IN Brief:
- Notpla’s Ooho membrane contained a 12ml portion of innocent’s Fiery Ginger shot in a two-day pilot.
- The activity ran in Nobottle, Northamptonshire, and at Coventry University in October 2026.
- Notpla says the short-lived membrane is unsuitable for most retail drink products; no retail launch is planned.
Notpla and drinks producer innocent have tested a 12ml ginger shot contained in an edible seaweed-based membrane, replacing the conventional bottle during a two-day promotional pilot. The trial took place in Nobottle, Northamptonshire, on 27 October and subsequently at Coventry University, where participants were invited to consume the small liquid-filled pods and provide feedback on the format.
The capsule uses Notpla’s Ooho technology, which forms a flexible membrane around a measured volume of liquid. A participant places the pod directly in the mouth and bites or compresses it, releasing the drink while consuming the membrane. The pilot used innocent’s Fiery Ginger shot, selected because a small serving can be dispensed without the handling associated with a larger bottled beverage. The contents and membrane were intended to be consumed together, with no separate bottle or lid to discard.
Ooho is made with seaweed and other plant-derived materials, according to Notpla. The membrane is described as tasteless and odourless, contains no conventional plastic and is designed to biodegrade if left uneaten. It has also been used to portion water, sports drinks, sauces and condiments. Its manufacturing function is different from that of a rigid drinks container: the thin outer layer temporarily holds a measured liquid dose and gives the consumer a way to carry that dose from preparation to consumption.
The partners spent several months testing whether innocent’s ginger formulation could be enclosed in Ooho before the public trial. Development work had to produce a membrane able to retain the small serving until consumption, with handling suited to the short event format. The companies then tested the user experience in Northamptonshire and Coventry rather than moving the pods into retail distribution. Results from the activity may inform subsequent brand demonstrations and trials of different liquids.
Shelf life sets the main boundary for Ooho in its current form. Notpla makes the pods fresh for events and brand activations, with consumption normally taking place within a few days. It says the technology is unsuitable for most retail products, apart from certain low-water-content applications, and has no plans to sell innocent ginger shots in Ooho. The pilot consequently tested a serving method used close to production rather than a replacement format ready for supermarket distribution.
Retail drinks packaging must protect contents during warehousing, transport, display and storage, often for a much longer period than the fresh Ooho membrane permits. Rigid bottles also support high-speed filling, closure application, product identification and repeated handling across the distribution network. The edible pod changes the operational sequence: small servings are prepared for a controlled event, distributed over a short interval and consumed with their membrane. Its storage and handling requirements follow from that shorter process.
At 12ml per capsule, the pilot represents a small, concentrated beverage serving. Applying the same approach to larger drinks portions would change the required membrane dimensions, filling arrangement and the number of units handled. Capsule integrity and dose consistency would then need to be established at the chosen size and throughput. The successful handling of the ginger shot at the event gives evidence for the tested portion, without measuring those larger-format manufacturing conditions.
Because the outer membrane is eaten, hygienic preparation and handling extend to the capsule surface as well as the drink inside. A system supplying fresh pods at an event must therefore control how the portions are produced, stored, presented and picked up. The two-day trial evaluated packaging presentation and consumer experience within this short serving window, leaving process validation for larger-scale manufacture as a separate engineering exercise.
Removing a rigid container changes both material use and the way the portion reaches the consumer. At the event, participants could eat the membrane along with the drink, leaving no separate bottle to collect. A production line serving retail customers would face additional requirements for traceability, protective secondary handling, shelf life and transport resistance. Those conditions explain why Ooho’s immediate applications remain closely tied to events and other short-duration uses.
After the Nobottle activity, the second day at Coventry University provided a different setting for observing how participants opened and consumed the pods. Notpla already supplies Ooho for brand activations involving water, sports drinks and condiments, and the ginger trial extends that list of tested liquids. The collaboration has produced an edible demonstration format for innocent’s Fiery Ginger shot, with any further commercial activity dependent on the product and distribution requirements of a new application.
The two-day pilot showed how a 12ml ginger shot can be portioned in an edible membrane and consumed without a disposable bottle at the point of serving. Ooho’s fresh preparation cycle and short shelf life define its current operating range. Further work on filling speed, packaging durability and storage would be needed before similar membranes could take on a broader role in packaged drinks manufacturing.
