For many people, the stickers on their water bottles are valuable. Whether they have sentimental value or are part of a collection that took time to curate, keeping these stickers pristine is crucial – and challenging.
Luckily, recent University of Utah entrepreneurship graduate James Craft has a solution. While pursuing his degree he founded Sticker Armor, a company making clear protective sleeves to preserve the outside of a water bottle from everyday use.
The idea for Sticker Armor came after the outside of several of his favorite water bottles were ruined on a canyoneering trip.
“Utah slot canyons aren’t exactly smooth,” Craft said. “I had my water bottles strapped to the outside of my backpack, and they were destroyed.”
He saw that his friends were having the same issue and were disappointed when their favorite stickers were damaged, so he started to look for a solution.
After eight months of prototyping and consumer research, Craft launched Sticker Armor. The sleeve acts like a screen protector for your phone, absorbing the scratches that would otherwise damage your stickers. It is made of a clear plastic that uses heat to shrink to the outside of the bottle. Because the material is non-adhesive, the stickers are preserved even after the sleeve is removed.
“The product went through many phases,” Craft said. “The first iteration used packing tape. When I removed the tape, it also removed the stickers. I knew I needed a non-adhesive product.”
Craft utilized several resources at the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute while working on Sticker Armor. He won a microgrant in the Get Seeded program, which he used to start launching advertisements. He also sold his product at Lassonde’s Demo Day.
Sticker Armor offers sleeves for Hydro Flask and Nalgene bottles, but Craft wants to expand. He also plans to ramp up advertising and hopes to get Sticker Armor into outdoor retail stores like REI. Then he wants to move on to different projects.
“There’s a lot more to do,” Craft said. “I have a lot of ideas.”
Learn more about Sticker Armor at stickerarmor.com.
