It’s important that companies maintain the sort of standards that apply to all food products when it comes to potentially harmful or questionable ingredients, especially when the companies are working on innovative items that may confuse consumers who are unsure as to how this new item functions.
NPR reports on a different kind of item in development that proposes to give its future users a quick and convenient dose of caffeine, apparently with all that would seem to imply, in the form of a spray. This spray, simply and fittingly titled “sprayable energy,” is coming courtesy of a company with the same name that is still waiting on a patent, according to its official FAQ. Around the same amount of caffeine said to be in one cup of coffee can supposedly be achieved through “four sprays” of this product.
The basic idea seems to be that this spray can give the user the effects of caffeine once administered to the skin. The site takes pains to point out many of the ways in which this spray should not be used and could, in fact, prove to be dangerous in certain conditions.
The project’s founder, Ben Yu, told NPR that he hopes this invention helps balance what consumers want out of caffeine with what they need, or should be getting, instead.
“Pure caffeine is terrible,” Yu said. “We used it for the stimulative effect, and this culture has evolved around it where it’s not about the effect, and just about enjoying the ritual aspects. For those people, they can keep drinking their coffee. But for everyone who wants the functional aspect of the caffeine, this is a much better delivery mechanism because of the steady rate.”
When looking to new products and ideas, companies can try to take tips from the facts and guidelines listed on similar items. In this case, coffee labels could be a blueprint from which to determine how best to educate customers as to proper dosages.
Leave a Reply