Craig Madaus is an athlete but also an entrepreneur and principal of Ocean Sailing Consulting LLC. He has traveled the world looking for new places to run, and along find that staying hydrated was a big issue because store-bought bottles were environmentally inexcusable, while conventional, refillable bottles took up as much space empty as they did full.
Thus was born the bübi bottle, the first scrunchable refillable water bottle. Craig tells us its story.
KineticShift: There is the saying, “water, water everywhere…” but it seems that there are now water bottles everywhere. Do you think the Bübi Bottle can address this problem?
Craig Madaus: The answer to water, water water everywhere…, the bübi bottle provides several advantages over the other bottles on the market, from the $4.00 dollar econo-pak to the $20-40 bottles.
• To make typical bottled water or plastic or steel water bottles, it takes 3x as much water as the bottle holds. Ever so wasteful.
• Many bottles that are not eco-friendly nor healthy for the consumer or environment. BPA, mold and bacteria growth, non recyclable , etc.
• Everyone has a favorite water bottle for which they use daily or for special occasions, the rest sit on the shelf at home or roll around in the trunk. The bübi bottle is fast becoming the favorite multipurpose bottle, morning noon and night, Young and old, active or sedentary, it performs more than just hydration.
• The bübi bottle does so much more than just a hydration bottle. In reading letters from customers, yes, it functions very well as a water bottle, however, several have needed it for ice packs, hot packs, holding dry goods, cell phone in a kayak, hot camping mitt to take off baked beans, the list continues, I defy anyone to find a bottle that has more than 3 functions, the bübi bottle list of uses continues to grow.
KS: How did the design of the Bübi Bottle come about?
CM: The bübi bottle was designed over time, my passion is sailing and enjoy hot yoga. In both, there are special needs for water bottles, large mouth, convenient, BPA-free, easy to clean, goes away when not full. I got it, bottled water satisfied most of the needs, just buy it, drink it and discard it.
While sailing, space always being an issue, on my 2-4 am shift, and while thinking about my frustration with the typical water bottles, I determined the bottom and rigidity of all water bottles was the issue. In bottled water, you can collapse them, but the bottom was the hinderance with the convex and rigidity. So twisting the bottle and looking at its functionality during that early morning shift, provided me with the heavy thought pattern.
Then on January 4th, the eureka moment, the material, silicone, used in baking dishes or fire place gloves being high heat resistant, direct food contact and very flexible. I determined the material, along with the convex bottom would allow for scrunchability. my CAD designer and other engineer friends did not think a convex bottom would ever stand up properly. After 3 attempts it did. It was the top that became the next issue, to date, all silicone products are open, cup, bowl, tray, funnel, etc., nothing provided a closure for a silicone product, my first attempt at the cap failed, along with my second, the third design was the charm.
The final design changes were tweaked during the production of the bübi bottle. That is where I decided on 9 colors, before that I did a market survey and determined the quantity of colors, That little survey was so spot on.
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KS: How long can the bottle last under normal usage?
CM: Silicone is highly resistant to almost everything (but kriptonite), mold resistant, ink resistant, wear resistant, I like to say it is stainless steel without the rigidity. Normal use will take years for the bottle to be tired. For the more rugged use I am working on a stainless steal closure for the long drops.
KS: Are you addressing ways that the bottle could be used with bikes where it fits in a water bottle cage?
CM: The one area that needs to be addressed is the cycling and running niche, although, there are many people that use it for these purposes. I do have a design in the drawing board stage that will allow easy dispersion with a simple squeeze/The second is the cage for cyclists, It already is used as icepacks to keep the cycler cool, and scrunches down to become for aerodynamic.
KS: What is next from Bübi Bottle?
CM: The bübi is going smaller and bigger, squirt spout, stainless steel cap assembly, baby bottles, toddler bottles. Then we can go to various shapes for other full uses such as soup bowls and doggie bowls.
Thank you to Craig for talking with us.