Product Inspirations –
Stainless Bottle (SJ-TG08/10)

Posted on June 10, 2019 by Zojirushi America Corporation

At Zojirushi, we’re all about designing that perfect vacuum insulated bottle, mug or tumbler, whether you’re taking your favorite beverage with you while you’re out or while you’re sitting at home or the office.

Our latest bottle – the Stainless Bottle (SJ-TG08/10) – is one of our most versatile. Its gorgeous sparkling stainless steel finish and sleek black lid and strap make it stylish. It works on the go, whether you’re outdoors, at work or traveling, and it’s packed with a host of features.

Along with the beautiful finish, this Stainless Bottle is made using Zojirushi’s superior vacuum insulation technology. The air between the outer and inner layers of the stainless steel is removed, so heat is blocked from transferring through the layers of steel, greatly minimizing the temperature change of your beverage. We even guarantee our vacuum insulation with a five year warranty on heat retention.

The extra-wide 2-inch opening makes it easy to fill, even with full-sized ice cubes, and the nonstick coated interior ensures that the bottle is simple to clean. Plus, all areas that come into contact with your beverage are BPA-free.

The bottle’s lid is one of our favorite features. The lid doubles as a standalone cup. You can take a hot drink with you, pour a cup when you’re ready, and keep the rest of the beverage fresh and ready to enjoy later. You can even use the lid to share your drink while maintaining hygiene. And the one-touch button on the stopper allows for smooth pouring through the spout. Imagine going to your favorite sporting event, and being able to not only bring your own sencha tea with you, but being able to sip it just like you would at home.

Because we know many of our customers would use the bottle for hot beverages, as well as cold ones, we’ve incorporated smart design features like a stopper gasket to prevent leaks, and a small taper below the opening of the bottle to indicate the maximum fill line. And the adjustable carrying strap makes it even more convenient.

This stainless bottle is made of high-quality 18/8 stainless steel and comes in two sizes – 27 oz. and 34 oz.

Check out this bottle to add to your collection, and as always, let us know how you use your favorite Zojirushi bottle!

Design Explained – Our Superior Vacuum Insulation

Posted on April 8, 2019 by Zojirushi America Corporation

Zojirushi has been in the vacuum insulation business for over 100 years! The company opened its doors in Osaka as the Ichikawa Brothers Trading Company in 1918 manufacturing vacuum liners, and began manufacturing vacuum bottles in 1948. We’ve been designing vacuum insulated products since then!

Vacuum insulation is a specific type of insulation that uses a man-made vacuum between two panels of materials, such as glass or stainless steel, so that the temperature of the fluids or gases on either side of the panels are isolated and don’t affect each other. The concept of a vacuum insulated flask was originally developed in the West in 1892 by James Dewar, a scientist who was interested in cryogenics and in developing supercooled substances like liquid hydrogen. Dewar needed a way to keep the liquid hydrogen cool, so that it wouldn’t evaporate, and came up with a vacuum insulated flask made of two walls of glass. Vacuum insulated glass containers were at the heart of Zojirushi’s technology, until 1981, when we created our TUFFBOY line and patented the process to make vacuum insulated stainless steel containers.

Vacuum insulation has many benefits, which we’ve incorporated into our bottles, mugs, food jars, and lunch jars since the first vacuum bottle. The first benefit is the superior insulation. Vacuum insulation prevents heat loss through conduction. Since the air – which is a conductor – is removed between the inner and outer layers of stainless steel, heat isn’t transferred. In fact, a gap as small as 1 mm for the air can insulate the food or drink inside your container!

If you remember from your school days, there are 2 other ways heat can transfer: radiation and convection. In a Zojirushi bottle, heat transfer is also prevented by insulating against radiant heat transfer. A thin sheet of aluminum or copper is wrapped around the outer surface of the inner layer to help reflect radiant heat.

And finally, heat transfer through convection is blocked by tightly sealing the lids on each of the products. For bottles, mugs, and food jars, the lid itself is equipped with a gasket to seal it onto the container, whereas lunch jars use a foam-insulated inner lid. Each of these three ways keeps food and beverages hot or cold for hours.

Along with managing heat transfer, using vacuum insulation makes all of our products lighter. Many thermal vessels use polystyrene foam or the addition of other materials to insulate, adding weight and bulk. Our vacuum insulation makes our products lighter and more compact.

