A German startup sees the glass half full — and unbroken

Nothing kills the vibe of a rowdy “cheers” quite like a crack in your beer stein.

German company Superfest understood the importance of sturdy drinkware, inventing an “unbreakable” drinking glass in the 1980s, per The Guardian.

• Superfest’s glasses were manufactured to last 5x longer than normal cups, but they ended up being 10x stronger.
• The company’s pioneering glass tech replaced sodium ions with charged potassium ions, which create more tension in the glass surface, reinforcing it against cracking.
• Today, Superfest glasses are hard to find and go for ~$38 a piece on eBay and Etsy.

While an unbreakable glass sounds great, Superfest ran up against some obstacles.

Namely, its product worked too well. Broken glasses, it turns out, are really good for business.

Plus, Superfest glasses had a minimalist, sleek design — not the ideal for German drinkers of the time, who might’ve preferred a gilded rim or ornate engraving on their glass.

Ultimately, VEB Sachsenglas Schwepnitz, the company that invented the glass production tech, went under in 1990 and Superfest went bankrupt.

Second sip

Even with those challenges, Superfest’s glasses might’ve been a case of the right idea at the wrong time.

That’s the belief, at least, for Berlin startup Soulbottles, which is innovating on Superfest’s glassmaking tech.

• Soulbottles has raised ~$274k in crowdfunding for its engravable, customizable water bottles.
• The startup is aiming to be more sustainable than its predecessor, using a more easily recycled glass, and hopes to capitalize on the premium today’s consumers place on durability and reusability.

While Soulbottles doesn’t claim to be truly unbreakable, it’s pretty damn strong — prototypes withstood a 6.5-foot drop without smashing.