a craft show, saw a little homemade lunch bag, and I thought I could make something that would work for keeping pizzas hot. That was the first idea. … I saw a little cotton insulated lunch bag and I just had the thought I could make those for pizza with a different shape, better insulation, different materials. But it was the same concept.
Di Benedetto: After you had the idea, what did you do next?
Kosar: I started experimenting with samples – different materials, different insulation. At the time, I used Thinsulate. It was the hot, new product back in the ’80s, and I started sewing. I would get some boxes, two pizzas, make a bag to fit it, and do a test. We contacted Domino’s, and they said we need a bag that holds a pizza over 140 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. That was my parameter. When I got that, I was so excited, but I didn’t have the money that you needed for a business. I called a guy that I knew who made pizza boxes. We became partners and incorporated at the end of November 1983. That’s when it all started.
Di Benedetto: How many trials did you have to go through?
Kosar: My neighbors loved me. I would do test after test. The more vegetables and toppings on the pizza, it is going to be easier to keep it hot. The roughest test is the plain cheese pizza, small. That’s what we did for Domino’s. We did a whole bunch of tests … [Domino’s] had some bags, but they weren’t insulated. It was more of a wrap. They didn’t really keep the food hot. When we brought out [the product], they really liked it. They were really nice bags, so we sold them.
Di Benedetto: Back in 1983, did you think this product would be used so widely?
Kosar: I knew there was a market, but I didn’t know how big. We put a lot of our competitors in business because I made every mistake, every mistake in marketing. Running a business, it’s hard to do on your own. I had a partner for seven years, but I helped him develop another product and we kinda split up. He took his product, and I took mine. He was a source of information for me. Basically, I’ve been running it on my own, and you learn the hard way. That’s how you learn the best.
Di Benedetto: Looking back on it, what do you think of what you created?
Kosar: Even though I made a lot of mistakes, when you start a business, you run it the way you feel is best. I always felt be kind to your staff because they are working with you. I see these businesses, and it’s all about the bottom line. It’s never been that way for me. It’s more like a family to me. It’s never been easy, but you have that yearning for your own business.
Di Benedetto: What are people’s reaction when you tell them you invented the pizza delivery bag?
Kosar: Some people think it’s funny but most people have a lot of respect for it. It’s not necessarily for the product but the process – going after something you believe in.
Di Benedetto: When you order a pizza, do you mention how you invented the pizza delivery bag to delivery people?
Kosar: No but a lot of times, we will pick up, and they will have our own bags. When we do deliver, I always check out whose bag it is that they are delivering it in. It always feels good when it’s mine. If my friends are over, I’ll say, ‘I made that bag. You want to see?’ They get to see it. It’s kinda cool.
The Kosar Lowdown
Hometown: Des Plaines
Job before pizza invention: Purchasing agent for a manufacturer
Education: Studied at Northern Illinois University for English/journalism
Favorite pizza topping: Pepperoni and mushroom