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Intelligent lid indicates whether food is still edible

Together with the start-up Mimica, United Caps is launching a cap on the market that serves as a freshness indicator for food. The "Touchcap" is designed to reduce food waste and increase food safety for consumers.

Together with the start-up Mimica, United Caps is launching a cap on the market that serves as a freshness indicator for food. The „Touchcap“ is designed to Reduce food waste and increase food safety for consumers.

Mimica's Touchcap closure was the result of a design project by company founder Solveiga Pakštaitė, who originally wanted people with visual impairments to be able to read the best-before date. Nevertheless, this expiry date is also responsible for large amounts of food waste.

What if, she thought, there was a way to not only provide real-time information about the condition of the food on a label, but also to design it in such a way that it could be recognised by people with a visual or mental disability? These considerations gave rise to the Mimica TOUCHCAP with freshness indicator, whose surface changes from smooth to uneven when a product is no longer edible. 

Mimica company founder Solveiga Pakštaitė originally wanted people with visual impairments to be able to read the best-before date. (Photo: United Caps / Mimica)

Closure is fully recyclable

After extensive testing and experimentation, Pakštaitė finally succeeded in calibrating a gel that never comes into contact with the product, but allows a special label to change from smooth to uneven depending on the storage conditions and food profile.

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Together, the United Caps and Mimica teams have succeeded in developing a fully recyclable cap that does not compromise the recyclability of the bottle, but gives the consumer a quick and convenient way to ensure that the food is still edible. 

The result is a sustainable closure that consists of a lid base and a cap of United Caps, The product consists of the activator and gel invented by Mimica, a bumpy surface and an upper film label that feels uneven when the food spoils.

Only a few changes to the production line

The Mimica closure arrives at the filling line in two parts: Firstly, the cap base, which has been tested by leading filling line manufacturers and requires only a few changes to the production line. The second is the cap, which is applied after filling using a special machine.

Like other modules, for example for labelling or film wrapping, this machine can be easily integrated into production. The cap, on which the tactile protrusions are formed, is only activated automatically by the consumer when they open the cap for the first time with a twisting movement.

Pilot project in Great Britain

The new cap is currently undergoing a pilot project in the UK with an orange juice brand. As part of the pilot project and further research by UNITED CAPS, it was determined that in the UK alone, 121 million kilograms of orange juice ends up as waste every year. With a Mimica TOUCHCAP, it would be possible to reduce this volume of waste by 44%, which equates to 53 million kilograms of juice per year.

Source: United Caps

Further messages on closures