Cavemen had fire. The Wright brothers had their aeroplane. Arthur Fry had his post-it notes. And Glen Mayer has the Subo food bottle.
While all these inventions were created in different periods and for different purposes, what they all have in common is that they were born out of necessity.
Born of a Filipino mother and a Canadian father, Glen Mayer needed to find a way for his three young children to feed themselves independently without the mess. And for any parent who has ever put a bib on his child and has uttered vulgarities under his breath while picking up that spoon off of the floor (yet again!), this isn’t the easiest feat to overcome.
“We tried the reusable squeeze [food] pouches, and we’d give that to the children," Mr Mayer shares in a distinct Canadian-Australian mixed accent, "[They were] wasteful and they were messy by the time they finished. So we thought, why not come up with a non-squeeze pouch?”
And so they did.
Mr Mayer and his wife Julie-Anne invented a food bottle that relies on suction instead of squeezing. As a child sips on the spout, hot or cold food is pushed up automatically by a platform found inside the bottle. This way, the child is able to control the amount he consumes unlike with typical squeeze bottles and single-use packets.
Subo allows for mess-free independent feeding. Source: Glen Mayer
“[Lugaw] would be perfect for [it],” he muses.
The idea for the bottle sprung from his experience as a father, while its name stemmed from his experience as a son.
“One of my earliest memories was my mum feeding me as a toddler, and she would repeat the word ‘subo’ [or ‘eat’]. She would just repeat it over and over.”
Repeating the word ‘subo’ got a young Glen Mayer to eat his food, and it prompted his adult self to invent an innovative food bottle that he and Julie-Anne now sell online, in-store and in baby expos.
Glen Mayer as a toddler, and his mum Source: Glen Mayer
“It’s fantastic,” he laughs, “Every time we do an expo…I can see people sort of walk by and they look like they may have Filipino heritage. They look at the sign…I see them mouthing the word ‘subo’ and looking at me and making the connection.”
And when it comes to making connections, one major and immediate connection the Mayers made was with successful tech entrepreneur and Shark Steve Baxter.
The Mayers were huge fans of the television show Shark Tank, but had apprehensions when it came to public speaking. However, because Mr Baxter was quick to put in a bid, they immediately felt at ease. Much to the surprise of the other Sharks, the usually-gruff-and-stern Mr Baxter enthusiastically agreed to invest $120,000 for a 12% stake in their company.
Two days after filming the episode, Mr Baxter called the couple up and has since been there to help them network and grow their business.
Glen and Julie-Anne Mayer on Shark Tank Source: Glen Mayer
“His daughters use the product. So whenever they’re in Steve’s office, they always have a Subo in hand,” Mr Mayer shares.
While Mr Baxter's daughters are avid fans of Subo, Mr Mayer refers to his own children as his "R and D [research and development] team".
He states that theirs is a family business, and like all family businesses, teamwork has always played an important role in their entrepreneurial journey. During the early stages of Subo, Mr Mayer recalls having to go home from a long day at his full-time job only to work on Subo with his wife as their children slept. Their teamwork continues to this day, with Julie-Anne agreeing to work full-time for the family as Mr Mayer directs all his efforts towards Subo.
The Mayer family Source: Glen Mayer
For those who have an idea that they want to make real, Mr Mayer has a straightforward, three-word reply : "Go for it."
After all, like fire, aeroplanes, post-it notes and food bottles, the world might just need it.
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