Our Story
Baseball • bees • beginnings
In 2017, a good friend of mine was at his son’s outdoor peewee baseball game when he put his soda down to go to the restroom. When he returned to watch the game, he picked up his soda and started drinking only to discover a yellow jacket bee was in the can and now in his mouth.
A painful sting in his mouth followed by a swift trip to the on-site EMTs helped prevent my friend’s sting from getting worse. But the question that kept running through my mind was, how many others deal with scenarios like this with bees, ants, or foreign debris getting in their can beverages, and is it preventable?
Dream • Build • Design • Repeat
For the rest of 2017 and 2018, I designed various prototypes for my vision of a shield that would fit securely on beverage cans. The shield would serve a dual purpose for not only keeping insects and debris out, but also retaining carbonation so the beverage would last longer than just a few hours once it was opened. In late 2018, I hit paydirt.
Packaging • Patents • Perfection
2019 was a building year. Logos, patents, manufacturing, attorneys, packaging, etc. After securing a manufacturer, my prototype underwent a small facelift but was ready for a mold.
In 2020, my patent was approved! Manufacturing completed the mold design and first order of shields. The end result of the lids was better than I anticipated. The fit was precise and contoured to give a natural feel and look when placed on a beverage can. Red and black were chosen as the inaugural colors for the shields.
Bevverage Gear officially launched on July 31, 2020, at the CarlIsle Ford Nationals Car Show on the Carlisle Fairgrounds in Carlisle, PA. The launch was an overwhelming success and a complete hit with the show and customers! Everyone praised the new product and its utility.
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Bevverage Gear’s pledge is to continue to produce premium product lids for consumers' beverage cans and bottles to keep beverages safe and fresh.
Jerry O. Mitchell
CEO