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Boveda (company)

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Boveda Inc.
Company typePrivately held company
IndustryManufacturing
Founded
  • Minnetonka, Minnesota, United States
  • (July 1, 1997 (1997-07-01), as Humidipak Inc.; March 2012 (2012-03), re-branded as Boveda Inc.)
Founder
  • Sean Knutsen
  • Timothy Swail
  • Robert Esse
  • Albert Saari
Headquarters
10237 Yellow Circle Drive Minnetonka, Minnesota
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
  • Sean Knutsen (President & CEO)
  • Timothy Swail (Executive Vice President for Marketing)
ProductsBoveda, humidipak, the humidor bag
Websitebovedainc.com

Boveda Inc., formerly known as Humidipak Inc., is a manufacturing company based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, United States. It specializes in humidity control for a multitude of industries and applications. It was founded on July 1, 1997.[1]

The company's technologies are used by cigar companies for shipping and distributing cigars, cigar connoisseurs for storing and aging fine cigars, art museums and collectors for conserving fine art, food manufacturers for extending shelf-life and improving the flavor delivered to consumers, musical instrument manufacturers and musicians for maintaining instruments over a lifetime, to extend the shelf life of cannabis, and by users for many other applications.[2][3][4][5]

History

[edit]
The official logo of Humidipak Inc. from 1997 until it was re-branded as Boveda Inc. in 2012.

The technology behind Humidipak was co-engineered by formulations chemist Albert Saari and by Robert Esse, a packaging expert, in 1996.[6] Saari and Esse both came from General Mills Corporation. The company was then founded on July 1, 1997. The company owns patents related to two-way humidity control for packaging, including multi-purpose Humidipaks that manage moisture, absorb oxygen and control mold.[7][8]

In 2008, Rocky Patel Premium Cigars started to manufacture a custom-printed Humidipak humidity control packet in order to make the cigars properly humidified.[9] Between 2010 and 2014, Ashton Distributors Inc., was the exclusive U.S. distributor of the Humidipak and Boveda brands for the premium cigar market.[10] Boveda now self-distributes.

Humidipak Inc. was re-branded as Boveda Inc. in the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) 2012 convention.[8][11]

Technology

[edit]

Boveda produces small pouches for humidity buffering of an enclosed container. The pouches consist of an aqueous salt solution within a sealed vapor barrier package that can absorb or release water vapor until an equilibrium humidity is reached between the solution and relative humidity of the surrounding air.[12][13]

The air, in turn, serves as the transfer medium to moderate the water content of articles in the container, such as a wooden musical instruments, food, cigars, or cannabis. Water is transferred between the article, the pouch, and the air within the container until an equilibrium condition is reached. The relation between relative humidity of the air in the container and the moisture content of the article is complex, and can be described by a moisture sorption isotherm curve.

The tendency for the solution in a pouch to retain rather than release water vapor is determined by the composition of the salts in solution. A single-salt solution will reliably produce an environment of a known equilibrium humidity. For example, at 20 °C, a saturated solution of table salt in distilled water will produce a relative humidity of approximately 75% within a container. Magnesium chloride will result in an equilibrium humidity of approximately 32%.[14] Such salt solutions are accurate enough to be used to calibrate hygrometers. Other equilibrium humidity levels can be produced through mixtures of salts.

The pouches are made of a material that is permeable to water vapor but not to the solution within, such as flashspun high-density polyethylene fibers ("Tyvek"). To minimize leaks in the event a pouch is damaged, the solution is thickened with an agent such as hydroxyethylcellulose, xanthan gum, or alginate, to produce a hydrocolloid. Ascorbate may be added as an antioxidant.

Composition

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Public safety data sheets for Boveda pouches disclose their composition.

Relative Humidity Composition
32%[15] Magnesium chloride 60–95%
Xanthan gum 0–0.5%
water 15–35%
49%[16] Sodium formate 25–45%
Glycerin 10–25%
Xanthan gum 0–0.5%
water 10–60%
58%[17] Xanthan gum 0–2%
Potassium acetate 4-20%
Potassium citrate 40-70%
water 20–50%
62%[18] Potassium Citrate 50-90%
Xanthan gum 0-2%
water 20-50%
65%[19] Xanthan gum 0.5–1%
Glycerin 10–29%
Sodium chloride 8–13%
Ammonium chloride 13–33%
Citric acid 0.01–0.5%
water 50–67%
69%[20] Xanthan gum 0–2%
Sodium citrate 0–0.5%
Sodium chloride 14–40%
Ammonium chloride 10–35%
Citric acid 0–1%
water 40–70%
72%[21] Xanthan Gum 1–2%
Potassium Chloride 5–24%
Sodium Chloride 20–55%
Citric Acid 0–0.2%
water 10-76%
75%[22] Xanthan gum 1.0–2.0%
Sodium chloride 23–79%
water 20–75%
84%[23] Xanthan gum 0.5–1%
Potassium chloride 25–90%
Potassium sorbate 0.1–0.4%
water 55–85%

