Seeking novel materials, technologies and products for making cooking and eating healthier and more convenient

We are currently working with a market leader of innovative cooking products and accessories who is actively seeking novel materials, technologies, products and designs for modern society’s way of making cooking and eating healthy, convenient - and fun. The company is focussed on continual innovation and is thus searching for novel materials, products and other mechanisms to provide healthier and tastier food and to make food preparation / consumption easier and a more joyous experience.

The client’s range of cookware is predominantly manufactured from solid silicone using injection and compression technologies and thus a primary focus of interest is silicone with improved properties, thereby providing:
• Resistance to odour absorption.
• Resistance to fat absorption and / or fat sticking.
• Increased heat conductivity to provide homogenous heat distribution in the whole product.

Liquid silicone would also be considered if it provided added advantage over the use of solid silicone.

Other areas of interest include:
• New paradigms in microwave cooking and technologies / products that might improve the use of microwave technology, such as browning / crisping effect, steaming and roasting (e.g. next generation susceptor technology)
• Alternative cooking methods for which a range of dedicated accessories could be built (e.g. infrared, induction)
• New raw materials e.g. ceramics, plastics, glass, composites, etc which can withstand temperatures in the range of -40°C to 240°C and have a mechanism to be hermetically sealed when moulded into a product, for portability (office / school lunches, picnics etc)
• A convenient technology to make the cookware self-heating without being electrically heated.
• Food grade thermo-chromic pigments, preferably stable up to 260°C and other ‘indicative’ technologies to show when food is cooked/ defrosted etc.
• Coatings / treatments to improve traditional cookware materials and enable new applications (e.g. non-stick for ceramics)
• Innovative designs of cooking utensils, dishes, saucepans, etc (i.e. design of dish that enables something to cook differently)

Opportunities

• Technology transfer
• Seeking technical partners
• Business Development