Periodic Reporting for period 2 - INCAP (Infusion Cap Technology for a healthy nutrition on-the-go produced in a fully automated single-step process)
Période du rapport: 2018-08-01 au 2019-07-31
Functional drinks are an important aspect of a modern and healthy lifestyle. These drinks include non-traditional ingredients such as herbs, minerals, vitamins, electrolytes, or amino acids, and offer definite health-related benefits that go beyond general daily nutritional intake. In the last years, functional drinks are becoming more and more popular, showing constantly high growth rates in both, the European as well as the global market. Especially, for people that are constantly on-the-go, these drinks offer a great opportunity to support their physical and mental health.
However, while producers and advertisers claim the health benefits of functional drinks, independent tests confirm that functional ingredients lose their effect when they are dissolved in water for 24 hours. This degradation effect is even more intensified when exposed to UV light, oxygen or heat. Current pre-mixed functional drinks are therefore not capable of providing the users with the promised health and nutrition effects. In order to overcome this problem, it is necessary to keep the functional ingredients separated in a dry and airtight sealed dispensing cap and infuse them into the water just before consumption.
Despite the clear business opportunity, first competitive attempts towards the development of such a dispensing cap system have failed due to technical problems, high material and manufacturing costs, and lack of market/user knowledge. Horst Hähl GmbH, on the other hand, has developed and successfully tested the first real dispensing cap solution. With an annual output capacity of 10 million INCAPs and market experience from several pilot customer applications, Horst Hähl can offer the full range of services from manufacturing, foiling, filling, capping or a final product. Quality tests have been implemented to ensure a constant quality of products.
However, while producers and advertisers claim the health benefits of functional drinks, independent tests confirm that functional ingredients lose their effect when they are dissolved in water for 24 hours. This degradation effect is even more intensified when exposed to UV light, oxygen or heat. Current pre-mixed functional drinks are therefore not capable of providing the users with the promised health and nutrition effects. In order to overcome this problem, it is necessary to keep the functional ingredients separated in a dry and airtight sealed dispensing cap and infuse them into the water just before consumption.
Despite the clear business opportunity, first competitive attempts towards the development of such a dispensing cap system have failed due to technical problems, high material and manufacturing costs, and lack of market/user knowledge. Horst Hähl GmbH, on the other hand, has developed and successfully tested the first real dispensing cap solution. With an annual output capacity of 10 million INCAPs and market experience from several pilot customer applications, Horst Hähl can offer the full range of services from manufacturing, foiling, filling, capping or a final product. Quality tests have been implemented to ensure a constant quality of products.
From the beginning of the project, the existing moulding tools for the 28 mm INCAP have been optimised and brought to industrial readiness. In parallel, the 28 mm INCAP itself could be improved according to customer feedback and test results. Building on this experience, the upscaling process of the 38 mm INCAP and the 50 mm have also been successfully realised. Already started in year one but also main activities in year 2 were continuous and extensive tests, material optimisations, the establishment of the manufacturing process and the construction of a drink-through solution. First pilot customers in various applications around the world have been acquired and could be realised. Project results have been disseminated through various marketing measures and INCAP has been presented to potential customers and partners at several trade fairs. Online marketing channels have been established, a LinkedIn Targeting Campaign was done and several newsletters were sent to potential costumers.
In contrast to the state of the art, the project builds on the strong technical experience of the company Horst Hähl GmbH and the transfer of this specific know-how to the realisation of the most advanced manufacturing process for the production of drinking cap solutions. This allows the company to provide its customers with large quantities, a constantly high product quality and substantially reduced material and manufacturing costs. New upcoming materials such as biopolymers have been tested and evaluated and might be interesting alternatives for future solutions.