The New Botanical Brewing Technology COLDRAW is Nominated as a Finalist for the 2023 SXSW Innovation Awards


Published on March 01, 2023

COLDRAW, a new technology for non-alcoholic drinks, which brings out the natural flavors and colors of botanicals in only a few minutes, is nominated as the finalist for the 2023 SXSW Innovation Awards. An award is an annual event hosted by the South by Southwest (SXSW) that happens in Austin, Texas.

The Innovation Award honors “the most forward-thinking advancements in the digital space” across a wide array of categories, which includes Social & Culture, Robotics & Hardware, and Artificial Intelligence, among other things.

The award is also presented to forward-thinking projects spanning the many facets of products, experience design, and interface. The winners will be announced during the awards ceremony on March 13th. On top of that, the actual technology will be accessible on March 11th at Griffin Hall in the JW Marriot Austin and March 12th to 15th at the Creative Industries Expo, Booth #1810 in the Austin Convention Center.

The COLDRAW is presented as a botanical brewing technology created by Sober Experience Studio. With the global sober curious movement, the demand for non-alcohol beverages is anticipated to increase. Nonetheless, in most cases, non-alcoholic beverages are mass-produced and found in PET bottles and cans containing additives and sugar.

Fortunately, Sober Experience Studio created the extraction technology COLDRAW as an answer to contribute to the improvement of the global environment and people’s health.

According to the director of Sober Experience Studio, Shintaro Nishikawa, COLDRAW brings out the plant’s natural flavors, enabling you to enjoy a tasty non-alcohol beverage experience without sugar. They can help lessen plastic and other waste by preventing bottled products and concentrating on freshly extracted drinks that fit specific occasions and needs. On top of that, he highlights that they are confident that the development of COLDRAW will contribute to the global environment’s sustainability.

It’s worth mentioning that the visual presentation of the brewing or extraction process adds to the entire experience. The rich colors, aroma, and flavor of botanical ingredients such as seeds, leaves, and flowers all blend together as if a person is looking through a kaleidoscope.

The technology behind COLDRAW is also remarkable. For botanical ingredients such as tea leaves, the more time passes from the extraction process, the more bitter and sour the taste becomes, which will impact the original taste’s deliciousness.

Nonetheless, COLDRAW extraction—a special manufacturing method patented in Japan—can extract a fresh craft non-alcoholic drink that lessens the unpleasant taste with its high-speed extraction. It does so by using a unique decompression technology and temperature control.

Five Finalists in every category will be selected to demonstrate their projects at the sixth annual Innovation Awards Finalist Showcase during SXSW 2023, where the Finalist Judges will identify the winner in every category and the Best of Show.

In addition, all SXSW audiences attending the Finalist Showcase will vote to identify the winner of the People’s Choice award. Participation in the Finalist Showcase is needed for consideration in every award category.

Winners will be officially publicized and presented their awards at the 25th Annual SXSW Innovation Awards Ceremony on the evening of Monday, March 13th, at the Austin Convention Center. All winners will be honored at this March 13th ceremony.

The Sober Experience Studio is a Japanese open innovation project that strives to make a new food culture along with non-alcoholic drinks. Also, key collaborators are sPods Inc., Japan Tobacco Inc., Mavo, and Redd Inc.

Lifestyle Editor