PETpla.net Insider 04 / 2014

CAPPING / CLOSURES 32 PET planet insider Vol. 15 No. 04/14 www.petpla.net Vicap: a sports cap with dosing chamber A dose of what you fancy does you good At first glance, Vicap looks like a normal sports cap. But Vicap is hiding a little secret: 12.5mm of liquid or 7g powder opens up the possibility of creating mixed drinks or energy drinks with dietary supplements. For 2014, the plan is to launch the product in a number of countries. The question that Vicap Systems, a company set up in 2006, asked itself was simple enough: how can water be enriched both in taste and with vitamins, without both losing their effectiveness? Vicap systems and Gerhard Priewe put their heads together and pretty quickly came up with the answer. Keep the vitamins, flavour carriers or sources of energy separate from the water, and they will retain their effectiveness. With this flash of inspiration, Vicap was born. So beautifully logical is it, that three Swiss investors subsequently showed interest in this innovative closure. For the system to work, the vita- mins must be housed in a light-proof chamber. In addition, the chamber needs to be protected against any moisture that might seep up out of the beverage. The vitamins, flavour- ings or other added products need to be in both liquid and powder form. A number of these requirements were met thanks to the chamber being secured by means of a copyright-pro- tected aluminium foil. Roger Wilfinger, CEO of Vicap, recognised the potential when he first came across the firm as an inves- tor in 2008. After 2010, when he took over at the helm of the company, he implemented a complete turnaround. He created an interdisciplinary net- work with strong and well-established partners. He also positioned the com- pany in the market as an innovative packaging manufacturer for functional beverages closures. Today Vicap is being produced and assembled fully automatically in the Vicap factory at Koblach in Austria in collaboration with Monfort Kunstst- offtechnik (Plastics Technology). The filling operation takes place under cleanroom conditions at Humana Pharma International, a subsidiary of the German DMK, and the product is subsequently marketed in twelve European countries. A further produc- tion facility is taking shape in Izmir in Turkey aimed at satisfying the strong demand in this region where food and drink has to be prepared in accord- ance with halal custom and practice. Handling is very simple. All the consumer has to do is remove the overcap and push down the “spike”. This penetrates the aluminium foil and the flavouring or vitamin mixes with the drink in the bottle. The Vicap is capable of absorbing 12.5ml liquid and 7g powder. Currently the closure can be supplied in a 38mm, 3-start version. The following versions are under development: PCO 1810 and 1881 for still and CO 2 . www.vicapsystems.eu