Dive Brief:
- An entrepreneur from Portland, OR, Jeff Jetton, may be on the precipice of a revolutionary product: a Keurig-like machine for gelatin shots. It's called Jevo, and the "gelatin pods fully automate the gelatin making process." It can produce 20 shots, alcoholic or non-alcoholic, in 10 minutes.
- "We were sitting here looking at technology like Keurig and Soda Stream where you choose the flavor pod and the machine does the work, but there was nothing around the archaic, time consuming and inconsistent process of making gelatin," Jetton told the Portland Business Journal. His company, startup Food and Beverage Innovations, is based in Lake Oswego, OR, and has raised over $4 million courtesy of angel investors nationwide "and from one local institution," reports the Portland Business Journal.
- There are patents in addition to pending patents regarding the machine and its operation. Jevo will be making its debut in next week's Las Vegas's Nightclub and Bar Show, with Jetton's goal of having 20,000 to 25,000 products in the U.S. market — initial ones to come in next year's first quarter.
Dive Insight:
Considering the mighty backlash against products like Palcohol and the effects of energy drink marketing, it's only a matter of time before Jevo may incite such an uprising. That said, this certainly might be flashing lightbulbs for party-goers and college students.
The product has digital signs plus an app, enabling bars and restaurants to showcase promotions. While this machine appeals to the nightclub, bar, and restaurant sector, Jetton talked about branching this out to health care, senior care, and the household consumer market. The health care product is still in the works.
"Now we can have medications in the mix and it's easier to consume," Jetton said. "That’s when you start looking and seeing that it’s bigger than Jell-O shots and college kids."