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About Us
Finding Inspiration in Every Turn
At Heatstream Solutions, our team is creating the food and beverage packaging of the future through self-heating technologies. We strive to make packaging with a purpose, capable of saving time and delivering sustained heat for long durations. We have developed the fastest pre-made self-heating coffee product ever, reaching full temperature at around 120 seconds. We want to bring consumers packaging that eliminates the need for any external equipment to prepare hot food or beverages, for example, coffee makers & microwaves. Since our founding in early 2024, we have developed 3 fully functional products and plan to continue to expand the product line.
Our Story
In late October 2023, at around 4:30 a.m. Thomas Lester was driving back from visiting his grandparents when he desperately needed a cup of coffee but didn’t have the time or supplies to make one. That’s when the idea struck Thomas: "I wished I could buy a self-heating, ready-to-drink coffee beverage for times when I’m traveling or in a rush. To my surprise, no such product existed on the market."
Once Thomas realized this concept hadn’t been successfully developed at a commercial scale, he decided to take a shot at creating it himself. By November, he had built a semi-functional prototype—though it came with plenty of problems. Even with an early-stage product, Thomas decided to enter Tiger Cage, a business competition at Auburn University. He knew he was behind most of the competitors, but with each round, the product improved significantly, and he made incredible progress. By the end of the competition, Thomas had reached a 12th prototype iteration, secured two patents pending, and won over $40,000 in prize money.
After Tiger Cage, he jumped right back into refining the product, but major barriers to commercialization remained—chief among them, building a strong team. After extensive searching, he brought on two seasoned entrepreneurs, Scott McGlon and Dan Leonardi, who have been instrumental in accelerating our path to market.
Our most recent breakthrough is a partnership with QPSI and THEM of New Jersey, a leading co-packer and manufacturer. They are now assisting us with R&D, limited production, and supply chain setup for our self-heating coffee product. Over the coming months, we plan to execute a limited production run overseas and begin pitching to several major coffee producers with the goal of securing a licensing deal.
Meet The Team
Thomas is currently a student in his senior year at Auburn University, studying Industrial & Systems Engineering. He is pursuing a minor in Business Engineering Technology as well as being a Thomas Walter Center for Technology Fellow. He is a member of the New Venture Accelerator at Auburn where the business is headquartered out of. Thomas’s contributions to the business have been predominantly having invented 3 products for the business, writing 4 patent applications, and assembling a team to run the business.
Let's Connect
We’d love to hear from you. Whether you’re interested in purchasing some of our products, are interested in partnering or just want to learn more about our journey, reach out to us through our Contact Us page.