362 - KEEP YOUR DIRTY FINGERS OUT OF YOUR MOUTH! Flip to Fill inventor Rao Murukurthy

Rao Murukurthy started as a mold maker and bottle designer working for his father in the Chicago area. He spent more than a decade there, then moved into plastics and custom blow molding, where the shop was making a large share of the bottles you would see at GNC, from small vials up to the protein tubs. He later ran Denver Custom Packaging and exited it. About a decade in Denver, he was in the executive MBA program at CU Boulder when he pulled an older version of a scoop out of a box of 3D-printed prototypes. Roughly twenty iterations later, that is Flip to Fill. The problem is familiar. The scoop sinks. Someone reaches into the tub with whatever was on their hands after practice. All the filling, barrier, and hygiene work that went into the pack ends at the kitchen counter. Flip to Fill sits between the jar and the cap. Turn the bottle upside down, turn it back, open the cap, and a pre-measured dose is waiting to pour into the shaker. Put the cap back on. It is ready the next day. He filed a provisional patent in the summer of 2023 after graduating, then a utility patent, not just a design patent, covering anything that sits between the jar and the cap for liquid, powder, or granules. The published application is US 20250115401 The engineering is the part packaging people will recognize. The scoops nest, so case count is high and they are easier on a contract manufacturer than bulk-packed scoops that get dropped in by hand. They can be placed in line: powder drops, a chute feeds the scoop, a mechanical arm gives it a squeeze, it drops in, then the cap and the torquer. It does not interfere with the induction liner. Brands can put one in every jar, or send it as an add-on so a first-time customer gets it and reuses it. It is dishwasher safe and meant to last through about twelve bottles. Sizes cover the 89 millimeter neck for amino acids and green drinks, and the 110 and 120 millimeter necks for protein. Molds are modular, so the volume changes without a new tool. The brand logo is an insert, not a whole mold. They pay for the insert. He sells scoops, not tools. On EPR, a traditional scoop is often under two inches and falls through the screen. This one, on an 89 millimeter jar, is about three and a half inches across, so it is designed for recyclability even though it is meant to be reused. It is made from post-consumer recycled polypropylene, with an FDA no-objection letter from a Colorado manufacturer, and made in the US. They are both pushing and pulling the PP stream. The site is fliptofill.com, no hyphens. The form goes straight to his email. Brands can also reach him at info@fliptofill.com or on LinkedIn. Instagram is Flip to Fill Scoop. They recorded on October 5. The injection mold was being built, with real scoops for brands in November. * 00:00 Welcome, Adam Peek, People of Packaging * 01:01 Rao Murukurthy joins * 02:13 How they met on Clubhouse in 2020 * 03:42 Mold maker, GNC bottles, Denver Custom Packaging, CU Boulder * 05:42 How Flip to Fill works * 06:15 Hands in the jar, and why that undoes the filling work * 09:52 Utility patent, not a design patent * 10:23 Nesting, case count, and automation on the line * 12:08 One in every jar, or an add-on for DTC * 14:28 89, 110, and 120 millimeter, modular molds, brand logo insert * 17:15 EPR, fist-size rule, post-consumer recycled PP * 20:30 fliptofill.com and how brands reach out * 24:04 Mold in November, where to follow Guest: Rao Murukurthy, Flip to Fill, fliptofill.com. Host: Adam Peek, People of Packaging. (00:00) Welcome to People of Packaging (01:01) Rao Murukurthy joins (02:13) How they met on Clubhouse (03:42) From mold maker to Flip to Fill (05:42) How the scoop works (06:15) Hands in the jar (09:52) A utility patent, not a design patent (10:23) Nesting and the filling line (12:08) In every jar, or as an add-on (14:28) Sizes, modular molds, brand logo (17:15) EPR and designed for recyclability (20:30) fliptofill.com (24:04) Mold in November, where to follow This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit encase.substack.com

See All Episodes