London, UK. April 18, 2013 – HAPILABS, a company whose mission is “to help people take control of their HAPIness, health and fitness through applications and mobile connected devices“, has begun to raise funds for the manufacturing and distribution of HAPIfork, the world’s first connected fork.
HAPIfork aims to transform people’s relationship with food by monitoring via an iPhone app how fast the user is eating. The app then helps them to slow down. The HAPIfork was the recipient of the CES Innovations Award, Health & Wellness category at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in the US.
The aim is to raise the necessary investment through ‘Crowdfunding’, in which individual backers each pledge a mimimum of US$1.00 in the HAPIfork’s development. The project will only be funded if at least $100,000 is pledged by Saturday June 1, 8:59am EDT. (For more information on the project’s crowdfunding go to: http://hapilabs.com/kickstarter). At the time of writing there were 362 backers.
“While our product is still a prototype, we’re thrilled by the global response so far,” says Fabrice Boutain, HAPILABS founder. “We believe this is affirmation of the growing consumer health awareness movement to gain better control of issues impacting weight and digestive issues, as well as more serious issues such as diabetes and other chronic conditions.”
Kickstarter rewards are given at various funding levels, so the HAPIfork will be offered as a perk for up to 2,500 people investing US$89, and at the $99 level for anyone else who would like to be in the first commercial batch. In addition, the opportunity is offered at the $300 level to be part of the beta testing programme, with investors receiving the HAPIfork at the earliest date for availability.
HAPIfork was designed by French entrepreneur and inventor, Jacques Lépine whose idea was based on research which shows that by eating slower, people can improve the way they feel, improve their digestion and lose weight. HAPIfork aims to modify eating behaviour by slowing down how fast people eat and being more focused on when to eat and how long it takes, leading to an overall healthier state of being and living.
The lime green, blue or pink HAPIfork is said to be “inconspicuous and appropriate for out of home use, unlike other health related tools.” The Bluetooth-enabled smart fork also collects information for future analysis or monitoring in clinical settings. All data is transmitted to a “personalised online dashboard” when the HAPIfork is connected to the user’s computer or mobile device. This makes it easy to monitor eating habits and see health improvement at home or on the road.
HAPIfork will be released in three colours (blue, green and pink) and will ship to Kickstarter funders before the general public. HAPIfork comes with a colour-coordinated case, to make it easy to carry. The product will go on sale to the public in the US and Europe in the fourth quarter of this year.
The company behind this, HAPILABS, aims to help individuals in the 21st century take control of their “HAPIness”, health and fitness through applications and mobile connected devices. HAPIfork is part of a suite of devices, applications and services from HAPILABS aimed at improving overall health, well-being and happiness. Other products in development include the HAPIwatch, designed to help people sleep better and the HAPItrack enabling users to stay in great shape.