Our superior vacuum insulation makes it easy to choose your favorite bottle, mug, food jar, or lunch jar. Pick between a non-stick coated or SlickSteel® interior. Choose the right size and capacity. And select your favorite color. Check out our full line up in the Products section, and be sure to comment with any questions you might have.

Product Inspirations – Stainless Mug (SM-TA36/48/60)

Posted on February 11, 2019 by Zojirushi America Corporation

It’s all about customization with our new Stainless Mug (SM-TA36/48/60), the latest in our lineup of vacuum insulated stainless steel mugs and bottles.

We created this mug to be stylish and lightweight, weighing in at 7 ounces for the 12 oz. capacity, 8 ounces for the 16 oz. capacity and 9 ounces for the 20 oz. capacity. The mugs come in Black, White, Pink, Honey Gold, and Stainless, with gorgeous finishing and luster.

The mug comes in an ergonomic, slender shape with an easy-to-clean, double layer nonstick coated interior that enhances the mug’s durability and provides greater protection of the stainless steel against salt-containing beverages like sports drinks. It also features a 1 5/8 inch wide opening that makes it easy to fill and clean, and the rounded lip, made using a special manufacturing process, makes it comfortable to drink directly from the mug.

But the fun is in the lids!

Out of the box, the mug comes with a flip-open lid, and can be supplemented with a low-profile, screw-off lid (SM-S10N), sold separately, depending on your sipping preferences. The screw-off lid covers the rounded lip…simply remove it when you feel like drinking directly from the mug. When you don’t want the screw-off lid, use the flip-open one. You can even mix and match to create your favorite color combination!

The flip-open lid which comes standard with the mug uses a two-step release process. This process helps prevent excess condensation on the stopper from being flung off when the lid opens, and an air vent in the spout allows beverages to flow out smoothly, without gushing or overflowing. It’s great for using when you’re in a car or want to control the flow of liquid from the mug.

The flip-open lid also features an oblong-shaped safety lock, which prevents the lid from accidentally opening. It’s easy to know when the lock is engaged…just listen for the click. The lock makes it safe to carry in a purse, backpack or bag…no worries about the lid opening on its own and spilling your drink!

Both flip-open and screw-off lids are BPA free, cover the sipping area to maintain cleanliness, and can be easily disassembled for convenience and thorough cleaning.

As with other Zojirushi bottles and mugs, this mug is constructed with durable and high-quality 18/8 stainless steel, and uses Zojirushi’s superior vacuum insulation technology. By removing the air between the outer and inner layers of the stainless steel, heat is blocked from transferring through it, greatly minimizing the temperature change of your beverage. Your drink stays hot or cold for hours.

The Stainless Mug (SM-TA36/48/60) is so versatile that you can carry everything from water to Iced Black Tea to a lovely and warm Spiced Rooibos Tea. No matter what you drink from this bottle, it’s sure to be a great addition to your own lineup at home!

Find out more about this mug on our website and definitely check out our beautiful product video!

Design Explained – Our SlickSteel® Interiors and Nonstick Coatings

Posted on February 4, 2019 by Zojirushi America Corporation

Which is better? Nonstick coated or not coated?

At Zojirushi, we know they’re both great!

This month we’re excited to share the design and engineering behind our nonstick and SlickSteel® bottle, mug, and food jar interiors. Both interiors are easy to clean. Both interiors have been proven durable. And both interiors are hygienic and repel stains. So why have two types of interior finishes?

Well, as usual, we believe in customer-centric design, and offer our products in both nonstick and SlickSteel® finishes to satisfy your requests.

As cleanability is important to our customers, many Zojirushi products are nonstick coated. Our nonstick coating is made using PTFE, or polytetrafluoroethylene, a polymer that is applied in a two-step process with a primer and a topcoat. It is nonreactive, inert, ultra-smooth, hydrophobic, and resistant to abrasions, corrosion, and heat. It’s ideal for use in containers that hold food or beverages, since it doesn’t stain or absorb odors. In Japan, our nonstick interior mugs are highly prized for their durability and cleanability, since they are primarily used for holding coffee and tea, which tend to leave odors and stains. Some of our newer bottles, such as the Stainless Mug SM-TA and Stainless Bottle SJ-JS, even utilize double-layer nonstick coating, to provide additional protection against salt-containing beverages such as sports drinks, as materials like salt will corrode stainless steel.