Marketing and distribution

[edit]

Numerous companies use the Boveda technology in their product packaging to maintain relative humidity throughout the supply chain. As of 2015, Boveda self-distributes their products for the cigar market in the United States.[10] Internationally, Boveda has numerous distributors in Canada, South America, Southeast Asia & East Asia, Europe and South Africa. D'Addario distributes Boveda's line of Humidipak humidity control products for the music industry.

Market applications

[edit]

The initial market application for Humidipak was engineered for cigars. As of 2014, Boveda is carried in over 2,500 stores globally.[24]

Because 2-way humidity control is engineered to maintain a very specific, predetermined level of relative humidity (+/- 2% RH), the technology is being used to solve moisture-related packaging problems for many different industries and applications.[25]

Some of these new applications are herbal medicine and medical cannabis,[26][27] wooden instruments, pet food, and electronics.

Boveda products are available in many relative humidity (RH) levels ranging from 32% to 83% RH.

Awards

[edit]
Year Organization Awards Category Nominated Results Source
2023 Boisdale Cigar Awards Smoker of the Year Awards 2023 Cigar Accessory of the Year Boveda Won [28]
2022 Business Journal Best Places to Work 2022 Medium company [29]
2022 O'Cannabiz O'Cannabiz Industry Awards Gala 2022 Cannabis Industry Brand of the Year Boveda Inc.'s Boveda Humidity Control Won [30]
2022 Grow Up Best Packaging Equipment Best Packaging Equipment Boveda Won [31]
2021 Business Journal Best Places to Work 2021 Medium company 1st [32]
2021 MG Magazine America's Top Cannabis Employers Top Cannabis Employers Boveda Won [33]
2020 Business Journal Best Places to Work 2020 Small company 16th [34]
2020 Cigar Journal Magazine Cigar Journal Awards Best Cigar Accessory Boveda Inc.'s Boveda Humidity Control Won [35]
2019 Business Journal Best Places to Work 2019 Small company [36]
2019 O'Cannabiz O'Cannabiz Industry Awards Gala 2019 People's Choice - Best Cannabis Accessory Boveda Inc.'s Boveda Humidity Control Won [37]
2019 MG Magazine Top 50 Cannabis Employers of 2019 [38]
2018 MG Magazine Best Companies to Work for in Cannabis [39]
2018 GreenState GreenState Cannabis Awards 2018 Excellence in Products - Accessories Boveda Inc.'s Boveda Humidity Control Won [40]
2017 Cigar Journal Magazine Cigar Journal Awards Best Cigar Accessory Boveda Inc.'s Boveda Humidity Control Won [41]
2015 Cigar Journal Magazine Cigar Journal Awards Best Cigar Accessory Boveda Inc.'s Boveda Humidity Control Won [42]
2012 Cigar Journal Magazine Cigar Journal Awards Best Cigar Accessory Boveda Inc.'s Boveda Humidity Control Won [43]


