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Patented cap is a game changer

For its 989 On Demand beverage, H2M developed a unique cap that is an air-tight, leak-proof vessel containing active ingredients. New applications in other fields await.

The 19-oz rehydration beverage comes in a variety of flavors.
The 19-oz rehydration beverage comes in a variety of flavors.

Product development specialists at H2M of Pompton Lakes, NJ, understood clearly that a rehydration beverage is best able to deliver nutrients to the body when those nutrients are kept separate from the beverage and added only at the moment of consumption. So they set about developing a cap that would make it easy for consumers to do just that.


Two design patents and a utility patent later, the firm launched 989 On Demand. With this drink, nine vitamins, 84 minerals, and five electrolytes are housed in the patented cap. The cap is applied to a 19-oz PET bottle of water filled by the reverse osmosis method. On the shelf, the beverage resembles any other bottled water. But when the cap’s liquid contents are released, the 100 percent natural ingredients and flavors become optimally bioavailable to the drinker.


“This cap lets 989 On Demand deliver everything your body needs to rehydrate and nothing it doesn’t, like sugar or carbohydrates,” says H2M Charles Musumeci. “It’s the best way for the body to utilize the nutrients.
“It’s head and shoulders above competitive dispensing caps, and not just in the beverage category,” he continues. “We are seeing potential use in the pharmaceutical arena and the spirits category, maybe even with certain types of consumer goods. With our utility patent, the door is open to change the way consumers around the world think of ‘mixing,’ since our cap delivers an exact amount on demand.” Entry into sectors like pharma or spirits, he adds, would likely be by way of licensing agreements.


Others have developed “interactive caps” similar in their ability to isolate key active ingredients from the beverage until the moment of consumption. But H2M was never interested in a “me-too” approach. As senior vice president Greg Piagesi puts it, “No cap commercially available out there is anything like ours.” He acknowledges that the closure does add some cost, but not enough to make the product uncompetitive.


CEO Musumeci says he’d prefer not to identify the firm that makes the cap, which comes to H2M from China. “We found ourselves in a relationship with some incredible people in China who are mold experts and tool designers,” says Musumeci. “They work with all the blue-chip companies around the world.”


Some cap details are available

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