Revolutionizing Sake Preservation: The Sake Saver

Jihye Kim and Yuko Kanda's Innovative Design Preserves the Authentic Taste of Sake

The Sake Saver is a unique automatic preserver that targets sake enthusiasts and establishments that serve sake. Its design is subtly incorporated into the structure of the bottle, ensuring that switches and indicators do not stand out, maintaining the traditional aesthetic of sake vessels. The device is activated simply by mounting it on the sake bottle.

The design's uniqueness lies in its ability to suppress the oxidation process, which alters the taste and aroma of sake once the bottle is opened. By creating a vacuum in the sake bottle, the Sake Saver helps to keep the taste fresh, enhancing the overall drinking experience. This not only appeals to individual users but also to breweries and eating establishments, where the use of this product can demonstrate the quality of the sake and increase customer trust.

The Sake Saver was realized using car instrument panel technology, which allowed the designers to develop a light guiding prism that achieves a 360-degree illumination range for the indicator. The light guiding prism also serves as the battery case, reducing parts and cost. The design team used plastic materials for reduced weight and developed pottery and porcelain style colors for authenticity. The paint used is comfortable to touch and easy to clean.

The design project, which took place from 2014 to 2015 at the DENSO Corporation Head Quater in Aichi, Japan, involved extensive research. The development team visited establishments that serve sake to observe the tools they use and collected impressions of various prototypes. They also conducted taste comparisons with the help of brewers to verify the effectiveness of the product.

One of the major challenges the team faced was the lack of solid information and verified data about the effects of oxidation on sake. To confirm the effectiveness of the Sake Saver, they collaborated with public organs that manage food product hygiene and conducted scientific measurements. The results confirmed that the Sake Saver effectively preserves the taste of sake.

The Sake Saver is a patented product of DENSO Corp., with patents 6090242 and 6090243 registered in Japan in 2017. Its innovative design and effectiveness in preserving the authentic taste of sake have earned it the prestigious Golden A' Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design Award in 2019.