References

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  1. ^ "Humidipak, Inc". Better Business Bureau. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  2. ^ Robert Steele (2004). Understanding and Measuring the Shelf-Life of Food. Woodhead Publishing. p. 407. ISBN 9781855737327.
  3. ^ Joseph Kerry & Paul Butler (2008). Smart Packaging Technologies for Fast Moving Consumer Goods. John Wiley & Sons. p. 356. ISBN 9780470753682.
  4. ^ Da-Wen Sun (2012). Handbook of Frozen Food Processing and Packaging. CRC Press. p. 917. ISBN 9781439836040.
  5. ^ PIanetWaves (February 11, 2009). "Bob Taylor on Humidipak". YouTube. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  6. ^ Albert L. Saari & Robert L. Esse (June 19, 2007). "Humidity control for long term storage of articles". Google Patents. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  7. ^ "Climate control: Humidipak market extends from musicians to cigar manufacturers". Minneapolis – St. Paul Business Journal. February 29, 2004. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  8. ^ a b "About Boveda". Boveda Inc. Archived from the original on December 23, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  9. ^ David Savona (July 8, 2008). "Rocky Patel Adds Humidipaks". Cigar Aficionado. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  10. ^ a b David Savona (July 13, 2010). "Ashton Takes Over U.S. Distribution of Humidipak". Cigar Aficionado. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  11. ^ "Humidipak Changing Name to Boveda Inc". Cigar Ambassador. March 7, 2012. Archived from the original on February 15, 2013. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  12. ^ US patent 5936178, "Humidity control device" 
  13. ^ US patent 10201612, "Devices and methods for controlling headspace humidity and oxygen levels" 
  14. ^ Wexler, A., Hasegawa, S. (1954), Relative humidity-temperature relationships of some saturated salt solutions in the temperature range 0 degree to 50 degrees C (PDF), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
  15. ^ https://bovedainc.com/wp-content/uploads/manual_uploads/MSDS32.pdf
  16. ^ https://bovedainc.com/wp-content/uploads/manual_uploads/MSDS49.pdf
  17. ^ https://bovedainc.com/wp-content/uploads/manual_uploads/MSDS58.pdf
  18. ^ https://bovedainc.com/wp-content/uploads/manual_uploads/MSDS62.pdf
  19. ^ https://bovedainc.com/wp-content/uploads/manual_uploads/MSDS65.pdf
  20. ^ https://bovedainc.com/wp-content/uploads/manual_uploads/MSDS69.pdf
  21. ^ https://bovedainc.com/wp-content/uploads/manual_uploads/MSDS72.pdf
  22. ^ https://bovedainc.com/wp-content/uploads/manual_uploads/MSDS75.pdf
  23. ^ https://bovedainc.com/wp-content/uploads/manual_uploads/MSDS84.pdf
  24. ^ Jason Schmitz (September 18, 2014). "Boveda Retail Locations". Boveda Inc. Archived from the original on September 29, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  25. ^ Gary Korb (July 9, 2010). "The 411 on Boveda Humidipaks". Cigar Advisor. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  26. ^ 420 Magazine (November 12, 2013). "Boveda Humidipak". 420 magazine. Retrieved September 17, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  27. ^ 420 Times (February 18, 2013). "The Benefits of Curing and Storing Your Cannabis Properly". 420 Times. Archived from the original on January 24, 2015. Retrieved September 17, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  28. ^ "CIGAR SMOKER OF THE YEAR DINNER AND AWARDS 2023". Cigar Journal.
  29. ^ www.bizjournals.com https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2022/08/11/2022-best-places-to-work-boveda-inc.html. Retrieved October 7, 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  30. ^ "Award Winners - O'Cannabiz Toronto 2022". O'Cannabiz.
  31. ^ Expo, Grow Up Conference and (September 14, 2022). "The 3rd Annual Grow Up Awards Announces 2022 Winners". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  32. ^ "Best Places to Work 2021: Boveda Inc". Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal.
  33. ^ Staff (December 1, 2021). "America's Top Cannabis Industry Employers 2021". mg Magazine – Cannabis News & Information. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  34. ^ "Best Places to Work 2020: Boveda Inc". Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal.
  35. ^ "Cigar Journal Awards 2020". Cigar Journal Magazine. September 18, 2020.
  36. ^ "Best Places to Work 2019: Boveda Inc". Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal.
  37. ^ "Award Winners - O'Cannabiz Toronto 2019". O'Cannabiz.
  38. ^ "Top 50 Cannabis Employers of 2019". MG Magazine. December 4, 2019.
  39. ^ "50 Best Companies to Work for in Cannabis". MG Magazine. December 4, 2018.
  40. ^ "GreenState Cannabis Awards 2018". GreenState.
  41. ^ "Cigar Journal Awards 2017". Cigar Journal Magazine. September 22, 2017.
  42. ^ "Cigar Journal Awards 2015". Cigar Journal Magazine. September 19, 2015.
  43. ^ Irene Rittler (August 4, 2012). "Cigar Journal Awards 2012". Cigar Journal Magazine. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved January 20, 2013.

[1] [2]

[edit]
  1. ^ "The 3rd Annual Grow up Awards Announces 2022 Winners" (Press release). September 14, 2022.
  2. ^ "America's Top Cannabis Industry Employers 2021". December 2021.
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