HeatGenie, a self-heating container system, recently completed its first collaborative testing of its heater technology with a commercial food brand.More...

HeatGenie,a self-heating container system, recently completed its first collaborative testing of its heater technology with a commercial food brand. The brand, a category leader, seeks to enhance consumer usage opportunities through innovation, and therefore funded characterization studies conducted by the HeatGenie technical team in its Austin, Texas R&D facility. A leading food technologist for the brand actively participated in the preparation and testing of dozens of samples, covering a range of package and portion sizes, and simulating different user experiences.

“This was a real growth process for HeatGenie,” says Brendan Coffey, chief technology officer. “It was not a category that we had previously explored, and the brand partner supplied unique and challenging user requirements that we were able to satisfy.” The study is now expected to lead to a follow-up program culminating in customized samples for focus group studies by the brand early in 2011.

“Our heater testing and customization program is a low-cost way for brands to experience HG self-heating technology optimized for their specific products,” said Gary Forni, CEO, “and we invite their participation.”