By Christina Alehem, Dieter Fuchs, Derya Kücükgöl, Peter Perskull The new wine stopper

Cork oak, Quercus Suber The cork oak grows in the western Mediterranean region Portugal accounts for 50% of world’s cork production Cork is derived from the bark of the tree The oak has a life span of 200 to 250 years The virgin bark is cut when the tree is 25 to 30 years old After that the bark is harvested every 9 to 12 years

Introduction Does a good wine need to have a natural cork stopper? Cork production cannot meet the demands of the industry, leading to a higher prize of cork Need to find an equivalent substitution to cork stoppers Existing alternatives: plastic stoppers, silicon and metal caps Have the disadvantage of preventing wine from breathing during maturation time in the bottle

Goal We want to introduce a good alternative to cork with all it’s positive attributes but to lower costs.

Characteristics of Natural Cork Stopper Elasticity Lightness Impermeability Positive attributes Negative attributes Cork taint in wine Increasing prize in the future It does not rotten

Characteristics of StrigoNovo Elasticity Lightness Impermeability Positive attributesNegative attributes No cork taint in wine Low prize It does not rotten No natural cork

Plastic cylinder with plate Grease-proof paper Collagen and Laminin Final product StrigoNovo

Collagen type IV from Danio revio Makes fine fibres Forms a natural barrier to cell migration Allows breathing

Laminin with its four binding-sites

Cellulose compared to heparin Cellulose

Heparin binding-site of laminin

Expression System EasySelect TM Pichia Expression Kit by Invitrogen Pichia pastoris is a methylotrophic yeast Methanol can be used as sole carbon source Promotor is induced by methanol High expression levels (up to 12 gram/litre) Product secreted Adaptable to fermentation (to litres) No CO 2 incubators or tissue hoods needed Licence needed

Positive aspects of StrigoNovo Grease proof paper is already culturally accepted The paper absorbs a little bit of wine StrigoNovo can be produced everywhere StrigoNovo will not cause a cork taint The paper is brown Brown, granulated plastic cylinder

Industry SegmentValue in Euro (000) per year Wine Stoppers€ Floor & Wall Coverings€ Expanded Agglomerated Cork€ Other Products € Total Cork Products€ Worldwide cork production is estimated to be slightly less than 13 billion wine stoppers per year. Source: The Natural Cork Quality Council

Test market StrigoNovo is primary intended for middleclass wines which constitute ~70% of the total wine market. The initial test markets will be in Switzerland, Sweden and probably the USA. We think that the population in these countries are more susceptible for changes regarding wine, compared to Italians, French or Spanish.

Extraction Characteristics57% Physical Appearance19% Wine absorption10% Physical Dimensions10% Natural Materials 3% Consumers view on stoppers according to an American survey Source: The Natural Cork Quality Council

GANTT-scheme Project planning Research Small scale production Pilot production Full scale production 2 years Marketing 5 years4 years

Budget in SEK/year Other costs that need to be considered Production license fees manufacturing sites maintenance Marketing consult Patent lawyer application The total cost is predicted to be SEK 8,500,000 per year

Financial aspects Total costs per year: SEK 8.5 million Total costs in 4 years: SEK 34 million Estimated price of StrigoNovo: SEK 2 / piece Winning per stopper: SEK 0.75 Annual market: 13 billion stoppers 0,35% of the market covers the cost of the research

Patent “StrigoNovo” Size minimised cellulose binding laminin Concept of StrigoNovo-construction

Summary StrigoNovo shows great similarities to cork StrigoNovo offers a cheap alternative to cork StrigoNovo does not cause cork taint StrigoNovo can be produced all over the world