Self-Chilling Energy Drink Can
Question1
- An overview of the designed Canny self-chilling energy drink
It is worth noting that a cold refreshing drink makes consumers satisfied and feel as if their thirst for the drink has been quenched forever. However, due to the nature of the consumers having ever-busy lives, consumers find themselves buying multiple energy drinks because they are not able to keep the drink in the chilled state while moving from one place to another. This has not only been costly but has also made some consumers feel frustrated when they want to quench their thirst. Energy drink involves one of the 21st-century soft drink innovation that has given the consumers the power to do more work and stay alert. The need for staying alert is very significant, especially in jobs like driving, which requires the drivers to be more attentive in order to arrive safely. Consumers of energy drink, such as long-distance drivers, are normally left frustrated when their energy drinks turn warm in socially during summer (Benavides, 2016, p.317). This challenge an economic consideration necessitates a self-chilling can for the energy drink, as shown in the image below:
The self-chilling energy drink eliminates the need for ice cubes or carrying cold water while going for a long journey in order to deepen the drink. It is a self-regulatory can that allows the content of the can to attain a certain temperature as recommended. One of the advancements of the self-chilling can is that it allows the drink to stay in the cool state without getting watered down. This gives consumers the same experience of the drink when it was cold. The product has a push button that can be regulated to serve the various temperature needs (Arena, Alpay, Kirkby, Lee, and Clift 2018, p.937). These include the ability to regulate the chilling processes to the desirable cold temperature.
The Can has an outer steel casing, which makes it acts as an insulator and cushioning the drink from acquiring heat. The inner side of the can is made of aluminium. There is a vacuum between the outer steel and the aluminium inner casing, which prevents the transfer of heat to the aluminium inner casing and hence to the drink. Unlike the self-chilling drink in the market that only allows the drink to be child immediately to the coolest temperature, the Canny self-chilling can allow the consumers to push the button to the describable cold temperatures according to consumer preference. This is also important during the autumn season in places whereby the environment might be hot and cool.
- b) Explain why you chose this product, what it is, and what it
Canny self-chilling energy drink can is a can that has the ability to keep the energy drink in the desired temperature according to the consumer preference (Arena, Sinclair, Lee, and Clift, 2017, p.1563). The Canny self-chilling energy is specifically tailored to meet the need of long-distance consumers who does manual labour such as drivers and who want a boost of energy as they continue hustling. The Canny self-chilling energy drink can have been inspired by the taste experience of challenges that these energy drink consumers encounter after the energy drink becomes warm. The can saves the consumers from carrying ice cubes or cold water to dip the energy drink. The can takes between five seconds to one minute during the different desired chilling temperatures. The consumer then is able to turn the knob upward and enjoy the drink. Th remaining drink can still be locked safely in the bottle and be utilized by the consumer at a later date. I chose this product because I’m a die-hard consumer of energy drinks. I get frustrated when I buy my energy drink, and it gets cold within a few minutes when I start drinking it. The can is not only applicable to commuters, but also it can be comfortably used at home without having to place the drink in a fridge. The can is also recyclable in that it can be sued to preserve other soft drinks.
Question 2
- Is there a demand for such a product – discuss similar things that are on the market with supporting evidence of their demand.
It is worth noting that the demand for self-chilling energy drink has been highly influenced by the socio-economic characteristics that have characterised the modern consumer lifestyle (Arena, 2016). One of the key factors that can be attributed to the increased demand for the self-chilling energy drink resonate from the instant lifestyle nature that characterises the today’s consumers (Kim, and Heo, 2018, p.87). This has highly been promoted by the advanced smartphone innovation and the ability of the world to become a global village that is connected through internet activities (Wellman, 2018, p12). Modern consumers have been used to getting everything they want instantly. This has changed the consumption patterns of the consumers, which entails how they perceive the products and the ability of the product to meet the expectation of the consumers (Marti, Ma, and Dal Santo, Apple Inc, 2017, p.107).
With the diverse and competitive products markets, consumer sovereignty has been enhanced more than ever (Schwarzkopf, 2020, p76). Therefore, consumers have become more aware of what they want and how they want it (Timmermann, Félix, and Tittonell, 2018, p.288). Such a mentality can be described to have translated to the need of consumers to have convenience. The self-chilling can is an innovation that satisfies the consumers convinced. The self- chilling can, with its ability to cool the drink into various temperatures, gives the consumers the ability to enjoy their energy drink at the state that they want. Energy drinks have become essential drinks in today’s world. This is because of the ability of the consumers to stay at the top of their games even if they are tired. This is largely known as the ability of the consumer to remain alert and perform at their maximum (Higgins, Babu, K., Deuster, P.A. and Shearer, J., 2018).
