Hot-Can is proud to be in Turner’s Outdoorsman stores in California. Watch the Turner’s television ad below. We are also proud sponsors of the Dan Hernandez Fishing Show. Watch his video blog about the Hot-Can HERE

Russian Launch of Hot Can

We are proud to announce the launch of Hot Can self heating beverages, cocoas, teas and soups into the Russian market. While the West has enjoyed the convenience of self heating beverages and soups for a while, the technology behind Hot Can is new to the Russian market.

Russia is the 14th country to sell Hot Can products.

Introduced into the USA last year, Hot Can is now available in over 31 states nationwide and online at Walmart.com. For further information please visit the Hot Can website at: www.hot-can.com.

Bill Fields, Former CEO Wal-Mart Stores Division, Joins Hot Can

Hot Can, PLC, the company behind the self heating beverage and soup can, announced today that Bill Fields, former President and CEO of Wal-Mart Stores Division, has joined its executive team as a member of its board of directors.

“Bill’s retailing expertise will help guide our products to the mass merchant market quickly,” said Jim Scudder, COO of Hot Can, PLC. “He immediately expressed interest in the Hot Can and the future applications of our patented self heating technology, and we’re pleased he’s decided to join our growing team,”

William R. “Bill” Fields is also the former Chairman and CEO of Blockbuster Entertainment Group, and former President and CEO of Hudson’s Bay Company. He is Chairman and Founder of Intersource Enterprises, Ltd.

“Hot Can is an exciting product and there is a definite consumer need for this,” said Bill Fields. “There are so many uses for this technology and I am delighted to join the Hot Can team.”

Hot Can’s innovative beverage container uses a safe natural reaction to heat itself. This technology enables today’s on-the-go consumers to enjoy distinctive Hot Can beverages and soups heated to the perfect serving temperature in three easy steps.

Flavors currently available include: Cafe Mocha, Cafe Latte, Hot Cocoa, Hot Tea, Tomato Soup, Asparagus Soup and Mushroom Soup. With Black Coffee and Chicken Soup arriving early in 2012.

More self-heating drinks cans to be launched

‘Reproduced from www.canmaker.com with the permission of Sayers Publishing Group’

Written by John Nutting

Drinks in self-heating cans developed in Malaysia are expected to be commercially launched in North America and Europe early in 2012.

To be sold under the Hot-Can brand, the canned drinks have been under development for almost nine years and are the brainchild of founder and chief executive Kenneth Kolb who since marketing a range of self-heating canned products in Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand in 2009 has set up a global network of sales offices.

The imminent launch of Hot-Can in Europe follows that of Fast Drinks 2005, the Barcelona manufacturer which is producing a range of coffee, chocolate and wine drinks under its 2GO brand alongside supplying other brands such as Energy Rocket Fuel in the UK.

But whereas Fast Drinks 2005 uses three-piece tinplate containers with components supplied by canmakers, Hot-Can uses aluminium cans made at its own canmaking and canning plant near Kuala Lumpur.

Almost US$10 million has been invested in the project, which Kolb says has been expanded over the past two years with capacity to make 200 million units a year. The D&I easy-open cans are fitted with a calcium oxide canister in the base which when activated by pressing a button mixes with water and heats the contents by 40 centigrade degrees above ambient in less than three minutes. This is the same process as used by Fast Drinks, and also by Nestlé for its Nescafé self-heating can project which was aborted about ten years ago.

Operations chief Jim Scudder, who has previous experience with self-heating containers having been involved with the Ontro project in the US, joined Hot-Can in 2009. Talking to The Canmaker before returning from Europe to the US where he is based at San Diego in California, he explained the background.

Technology for manufacturing the cans has been developed by Hot-Can itself. “Currently we are producing everything in Malaysia,” said Scudder. “We have our own canning facility and we do the whole process.” Scudder did not reveal further details of the canmaking process, except that the cans are produced from aluminium coil so are likely made using D&I techniques.

