FAU team develops tongue scraper made of maple wood
The happy winners of 900 euros in prize money: Ben Försch, Paul Lein, Hannes Retter. With their startup “MapleScrape” and their concept for a tongue scraper made of maple wood, the three FAU students impressed the jury of the 5 Euro Business competition. In competition against seven teams, they won second place and the Sustainability Award.
They are all in their 3rd semester of studying Industrial Engineering and Management. How did the subjects taught in your degree so far help you in the 5 Euro Business competition?
During our degree, we have covered economic and technical subjects. This combination was crucial for being so successful in implementing the idea we had for a tongue scraper. Modules such as Business administration for engineers and Marketing had already given us a basic grasp of topics such as price policies, sales channels and corporate management. Modules on the Foundations of product development or Engineering drawing were also helpful. In general, we can recommend Industrial Engineering and Management to anyone who would like to acquire important skills for becoming self-employed.
The 5 Euro Business competition focuses on creativity, entrepreneurship and innovative concepts. What was the initial thought behind your ecological tongue scraper made of maple wood?
We have all already used tongue scrapers made of plastic. However, they have huge disadvantages, for instance the ingestion of microplastics and their poor ecological footprint. We were also unhappy with the awkward loop design. As an answer to these problems, we had the idea of designing a tongue scraper made of maple wood – without microplastics, ergonomic and sustainable.
What we found most difficult was developing our idea further, and we would like to encourage everyone to not give up in a hurry if you don’t succeed straightaway.
How did you work as a team?
Ben Försch is responsible for research, development and accounting. He was also responsible for modeling using CAD. In his role as managing director, Paul Lein maintains relationships with manufacturers and suppliers, as well as taking care of everything to do with purchasing and processing. Hannes Retter is responsible for marketing and communications. He also designed our brand image and launched an online shop.
Your team also won the Sustainability Award in the 5 Euro Business competition. One of the aspects the jury praised was your consistent use of local materials. Apart from that, what are the defining features of your MapleScrape?
MapleScrape is a regional product produced in cooperation with our production partner, Kurt Hüttinger GmbH & Co. KG from Schwaig. One key feature is that MapleScrape is free from microplastics, providing a healthier alternative to traditional tongue scrapers. In spite of these requirements, we focused particularly on not making any concessions in view of quality and design. In addition, we also arranged to have one tree planted for each tongue scraper sold.
What are your plans for the future?
At the moment, we are drawing up a concept for selling MapleScrape on the traditional retail market, not just via e-commerce. Our focus is on optimizing the design and developing an economically viable manufacturing process. That apart, we are also exploring our options for how to position ourselves on the market in the future.
Contact:
Christoph Heynen
S-OUTREACH – Outreach Support / Working Group Knowledge and Technology Transfer (Contract Research)
christoph.heynen@fau.de