Chicago — Long a manufacturer of plastic-intensive coolers and related outdoor products, Igloo Products Corp. is entering a new product category with its launch of personal beverage bottles.
Igloo's personal hydration line, launched at the 2017 International Home and Housewares Show in Chicago, features bottles in a variety of materials, including Eastman's Tritan copolyester, polypropylene and stainless steel. They're designed to address consumer demand for different styles of drinkware for different activities — one bottle for yoga class and another to take to the office, for example — said Lisa Hayashi, brand marketing director. The line comprises six product types, ranging from a Tritan bottle with a brightly-colored silicone grip to a stainless steel tumbler with a Tritan lid.
In January 2015 Igloo announced it had acquired Cool Gear International LLC, a manufacturer of personal hydration and food storage products. The acquisition came just nine months after Igloo was itself acquired by private equity firm ACON Investments of Washington D.C. At the time, executives noted the brands' complementary product offerings and Cool Gear's significant intellectual property.
"Igloo brings fresh capital, broader distribution and other resources to Cool Gear, which will help us continue to penetrate new markets and categories with product extensions and additional innovations," Donna Roth, co-founder of Cool Gear, said in a statement.
Also on display at IHHS was a 2.5-gallon metal beverage dispenser created to celebrate Igloo's 70th anniversary. The dispenser's stainless steel exterior echoes the design of Igloo's first galvanized water cooler developed in 1947, and the interior is lined with polyethylene with a removable plastic infuser basket.