PRODUCTS:

Mission Viejo’s Smart Cups gets a national nod for sustainability

Mission Viejo’s “sustainability-driven technology company” Smart Cups has been named a special mention on Time’s 2021 list of “Best Inventions.”

“A truck that could ordinarily carry 96,000 cans of soda could carry 1.2 million Smart Cups printed with the same product—potentially cutting carbon emissions 40-fold,” Time reporter Simmone Shah wrote about Smart Cups.

Launched in 2017 by Cornell University alumnus Chris Kanik, Smart Cups says it has created “the world’s first printed beverage.”

The company’s “proprietary process” involves printing flavor materials inside of “eco-friendly bioplastic” cups to make energy drinks at home, significantly reducing the carbon footprint of transporting liquid, the company said. All the customer needs to do is add water.

While it’s starting with energy drinks, the company said its ultimate mission is to create a new standard for all environmentally conscious consumer products. It currently operates out of a 23,000-square-foot facility in Mission Viejo.