The Hot-Can range test marketed in the US market in 2010 he said, adding that in 2012 it will be launching a range of drinks with “two major chains”. Production is not large enough for a full national US launch “so we will be going division by division”. Asked about volumes in the US, he said, “We try to keep that close to our cuff but it’s reasonable, and by June it will be around 2m a month.”

Four types of soups, two coffee flavours, chocolate and tea are being offered in the Hot-Can range. To meet consumer preferences in both the US and European markets, the flavours will be adjusted before being shipped from Malaysia. Subject to demand increasing the cans could also be filled in Europe.

Kenneth Kolb was a medical researcher in the US before he moved to Malaysia in 1990 to work for a furniture manufacturer in product development. During a radio interview in 2009 he explained how he became involved with self-heating cans.

“Originally back in 1999 I invested in a company in the UK that was trying to do a similar product,” he said. “Unfortunately they were never able to achieve the goals that were set by the customers, which is heating up [the product] by 40 deg C in less than three minutes.

“But even though I invested in that and lost money I did learn my lesson and got the bug to figure out how make it work and I spent four years developing it, patenting it and another four years commercialising it. So it’s been eight years.”

In the Malaysian market, Kolb saw an opportunity to sell drinks with Halal certification, which once obtained would enable similar products to be also sold in Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

“Halal industry is becoming bigger and it’s becoming more powerful. Malaysia has a very good reputation in the Halal industry so we saw that as a must in launching our product.

“We wanted to sell it in Indonesia, the Middle East, all those markets that are very dependent on Halal certification. By having Halal certification it doesn’t limit us from the rest of the global market.”

Kolb said that he viewed the Hot-Can more as a packaging product to be used by brand owners for filling with a range of drinks. “We are scheduled [to increase] production to 1.2 billion by 2017 and with that we’ll still be less than half a percent of the global beverage can market.

“We see this product more as a Tetra Pak, and our company as a Tetra Pak than we do as a Nestlé. We’re not in the business of making beverages, we’re in the business of making packaging technology.”

Customer Email

We love getting letters and e-mails from our customers. Here is on from Tim in California:

“Morning Paul,

 It was fairly chilly Saturday morning, in the mid twenties at 5 am. After daylight came around we cracked open a couple of the Hot Cans. I must say, they were an unexpected pleasure!

 They tasted great and the mere fact that I was standing in a cold, wet, marsh two miles from my truck with the ability to open a hot beverage anytime made my morning.

A bit later in the day we took some pictures, they are enclosed here.

 Best Wishes, Tim.”

Top 10 Facts About Coffee:

1. Legend has is that coffee was first discovered by a goat! Yup, back in the 9th century a goat herder by the name of Kaldi noticed some of his goats acting strange when they ate the cherries from the coffee tree so he tried it for himself. The goats were over-”herd” saying that it wasn’t “Baaahhhh’d”.

2. In 1675 coffee houses were banned in England as the King claimed they were places where people conspired against him.

3. Coffee is the second most traded commodity on earth. Oil is the second. It might be the first soon, as a company in England has developed a car that runs entirely on coffee. (http://coffeecar.org).

4. Caffeine is an antioxidant which may help you fight off health problems such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases and may prevent some forms of cancer.

5. Instant coffee was invented by George Washington . . . . a belgian man living in Guatemala by the name of George Washington invented instant coffee in 1906 . . . . Who did you think I meant?

6. “Cowboy Coffee” was made in the wild west by putting ground coffee in a clean sock and putting it in cold water over a fire . . . . well, at least it was clean! (NOTE: Hot Can does not use socks in their manufacturing process).

7. Turkish bridegrooms were once required to make a promise during their wedding ceremonies to always provide their new wives with coffee. If they failed to do so, it was grounds for divorce. (My wife still follows this rule!).

8. There are 440 Billion cups of coffee consumed around the world each year.

9. The term “Cuppa Joe” came from “G.I. Joe,” who always had his coffee!

10. The first coffee shop opened in 15th-century Constantinople, where the Turks thought the drink was an aphrodisiac.

What makes the Hot Can heat up?

A lot of people have asked “What makes the can heat up”, Here is a quick explanation.

