AUSTRALIA | Curia Ventures has set its sights on the routine removal of viruses and bacteria from the estimated 365 million shopping trolley handles worldwide.
Widely publicised figures indicate the average shopping trolley handle has 361 times more bacteria than a toilet door handle. The product development company has patents accepted in the United States and China for its ‘Please Swipe’ trolley sanitation device, and patents pending in Australia, Europe, New Zealand, India and Japan.
One of the state’s largest independent retailers, Romeo’s Retail Group, is currently trialling Please Swipe at its North Adelaide location and is planning a rollout across its stores.
Developed by two South Australians, Please Swipe is a small device that attaches directly to shopping trolley handles. When activated, the device swipes a thin layer of alcohol-free sanitiser along the length of the trolley handle, killing common viruses and bacteria.
Please Swipe has been 10 years in the making. Inventor Charlie Bourne was inspired after observing the significant proportion of high-contact surfaces in public facilities across cities.
He showed his early prototype to investor Neil Mullard OAM, and they formed Curia Ventures, engaging experienced industrial designer Andi Stevens from Aside Consultants to refine the design.
“Please Swipe offers customers a simple and easy way to sanitise before they shop and reduces the environmental impacts of single-use sanitation wipes,” said Bourne.
“While research suggests many shoppers avoid touching high-contact surfaces in public bathrooms, a single shopping trolley can pass through many hands in a day. Each trolley serves as a high-contact vector for bacteria and viruses, with studies showing more than half of all shopping trolley handles are contaminated with E. coli."
He added that the team was committed to the development of Please Swipe on the premise that even a slight improvement in trolley hygiene can create public health benefits.
Existing methods of sanitising trolleys are either flawed or inadequate, leaving shoppers dissatisfied and at risk. Please Swipe is easy to use, simple to install and quick to refill, making it easier for stores to enhance shopper confidence. It can be retrofitted to existing trolleys, and there is also significant potential in the manufacture of new trolleys.
The Romeo’s Foodland trial will inform final design amendments ahead of commercialisation.
“Overall, shopper feedback has been very positive, with the majority indicating they would choose to shop where Please Swipe is available. Many have remarked it is an idea that should have been thought of years ago and have expressed pride in Please Swipe as a South Australian invention.”
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