MILAN – VAE Labs started in college out of a need for convenient, on-the-go energy. As the two co founders told us, “We thought the concept of a spray was amazing, as it was both convenient and fast-acting, but it was impossible to get a significant amount of caffeine per spray.
That’s why we developed our HyperSoluble caffeine technology to deliver a coffee in just three sprays, which took us over two years of research, and an additional 3 years to get VAE into the market.”
Vae Labs has raised $2M USD to date
First ice-breaking question: how do you drink coffee? Or rather, do you still drink it or do you just drizzle it?
“All of us at VAE love our coffee! We usually have coffee every morning – I usually drink it black – and we only really swap for VAE for our morning coffee when we’re in a hurry. For us, coffee provides an experience that can’t be replaced, and VAE is best used when coffee or other sources of caffeine just aren’t convenient.
We thought of using a spray after seeing someone use an old breath spray called Binaca on a TV show. We realized that the idea of having something that’s super convenient, and also works 5x faster than a drink (since it’s absorbed through the tongue) seemed super interesting. We developed our formula based on the idea of making a caffeine spray that was both portable and powerful, and used our neuroscience backgrounds to accomplish a caffeine concentration higher than anyone else has done before.”
How did the idea of taking caffeine through a spray come about?
“University Students, Gym-goers, and Yuppies (young urban professionals). Our product has a ton of benefits that appeal to these demographics. Some include the convenience of our product, with just 3 sprays for a coffee’s worth of caffeine, and 12 coffee’s per bottle, as well as how fast-acting it is (5-10 min vs 45 min to an hour), as well as the fact that we only use natural flavors, are zero calories, zero sugars, and zero crash. It’s also very affordable at $1.25 per coffee.”
What is your ideal target group?
“It definitely can be, though that’s not the primary usage case. VAE is best used for a quick and convenient boost of energy. If a morning coffee or espresso isn’t an option for you, VAE is an ideal replacement. ”
How does VAE coffee taste? Does it taste like Arabica? Robusta?
“We use natural caffeine, and right now we have one flavor: our Mint flavor, shipping everywhere within the US. It’s taken years of research to get it to the point where it tastes really good, since caffeine is incredibly bitter and we have the most concentrated caffeine solution in the world. We’ll be releasing a Mango and Mocha flavor in the near future.”
How did you work on it – what process did you use to deliver the caffeine in this way – and how much research and development time did it take to arrive at the end result?
“Our background is in neuroscience and chemistry, and we’ve worked on VAE for over 5 years. The first challenge was finding a way to increase the solubility of caffeine in a liquid, which we dubbed our HyperSoluble caffeine technology. Using our tech, we’re able to deliver 20mg of caffeine per spray, instead of the usual maximum of 2-3mg for a spray of our size. It took two years of research to develop our technology, and then 3 years to get the taste to where it is today.”
What is the caffeine content per container?
“Each VAE is 20mg of caffeine per spray, with 36 sprays per bottle. That means we have 720mg per bottle of VAE, which is meant to last someone about a week. We also use L-Theanine and L-Tyrosine, which are nootropics found in Matcha, to give a more clean boost of energy.”
What is your recommended dose so as not to exceed the limits set by Efsa?
“We recommend no more than 15 sprays per day, which is the equivalent of 300mg of caffeine. I typically spray between 2-4 times in a 10 minute period, and adjust my intake as needed.”
How much does it cost and where can you buy it?
“One VAE costs $14.99 USD, or about $1.25 per cup of coffee, and we’re selling directly on our website at www.vaelabs.com. We are currently only shipping within the US, and are planning a retail launch in New York this summer.”
Have you had good feedback so far?
“Yes! We’ve had incredible feedback so far – people are using VAE in ways we couldn’t have imagined, replacing not only energy drinks and coffee, but VAE is also appealing to people that don’t normally consume much caffeine. Our product allows people to take a micro-dosed amount of caffeine in a single spray, and then adjust it up to their desired level, which is something no other caffeine product can offer.”
What are the next developments of your product?
“For the near future, we’re working on adding new flavors to our lineup. For the long-term, we’re developing our spray tech to ultimately incorporate other supplements, including melatonin, vitamins, CBD and THC. We want to be the best supplement delivery platform, and we feel caffeine is the best way to get started.”
