NEXE Innovations Inc (TSX-V:NEXE) has said customers in Canada and the US will be able to purchase its new premium espresso pods via the company website on July 29, 2021.
The espresso pods mark NEXE's introduction into the single-serve coffee pod sector, a market that is valued at more than US$25 million annually.
Unlike similar products available today, NEXE’s espresso pods are fully compostable, a factor that is of particular importance to NEXE.
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The company noted that approximately 56 billion coffee pods are used each year and the vast majority end up in landfill and can take up to 500 years to decompose. While the single-serving pods slowly disintegrate, contamination and microplastics are left behind.
Unfortunately, recyclable pods often include non-recyclable plastic and aluminum making them less likely to be recycled properly or even recycled at all.
In order to bring the fully compostable pod to market, NEXE invested over six years into research and development to create its proprietary innovation. The new pods break down in as little as 30 days, similar to the time it takes for an apple core to decompose.
The NEXE pods are compatible with the popular Nespresso OriginalLine of machines and are manufactured and packaged in NEXE’s operations plant.
William Selten, a process engineer at Terravis Holding, the company that conducted an independent study on the NEXE pods offered the following comments in a statement regarding the compostable coffee pods.
"The new NEXE espresso pod breaks down faster than any packaging I have ever seen," he said. "Within 30 days, 90% of the pods were broken down - which is truly amazing. I believe this is due to the innovation behind the unique composition and design of the pods."
British Columbia-based NEXE Innovations seeks to assert itself as a leader in plant-based compostable technology and advanced materials manufacturing.
NEXE's first espresso product was crafted in collaboration with Jason Rennie, former production manager from Ethical Bean. The team spent a year looking for just the right combination of beans to create the best-tasting, highest quality coffee.
The final blend was made from three fair-trade, hand-selected beans grown in Ethiopia, Sumatra and Peru. As a result, the coffee has a robust array of flavours, described as sweet, winey, crisp, and bright, tangy acidity with citrus/lemon, orange, nectarine with heavy chocolate notes.
"This new offering is for coffee purists: a flavourful, rich dark roast espresso, packaged in one of the most sustainable coffee pods available, made right here in North America," said Ash Guglani, president of NEXE. "NEXE is a proudly Canadian company that controls its own value chain meaning we don't rely on offshore manufacturers and can create our products in-house through our high-tech, environmentally friendly manufacturing processes."
He went on to note that the company is committed to producing sustainable products that make zero-waste living easy.
“We believe that there doesn't have to be a trade-off between quality, great taste, convenience, and sustainability. We are also working with well-respected publications to share our story about how we are spearheading the compostability movement, beginning with coffee pods,” Guglani said.
On a corporate level, NEXE also announced that it will issue 25,000 shares at a deemed market price of $1.02 to a former employee, who met a performance-related milestone in accordance with an employment agreement.
Contact the writer at georgia@proactiveinvestors.com
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