Lovers of ice cream and frozen treats rejoice! ColdSnap and its revolutionary rapid freezing technology has been nominated as a finalist in the Speculative Design category at this year’s SXSW Innovation Awards.
“The Innovation Awards are such a huge part of what we do at SXSW – the title of this competition reflects one of the pillar tenants of the event. And for this year, the quality of entries we received was absolutely off-the-charts,” said Hugh Forrest, Chief Programming Officer for SXSW 2022. “Each 2022 finalist is pushing the envelope with the new ideas, new technologies, and new processes that they are bringing to the table. I can’t wait until the Innovation Awards Ceremony on March 14 to see which of these finalists emerge as the best of the best of the best!”
What is SXSW?
South by Southwest (SXSW) was founded in the late 1980’s by a small group of music, media, entertainment and culture enthusiasts in Austin, Texas. They wanted to bring the outside world into Austin and conceive of a massive event that would bring people together to showcase the most disruptive ideas in the world on a grand stage. The first event in March of 1987 went from 150 anticipated registrants to 700 attendees on opening day and the electrifying exhibition continued to expand its categories to be inclusive of more industries year after year. This was a training ground for the most innovative thinkers and doers in the world to get together and share ideas.
Since then, it has exploded in growth–especially with the tech boom and internet infiltrating our culture and becoming the norm. Some of the most famous names in music, entertainment, tech and culture received SXSW awards or performed here.
The SXSW Innovation Awards
The Innovation Awards category honors the world’s most forward-thinking digital and technological inventions. Past winners include MasSpec Pen by the Eberlin Lab at The University of Texas at Austin, Maestro: Empowering VR Storytelling Through Social Collaboration by Penrose Studios and many more.
Of hundreds of applications submitted, ColdSnap was one of 65 finalists selected across 13 categories by a panel of judges composed of industry peers and experts. ColdSnap is one of five (5) finalists under the SXSW “Speculative Design” category which honors the best new work using design to re-think products and systems – and addresses the challenges, opportunities and possibilities of the future. Each entry was graded on four criteria: creativity, form, function, and overall experience.
“We are honored to be named a finalist for the SXSW Innovation Awards,” says Matthew Fonte, Founder and President of ColdSnap. “What began as a fun idea one night with my daughters while doodling in their invention journals has now grown into what we believe will be a game-changing, platform technology in the food and beverage space. Why keep ice cream frozen 24/7, requiring expensive electricity and creating unnecessary carbon emissions?”
Featuring the ColdSnap Appliance
ColdSnap is a rapid-freezing technology that produces single-servings of frozen confections and frozen beverages in approximately 90 seconds. The ColdSnap appliance accepts shelf-stable, ambient temperature ColdSnap pods that are filled with liquid ingredients. Our innovative technology freezes the ingredients and dispenses the freshly frozen treat directly from the ColdSnap pod into the bowl.
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