SELF-HEATING DRINKS DRAW $6 MILLION IN BACKING

Austin-based HeatGenie — a self-heating beverage technology company — has raised $6 million to complete development and launch its product.

The company received the funding from lead investor Artis Labs, with additional financing from Almanac Investments and private investors.

HeatGenie, whose investors include Whole Foods Market co-founder Walter Robb, said it is working with ready-to-drink beverage brands to integrate its technology into consumer packaged goods.

The company’s patented technology heats beverages with the twist of the lid through a solid-state thermal reaction.

The result is a heated single-serve beverage in less than two minutes. The one-use cans are recyclable.

“We have always had an incredibly positive response to our technology from (consumer packaged goods) brands, many expressing early interest in embedding HeatGenie into products,” Mark Turner, HeatGenie CEO, said in a written statement.

“Now, with a commercialized and scalable solution ready for market, we are already partnering with beverage companies eager to give consumers a simple way to instantly heat coffee, tea, soup, broth, or sake wherever and whenever they please,” Turner said.

HeatGenie said the first product including HeatGenie technology will hit the market this summer with additional releases expected later this year.

The company did not disclose the names of its consumer packaged goods partners.

“As the first and only self-heating technology to meet the rigorous standards set by the industry’s biggest beverage brands, we see great potential for HeatGenie to disrupt and bolster multiple markets,” said Stuart Peterson, founder of Artis.

The company was founded in 2008 by Brendan Coffey, a battery industry veteran. Previous backing includes $1 million from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund and $1 million from investors in the Central Texas Angel Network and the Houston Angel Network.