Programmable Bottles?!

[skifdank]

Has anyone else caught anything recently about the coming of programmable bottles?

In the very near future customers will be able to customize their own beverage. The company name is IPIFINI, & here's a recent news article I found on it.

Ipifini's Programmable Liquid Container technology employs buttons on the container's surface that release additives (flavors, colorants, fragrances) into the liquid. Additive buttons allow for the consumer to choose variations of the liquid in the container at the point of consumption. For example, a programmable cola bottle with buttons for lemon, lime, vanilla, and cherry flavors as well as a caffeine button allows for thirty-two potential choices of soda. A programmable paint container with twenty pigment additive buttons allows the consumer to choose from one million colors.

"Providing choice at the point of consumption creates tremendous advantages for the consumers as well as the manufacturer," noted co-inventor Glenn Wachler.

Ipifini founder Dr. Tod Woolf noted that "virtually everyone who has seen our Programmable Liquid Container technology is fascinated and excited by its usefulness and consumer appeal."

Consumer demand for variety within a product line has generated a proliferation of products with different additives. Choice-Enabled Packaging is applicable to any liquid product with multiple varieties. This technology simplifies manufacturing, distribution, promotion and sales by allowing a single container to replace a series of product varieties. The technology also allows consumers to select their desired variation at time of use.

A concept of the bottle design:



Their site, www.ipifini.com has more info, tho not much more.

[Mr Zabe]

IMO and just my two cents, this gimmick will never catch on with the mass market. Soda pop is a unique beverage in that the flavors and sweeteners are engineered together in formulas that require delicate processing.

This method of adding flavors etc has been tried before with poor results. The mass market supports various brands and flavor extensions of soda pops in part because the vast availability of them and relative low cost of the product.

Perhaps there is a niche market for this technology(NASA Space Station,institution ei hospitals ect) but in general the American Public craves simplicity in it's products.

[ 03-26-2006, 05:05 PM: Message edited by: Mr Zabe ]

[the saint]

Neat idea but I agree with Zabe, it will never catch on. It is kind of like the self cooling cans, the container alone will price the soda inside out of competition.

[Lepke]

I think it’s a great idea. I just wonder how you would prevent people from pressing the buttons while it’s still o n the shelf. Kids would think it’s funny to release the flavors on all the bottles on a shelf.
I do like this concept.

[CStoreCatMan]

What would that do to the price of one single serve bottle of soda? Also, I think to Zabe's point, the mixing of flavors probably wouldn't be fantastic in this configuration and the overall quality of the newly mixed beverage would suffer.

[Lepke]

Found this story while surfing for Zaps story on real sugar Dr Pepper. Figured I’d post it.

SPIN THE BOTTLE

[BevNET]

Wow, where do they come up with this stuff? [img]smile.gif[/img]

We've seen lots of these ideas....cap-based flavor delivery systems...stacking 6-ounce coke cans and shrink wrapping them...putting a dent in beer cans to prevent spillage...Oddly enough, not a single one of these ideas has ever come to market and made it. Most haven't even come to the market at all.

The technical feasibility of this idea is definitely questionable and it's purely a novelty idea even at best. Can't see consumers or beverage companies paying extra for something like this.