Preparing a bottle before his baby daughter got too hungry was the inspiration for a north-east inventor to launch the latest in infant-feeding technology.
Daniel Sutherland, who is originally from Tain in Ross-shire but is now based in Newtonhill near Aberdeen, came up with “milkistar”, an innovative take on the traditional baby bottle, in 2010.
Now his company, David Sutherland Design Studio, is set to manufacturer the bottles, which are likely to be sold through a major pharmaceutical chain after he found an investor and support through a TV show airing this weekend.
For the last six months, the Gray’s School of Art graduate has been working on a series for the TV channel Sky called “Make Me a Millionaire Inventor”.
Prior to filming, his product had already attracted significant interest over the years, with Mr Sutherland winning funding from initiatives such as Starter for Six, Scottish Enterprise and Shell Live Wire to develop it. However, it had never quite made it to market.
The idea for the milkistar, which has a unique shape that lets its contents cool quickly, came to him when his eldest daughter, now six, was being weaned to a bottle.
“Health advisers ask you to make a feed as and when you need it. When you make it with fresh boiling water it takes about 23 minutes for it to cool down enough to give to your baby – by which time they are pretty upset,” he said.
“As a product designer I thought somebody must have solved this issue. But I realised there hadn’t been one taken to market.”
He did some research and found that many sleepless parents would try to save time instead by making up bottles in advance and storing them in the fridge, which is against general health advice.
“There is quite a lot of research published which shows that bacteria will grow inside a feed in about as little as an hour and a half, even when it is in the fridge, and that leads to upset tummies and stuff. That was the catalyst.”
Mr Sutherland, now a father of three girls, said that the contents of his specially-designed bottle means a late-night feed can be prepared and ready to drink in less than six minutes. “When you have a hungry baby in your arms, time is precious.”
Since being involved in the programme, Mr Sutherland is also ready to develop a range of juice cups and other associated products.
Mr Sutherland will feature in Make Me a Millionaire Inventor on Sunday, May 11 at 7pm on Sky Pick
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