Hence, energy drink gives a boost of energy that the consumers want. Energy drink is highly applicable to all types of occasions. Whether in the office or commuting, energy drinks give the consumer an energy boost that makes them accomplish their goals. However, the majority of the commuters or some offices lack proper refrigerators. The consumers in transits and truck drivers who use energy drinks frequently do not have any refrigerators in the trucks. In addition, an article by Evans (2018). show that majority of homes that are 20 miles away from the metropolitan cities in most nations around the world do not have proper refrigeration. In some cities with a hot climate, the drink gets heated a few minutes before the consumer can take more than five sips (Ashurst, Hargitt, and Palmer, 2017). This reduces the whole drinking experiences of the energy drink. These circumstances show that the demand for self-chilling energy drink has been long overdue.
- Your product – explains its unique proposition, its USP, its unique value, or its
First, the self-chilling can give the consumer the ability to enjoy their energy drink at their own convenient temperatures. The self-chilling can also have the ability to self-heal in case the consumer cooled the drink to 00C, and hence it became a block of ice. This help the Can adapt to the various environmental and weather patterns in the different consumer environment. The ability of the self-chilling Can to cool the drink according to the temperature of the consumer gives unique key value proportion because the consumers are able to cool the drink as per their taste and preferences (Pelsmaeker, Schouteten, Lagast, Dewettinck, and Gellynck 2017, p323). In addition, the self-chilling can also offer a great value proportion to small-size traders. The refrigerator gives the vendor and the consumers the ability to take an ice-cold drink at their convenience without the headache of thinking about saving for a refrigerator infrastructure (Arena, Alpay, Kirkby, Lee, and Clift, 2018). It offers a great opportunity to the small size vendors who do not have the financial capability to buy a refrigerator and hence might lose their customers, especially during hot seasons.
Question 3 (total marks 45)
- Explain how you intend to protect your idea or parts of it, and which laws you would use?
I will apply for the UK patent and copyrights laws in protecting my idea. It is worth noting that the application of the patent right is the best and legal way to protect the idea (McDonagh, 2017). This implies that the owner of the idea can legally take any action should there be any copyrights or patent rights infringement. By being given the right to own the idea, it implies that the idea owner is the only person required to utilize the idea in any manner, be it for commercial gain or non-commercial gain.
- Discuss the process involved in protecting your idea and how long do you expect it to
According to the UK intellectual property laws, there are generally eight steps in the patent right application process as discussed below:
- Search for similar patents: It is important for the applicant to check the UK patent database to see there are similar patents that have already been submitted to the intellectual property rights office (Patenting your invention, 2020).
References
Arena, N., Alpay, E., Kirkby, N., Lee, J. and Clift, R., 2018. An on demand chilling system: Activated carbon based desorptive cooling. Journal of Cleaner Production, 176, pp.937-945
Arena, N., Sinclair, P., Lee, J. and Clift, R., 2017. Life cycle engineering of production, use and recovery of self-chilling beverage cans. Journal of cleaner production, 142, pp.1562-1570.
Arena, N., 2016. Life cycle engineering of a system to deliver self-chilled beverages (Doctoral dissertation, University of Surrey (United Kingdom).
Ashurst, P., Hargitt, R. and Palmer, F., 2017. Soft drink and fruit juice problems solved. Woodhead Publishing.
Benavides, A.G., 2016. Process and equipment for fast chilling of containerized beverages. US Patent 9,316,432.
De Pelsmaeker, S., Schouteten, J.J., Lagast, S., Dewettinck, K. and Gellynck, X., 2017. Is taste the key driver for consumer preference? A conjoint analysis study. Food Quality and Preference, 62, pp.323-331.
Evans, J., 2018. Cold Chain Technology Brief: Commercial, Professional and Domestic Refrigeration. OzonAction.
GOV.UK. 2020. Patenting Your Invention. [online] Available at: <https://www.gov.uk/patent-your-invention/decide-to-apply> [Accessed 15 May 2020].
Higgins, J.P., Babu, K., Deuster, P.A. and Shearer, J., 2018. Energy drinks: A contemporary issues paper. Current sports medicine reports, 17(2), pp.65-72.
Kim, D.Y. and Heo, C.M., 2018. Effects of Lifestyle Types of City Workers on Purchase Satisfaction of Instant Convenience Food-Focusing on the Moderating Effect of Household Types and Purchase Applications. Korean Journal of Food Marketing Economics.
Marti, L.M., Ma, SM and Dal Santo, M.P., Apple Inc, 2017. Lifestyle-based social groups. US.
Patent 9,769,107.
Schwarzkopf, S., 2020. CONSUMER SOVEREIGNTY. The Routledge Handbook of Economic Theology.
Timmermann, C., Félix, G.F. and Tittonell, P., 2018. Food sovereignty and consumer sovereignty: Two antagonistic goals?. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 42(3), pp.274-298.
Wellman, B., 2018. Networks in the global village: Life in contemporary communities. Routledge.