The energy of the future is here: air-based boost of caffeine. Dr. David Edwards, Harvard professor, invented Aeroshot - a small shotgun shell like capsule that delivers a blast of caffeine through a patented device. AeroShot's key advantages are: it provides that quick boost without any calories whatsoever and starts working right away - anytime, anyplace.
Already being sold in both the US and in France, Aerohost will shaken the multi billion energy-drink product category. According to a Bloomberg analyst, the global energy-drink market grew 14% last year, reaching $41.5 billion and representing 8.7 percent of the $498 billion global soft drinks industry.
Aeroshot has been sold in the US since January for $2.99 and will be available in more than 15,000 locations across the United States in 4Q 2012.
The timing couldn’t be better for Aeroshot. The energy drinks market is booming and even a recent study by Italian Matteo Cameli from the University of Siena confirmed that energy drinks boost heart function in healthy people. "AeroShot Energy offers a quick and convenient way to get your energy with no liquids, no calories and no mystery ingredients," said Tom Hadfield, CEO of AeroDesigns - the company that commercializes Aeroshot.
AeroShot is a small plastic tube loaded with 100mg of caffeine and B vitamins. The user draws the fine powder into their mouth for ingestion where it lands on the tongue, dissolves and then swallows, providing the equivalent of a large cup of coffee in a few goes, without the liquids. Consumers can use it all at once or use some and save the rest for later – thus avoiding repeated visits to the local Starbucks. The following video succinctly explains how it works.
Mr. Edwards and his team have supplied the FDA with all the necessary evidence to prove that AeroShot is completely safe. Since B vitamins and caffeine are legal substances in foods, AeroShot is being sold as an energy suplement and did not require FDA approval. Alexandre Terrien, business development manager at Labstore, explained that “Aeroshot contains 100% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin B6, niacin, and vitamin B12. It’s sweetened with stevia - an herbal sweetener called that has no calories and is up to 300 times sweeter than sugar.”
I have written extensively about innovation. I believe Aeroshot has the potential to become a game-changer and mark the beginning of a new era: science will allow us to taste what we love without feeling guilty that we are also getting those unwanted calories. I am not the only one who believes in the potential of the product. AeroShot was recently selected as the "Best New Product" by ECRM (Efficient Collaborative Retail Marketing), announced during the organization's Diet, Vitamin & Sports Nutrition EPPS in July. Last week, during the announcement that Aeroshot would be sold in over 3,100 Circle K locations all over the US, Trey Powell, Director of National Accounts & Procurement, said:
At Circle K, we were instantly drawn to the true innovation that AeroShot Energy brings to the category. This delivery system is uniquely designed to meet the needs and expectations of Circle K's 24/7, always-connected, on-demand energy customers.
Dr. David Edwards - The genius behind Aeroshot Energy
David Edwards, a professor of Biomedical engineering from Harvard University is the man behind this revolutionary product. His work has been internationally recognized and in 2008 he was named “Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres” by the French Ministry of Culture.
The innovator founded both Aerodesigns, a Massachussets based company and ArtScience Labs, a non-profit, international network of cultural innovation labs based in Paris. The latter catalyzes idea translation through art and design experiments at frontiers of science, exploring innovation as a creative process that is neither completely aesthetic nor scientific, but a fusion of both. It makes me think about what Erel Margalit, Israel’s most succesfull VC, told me:
The new era needs to go beyond the engineering club to work with different disciplines, like King Arthur’s 12 knights at the round table, each representing a different discipline: film, Web, storytelling, medicine…To create, it is better to be around people with different mindsets. It’s not just a world where an engineer meets another engineer, it’s a world where an engineer meets an artist, a movie person, an advertising person…
Other revolutionary products by Dr. Edwards:
Wikicells: Eatable packaging – Asked about hygiene concerns, Dr. Edwards replies, “"Our perspective is that eventually, the packaging of tomorrow will be the fruit of today,"Elected by the NYT as one of the 32 innovations that will change your tomorrow.
Le Whif : dry powder chocolate shot - pure delicious chocolate taste without the calories.
Andrea: ecological air filter
For more on Dr. Edwards, visit his mind-blowing website.