The SlickSteel® interior finish was introduced for our customers who prefer to avoid PTFE nonstick. We’ve electro-polished the interior, resulting in a surface that resists corrosion and repels stains without the use of nonstick coating. Electropolishing works using the principal of electrolysis, whereby the stainless steel is immersed in an ionized, electrolytic solution which is subjected to an electrical current. The reaction that results from the charged solution removes the microscopic peaks and fills the microscopic valleys in the stainless steel, creating an ultra-smooth surface made without any mechanical smoothing, grinding, or buffing.

Because eating out of Food Jars would require a utensil to be used, we use our SlickSteel® interior in all of them so that the nonstick coating is not scratched. Some of the other products with SlickSteel® interior are the Stainless Bottle SV-GWE50, our Stainless Mugs in models SM-JHE, SM-KHE, SM-SHE and our Travel Mug SM-YAE48. Both of our Stainless Tumblers in models SM-DA and SM-DD are SlickSteel® finished.

No matter what your preference is, both of our interior finishes showcase the same smart design and expert engineering you’ve come to expect from Zojirushi. Feel free to call our friendly customer service with any additional questions and of course, to help you select your next mug, bottle, or food jar!

The Voices of Zojirushi – Andrew!

Posted on December 3, 2018 by Zojirushi America Corporation

It’s December and our final Voices of Zojirushi post. We hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know our employees this year and sharing in our centennial anniversary!

Andrew, one of our Sales Executives, shares his inspirations and hopes for Zojirushi as we go into the new year. Andrew was born in Japan and raised in the United States, enjoying both Japanese and American cultures, food and lifestyles. He began his career working in a Japanese restaurant, and through his exposure to Asian foods vendors, began to work in sales.

Andrew, you have such an interesting background. Tell us a bit about your career at Zojirushi.

I had always had an interest in sales. I wanted to sell products I had confidence in—and, now I do, because I work for Zojirushi, selling the finest quality small appliances in the industry. Zojirushi prides itself on bringing only the highest quality products to market. They also keep keen focus on what the consumer is looking for—for example, the new Stainless Mug (SM-TA36/48/60) has a smooth, rounded finish on the opening of the bottle so that it is more comfortable to drink out of and clean. It may be a small thing, but that’s the type of small detail that consumers really appreciate. I like being a part of that.

The Stainless Mug’s smooth and rounded bottle opening

Zojirushi has always cared about their customers, and our corporate slogan “Inspirations from Everyday Life”, reflects that. How do you see everyday inspirations in Zojirushi products?

Every new product we develop is inspired for everyday use. When a new rice cooker comes out there is always something new that was not on the previous model. For example, when the NS-LAC05 (3 cup capacity) was discontinued it was replaced by two models, the NS-LHC05 and the NS-LGC05. Although nearly identical in appearance and function, the NS-LHC05 and the NS-LGC05 have different settings, adapted to the different preferences of consumers. The NS-LHC05 has special porridge setting for making rice porridge and a jasmine rice setting geared towards some Asian consumers, while the NS-LGC05 has a steel cut oatmeal and long grain white rice setting created to capture the general market consumer. Paying attention to the needs of different types of customers is what keeps Zojirushi on top.

Our corporate philosophy is “Creating a Quality of Life” for our customers. How do you believe your job at Zojirushi supports our customers?

We recently started a new project as a company, with a focus on incentive and corporate gifts, since a lot of companies like to give their employees or customers a gift with their company logo on it. Putting company logos on mugs and bottles is nothing new to the industry, but usually the bottles are cheap. Our product, on the other hand, is double or sometimes triple that dollar amount; but, with more customer awareness of the high quality of our brand, more inquiries are coming in—from small establishments like coffee shops, to big corporations like Google and Facebook. I am happy to see that more customers prefer quality over price.

The Gourmet Sizzler® Electric Griddle (EA-BDC10)

Since you sell so many products for Zojirushi, you must have your own favorite! What do you like cooking?

I have fond memories of visiting Japan every summer as a kid. I think that it was there I first tried monjayaki, a traditional Japanese meal or snack that is cooked on a hot plate. Since then I have missed eating monjayaki but I’ve been able to enjoy it again thanks to the use of our Gourmet Sizzler® Electric Griddle (EA-BDC10). And my wife made Paella using our griddle. She used fresh clams, shrimp and mussels, as well as chicken and sausage—it turned our great, and was very easy to make!

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We’re grateful to Andrew for sharing his thoughts with us and wish you all a very happy holiday season!