Meet the Team – Dr. Assaf Zeira
1.What’s your educational and professional background?
I have a Bachelor’s of Science and a Master’s Degree in Food Sciences, and I completed my Ph.D. and postdoc work in surface chemistry at the Weizmann Institute of Sciences. I specialize in making ink for all types of inkjet heads, and I previously worked for a company called Bordeaux developing water-based ink.
2. What brought you to Ripples?
I’m very good friends with Ripples’ lead Hardware Engineer who introduced me to the company. Ripples seemed like a perfect match and I was immediately interested. I have a unique combination of knowledge specifically in food and inkjet formulations – I wanted to join in on this adventure.
3. How do you create the different colors in the Ripple Pod Extracts?
We only ever use naturally occurring colors and ingredients to create our extracts. We will never use artificial coloring. This means that we’re experimenting with new colors, but as a starting point we try to put what’s in your drink on your drink.
We use roasted barley to make the malt extract, and the coffee extract is made from roasted coffee beans. We use black carrot concentrate to create the black carrot extract, and the GLOW extract is only visible under uv lights and is created with Vitamin B2 (riboflavin).
4. So they’re totally safe?
100%. We meet strict global safety regulations and are FDA and GMP certified. We wholly own and operate our factory, which is inspected regularly by the Ministry of Health. The pods are also kosher, non-GMO, and vegan-friendly.
5. Okay, you’ve convinced me they’re not poison (even the glow-in-the-dark one). But will they make my cocktails taste weird?
Not at all! The extracts won’t affect the taste of your finished drink. The malt extract is totally flavorless.
