Printed beverage pioneer enjoys demand boom after Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars win

29 Aug 2023 --- Smart Cups, specializing in ingredient dosing through printing, is selling record numbers of ingredient-printed beverage cups after the company’s CEO, Chris Kanik, won the first season of the UK television program Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars.

In the series, UK-based chef, television reporter and writer Gordon Ramsay looks for new food and drink entrepreneurs. The winning entrepreneur, Chris Kanik, earned a US$250,000 investment in the Smart Cups company. 

The company says the win “marks a sales milestone” with a surge in demand that has surpassed previous records and continues to solidify the company’s growing prominence in the beverage industry.

“The overwhelming amount of customer orders and support continues to validate our technology,” says Kanik. “The victory gives us the opportunity to continue developing necessary humanitarian applications like printing water purification cups.”

The company says the win “marks a sales milestone” with a surge in demand that has surpassed previous records,Bioplastic printing 
As reportedly the “world’s first” printed beverage, the technology eliminates the storage and transportation of liquids, reducing the cup’s carbon footprint. For example, a truck that would ordinarily carry 96,000 12 oz cans of soda can instead carry 1.2 million Smart Cups due to the stackable, waterless design. This structure reduces shipping weight and CO2 emissions.

Smart Cups can print beverage ingredients inside cups made of bioplastic material. The technology can furthermore be used to print ingredients onto any surface. Smart Cups Technology was created with a drug-delivery system in mind, offering precise dosage while being easy to drink. 

Earlier this month, Smart Cups partnered with pet care and nutrition company Compana Pet Brands. 

The partnership leverages Smart Cups’ printing technology to directly print accurate doses of pet supplements onto recyclable pet bowls designed to encourage hydration and deliver convenience and precision in pet care.

Edited by Natalie Schwertheim