The company’s cap technology differs from those offered by competitors in the space, said Greg Piagesi, co-founder of the company
“Our cap is medical grade plastic; it is airtight. It doesn’t allow in any light or moisture,” Piagesi told NutraIngredients-USA.
The product, which carries an “all-natural” claim, features a liquid matrix within the cap vitamin C, all of the B vitamins, and “Himalayan salt” which is said to provide a number of trace minerals along with sodium. The product comes in six different flavors and uses stevia for sweetness.
When ready for consumption, the consumer screws the cap in one direction to break the seal and release the active ingredients in the filtered water in the bottle, and another to open the bottle for drinking.
Separation means better bioavailability
The key, Piagesi said, is keeping the active ingredients sequestered until just before consumption. This makes for the highest degree of bioavailability, without any loss of potency as the product sits on the shelf. The active ingredient matrix used in the 989 product has a low pH and, in its concentrated form, is fairly saline so is has a very long shelf life while held within the airtight cap, he said.
The H2M cap received its first design patent in 2010 on the upper section of the cap (the releasing mechanism) and the second design patent was issued later that same year for the lower section (the housing chamber). With this latest patent, US Patent no. 8,376,175 for product utility, the doors are open for the expansion of applications for the cap, which has a capacity of 13 grams of liquid or powder.
“We are going to look to expand our line,” Piagesi said. A medical food-like application is one possibility, he said. “It could be used for nursing homes for Alzheimer’s patients because it can deliver an exact dose.”
Other ingredients that might have stability issues within a beverage matrix are good future candidates for the technology, Piagesi said.
“Probiotics, absolutely. Or something like liquid creatine. We are looking into all those categories as we develop the line,” he said.
Distribution expanding
The product has only been on the market for a year and, while the company is private and therefore does not share sales data, Piagesi said the water has exhibited good growth.
"We’re growing at a nice pace. If you look last year we were just in the Boston area, now we’re up and down the East Coast, we’re in Florida, Texas and California,” he said.
The beverage is sold in grocery stores and in some GNC stores in the northeast. The company, which is based in New Jersey, is in talks with Whole Foods in the natural channel, Piagesi said, and a rebranding of the products labeling them as gluten free (something Whole Foods was adamant about, he said) should get them a stop closer to appear in those stores soon.