INVENTHERM, L.L.C. — Department of Agriculture SBIR Phase I: 8.5

Description

PROJECT SUMMARYImproperly cleaned soft serve ice cream machines are a known significant contributor to foodborne illnessesworldwide. Studies indicate that from 12% to over 50% of soft serve ice cream machines are contaminatedwith unsatisfactory levels of bacteria. Contamination issues are due largely to the complex and costlydisassembly cleaning and sanitizing (DCS) process required for all machines currently on the market. TheDCS process can cost businesses well over $8000 for each machine per year in wasted product labor andsupplies. In addition significant potential revenue is lost when the machine is out of service for cleaning.Inventherm is developing commercial soft serve ice cream and slush machines (SSMs) that virtuallyeliminates the DCS process produces aseptic or sterile products and slashes operating costs by severalthousand dollars per machine annually. While not the focus of the current development Inventherm'stechnology can also be applied for producing sterile saline slush which is used in surgical procedures forreducing tissue damage.Inventherm's process for freezing soft serve differs substantially from the method used in conventionalequipment. During the Phase I effort Inventherm's processing technology will be experimentally verified onequipment designed and constructed as part of the project work. It is anticipated that Inventherm willdemonstrate that it's technology can produce soft serve with a quality equal to that of conventional softserve machines while eliminating the need for disassembly cleaning and sanitizing of the SSM.Global revenue from soft serve machine sales was approximately $814 million in 2018 and is expected toexceed $1 billion by 2024. Global sales are dominated by North America Europe and China. North Americaholds 35% of the market with revenue of $283.5 million. Inventherm's SSM can also be used for makingfrozen beverages. The estimated market size for frozen beverages also approaches $1 billion.Inventherm's primary competition is from conventional soft serve machine manufacturers. There is virtuallyno product differentiation across all current manufacturers. This lack of innovation has allowed foreigncompetition to dominate the world market once controlled by US manufacturers. Inventherm's SSM ispoised to disrupt a technologically stagnant global industry and bring much of the manufacturing back tothe U.S.Inventherm has contacted multiple business owners restaurant equipment suppliers and a majorrestaurant equipment manufacturer to get feedback and market data. Response has been 100% positive.They are all aware that the current DCS process is expensive and burdensome. Multiple businesses areinterested in field testing Inventherm's SSMs when they are ready. An initial assessment indicates that themanufacturing cost for Inventherm's SSM will be similar to conventional soft serve machines.Note: Proprietary information is italicized in this proposal. 1