Mr. Butlers needed to develop a new soda maker with a sleek premium industrial design while keeping manufacturing costs down. This would potentially allow them to enter the market at a lower price, improve margins and appeal to a new generation.
We achieved the goal of reducing manufacturing costs by using fewer & simpler parts. A modern auto inspired aesthetic coupled with a removable head for easy Co2 canister installation, exposed water bottle for quick attachment, concealed spill tray and LED soda strength indication all lead to an improved experience to captivate the customer.
During design development, one of the key areas of focus was the CO2 infusion button. We went through numerous iterations to achieve the ideal leverage within the space constraints. This minimized the activation effort required for the CO2 canister, which required a considerable amount of force. The height of the product was driven by the size of the CO2 canister. We needed to restrict the overall height to improve usability and fit on traditional kitchen counters. In order to achieve this, we allowed the CO2 canister into the base of the machine to optimize the soda maker's size.
