Happy National Salad Month!
Here’s some packaging and the cookbook designed by Vignelli Associates for the diet food company Miralin to celebrate National Salad Month!
The Miralin Company was founded by Robert Harvey, who had a PhD in Biomedical Engineering, and his thesis was on Miralin, the “miracle fruit.” Miralin is a sweetener derived from the “miracle berry.” After you eat a “miracle berry,” it will make things taste very sweet. (Eat a “miracle berry,” then a lemon, and it won’t be tart at all!) Harvey thought this would be great for diabetics and other calorie-conscientious people as a way to cut sugar and calories. We have many examples from the Miralin packaging (some with food samples), including the “miracle berry” tablets.
Some think the artificial sweetener industry was so concerned about this “miracle berry” as competition that they stopped the FDA from approving Harvey’s sweetner. Ultimately, the FDA did not approve Robert Harvey’s "miracle berry” sweetener and Miralin folded. Watch this video from Democracy Now! for more on the conspiracy. https://vimeo.com/10834582
We certainly want to learn more about this story and we never expected anything related to government conspiracy in the Vignelli archives!
Here’s a previous post about Miralin:
http://vignellicenter.tumblr.com/post/112264908037/miralin-packaging-national-strawberry-day
Miralin Diet Plan Cookbook, 1973
6 1/2” x 9”
Box 143, Massimo and Lella Vignelli Papers
Vignelli Center for Design Studies
Rochester, New York
Miralin packaging for creamy herb dressing
Box 143, Massimo and Lella Vignelli Papers
Vignelli Center for Design Studies
Rochester, New York