Hot-Can developed a special double chambered aluminum can which contains the beverage in the outer chamber and holds water and calcium oxide (quick lime) separately in the inner chamber. When the button at the bottom of the can is pressed in, the water mixes with the quicklime, starting an exothermic reaction that heats the contents of the outer chamber in less the 3 minutes by 50-55°C to give you a piping hot drink.

Calcium Oxide is a natural and non-toxic. Not only is the container recyclable, it also complies with beverage container recycling laws, or “Bottle Bills”, that provide financial incentive to consumers for recycling.

In addition, our Hot-Can only produces natural bi-products: water, calcium carbonate, and calcium hydroxide. These bi-products are the same minerals that make up coral reefs in our oceans and are a naturally occurring mineral in our soil and are frequently added to soil in farming to enhance the pH balance.

Get Hot Can into a store near you

Here is a way you can help us get Hot Can to you. Just print out this postcard and take it to your local store and ask them to stock our product. Then you will have Hot Can Self Heating Beverages and Soups whenever you need them.

An Interview with Jim Berntsen, VP of Marketing & Business Development

Below is part of an Interview with Jim Berntsen, Vice President of Marketing & Business Development, Hot Can, Inc. for #C-Store Insider Magazine.

Tell us about Hot Can self-heating beverages and soups.
Hot Can has created an innovative and affordable package that allows consumers to enjoy a delicious hot beverage or soup anytime, anywhere.

Explain the technology. What makes the can get hot?
Hot Can has developed a special double-chambered aluminum can that contains the beverage in the outer chamber and holds water and calcium oxide (quicklime) separately in the inner chamber. When the button at the bottom of the can is pressed, the water mixes with the quicklime, starting an exothermic reaction that heats the contents of the outer chamber in less than 3 minutes by 70-80°F to give you a piping hot beverage, anytime anywhere.

How easy is it to use?
Simply push the button on the bottom of the can, shake for 30 seconds and turn the can right side up. In 3 minutes the temperature indicator on the label changes color to show you it’s hot and ready to enjoy.

A self -heating can? Is it safe?
Customer safety is our primary concern; we use a 100% natural, non-toxic, non-flammable reaction combining calcium oxide (quicklime) and water to create heat. The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) of the USA has designated calcium oxide as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS), a standard applied to products that are not harmful.

What about afterwards? How do I dispose of the empty can?
The container is 100% recyclable and should be placed in the recycling bin.

What flavors are available?
We currently have a Hot Cocoa, Café Mocha, Café Latte, Tea, and four flavors of soup including, Creamy Tomato, Creamy Chicken, Creamy Asparagus and Creamy Mushroom.

Who buys Hot Can? What is its target audience?
Our target markets are consumers’ on-the-go, commuters’, outdoor enthusiasts, sporting event goers, remote workers, brown baggers and folks at home who want a quick and delicious beverage or soup without the hassle of preparation and clean up.

How have you positioned yourself in the market?
We have positioned ourselves as a Food and Beverage company that provides innovative packaging, which allows consumers to enjoy hot beverages and soups, anytime anywhere. We provide real value at a great price.

How long has Hot Can been in operation?
The company has been in development for many years and we have been selling products since 2009.

What has been your greatest challenge?
Keeping up with demand.

Where do you see your technology in the future? How about self heating food?
We are already developing bowls and trays that will allow for thicker food products to be heated up.

Are there any new flavors on the horizon?
Yes, soon we will have a black coffee, a Hot Cocoa with Marshmallow and more varieties of soup. We also are getting quite a demand for a gourmet energy drink.

How can I get more information about Hot Can products?
You can visit our website at www.hot-can.com or call us at 858 625-0200.

Success at the NACS Show

For those of you who don’t know what this is, the National Association of Convenience Stores. It is an international trade show association. This year it was in Chicago and, of course, Hot Can attended.

The show was a complete success and there was a lot of interest in our self heating coffees, teas, cocoas, and soups. We were also very excited to find out that we took 3rd place in the “Cool New Products” section.