Decra-Stone, Inc. and its Basket Ease Division is a family-owned-and-operated business. The company was formed in 1977 by founder, Laurence M. Knutson, using his idea that there was a better way to make a fruit basket. The scalloped plastic fruit basket that came to be known as the Model 598 was created and became the company’s first product. The design was awarded a United States patent, and a single semi-load of baskets was prepared for sale. By the end of the first sales trip, every basket had been sold.
With the growing popularity of the Model 598, more plastic fruit container sizes and shapes were developed and trademark to meet the needs of the food store industry. The full line of plastic containers has always been made in the USA, and the plastic material and colorant used in their manufacture have FDA approval. After millions of the company’s plastic baskets and trays had been sold, the products became so well known in the trade that the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted product configuration trademark protection for the company’s containers.
To meet the further needs of our customers, in 1985, Basket Ease developed a new line of fruit containers using wicker material. Our wicker line is made from fern material and offers many of the same benefits as the original Basket Ease plastic containers. Again, the company applied for and was awarded patents for the new wicker containers. After many years and massive sales of the wicker products, our customers also came to recognize the wicker containers as originating exclusively from Decra-Stone, and the company applied for and was granted product configuration trademark protection on its wicker basket product line. We continue to hold these trademarks on both the wicker and plastic containers.
Today, Basket Ease has come full circle. Since the fern material used to make the wicker containers has become increasingly harder to obtain, Basket Ease has redesigned its most popular wicker container, the Model 200; it’s available in plastic with a great new wicker-like ornamental design. You can rest assured the plastic and colorant are FDA approved for food, and the new wicker-style container will continue to be made in the USA. The patent is pending for the new container.
16150 Texas Ave
Prior Lake, MN 55372
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