Moises Dominguez Jacome
Efraín Cortés Barrientos
Jesús Alejandro Gonzalez Suarez
Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla
Crishelen Kurezyn Díaz
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La Estufita - Glatt Stove is a Mexican B Corp committed to the environment and health of Mexicans. La Estufita (little stove) can be used anywhere and uses liquid natural gas which makes it possible to cook in a different way and in any place, eliminating the risk of smoke inhalation from cooking with wood which is extremely harmful to health.
Innovation is a process in which a person or an organization is faced with the need to implement a new business model, technology or way of working or some other process that implies a change.
Glatt Stove has innovated in the way of cooking. This innovation is born from the implementation of a new technology using liquid natural gas. This was discovered when Carlos Glatt, Glatt Stove CEO, developed another project and found this new way of converting gas into liquid, which makes it possible to transport it anywhere. From that moment, Carlos had the idea of manufacturing a new product that was capable of being compatible with this new technology. After several tests and processes "La Estufita" was born , which its creator defines as "A real stove, the most efficient, ecological and economical stove in the world, being the best way to cook".
In Mexico, the use of wood for cooking can lead to COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), which is the third cause of death in Mexico, taking the lives of more than 21,000 Mexicans a year. In addition, it is estimated that this will be one of the leading causes of death in the world by the year 2030 (WHO, 2017) if something is not done about it. In the following link you can consult the information corresponding to this disease: https://www.copdfoundation.org/What-is-COPD/Understanding-COPD/What-is-COPD.aspx. Many people in Mexico cook with wood because it is a low cost option.
However, the goal of La Estufita is to change this way of cooking in Mexico and around the world, proposing a healthier and more efficient way while promoting the health and well-being of users. In the words of Carlos, "Although it is difficult to change this situation, the process has already begun, providing access to the stove around the country that make it easier for people to acquire it, in addition to its very accessible price", for example, the Estufita costs $200 pesos ($10 USD) and the liter of natural gas costs $20 pesos ($1 USD) unlike other methods used for cooking that can cost between $1,000 ($50 USD ) and $5,000 pesos ($250 USD).
These prices are very affordable and very accessible and allow people with low income to acquire it. The founder of the company, Carlos Glatt, commented that "his company has agreements with different companies / foundations to deliver Estufitas to people in order to end the cutting of trees", which contributes to the preservation of terrestrial ecosystems.
As such, the sale of the Estufita represents profits for the company, but the most important thing for Carlos is that "people become aware and change their way of cooking to prevent diseases and health problems".
Although La Estufita is patented, you can innovate in other technologies that help people like Carlos Glatt is doing through this product. "The more companies help combat the problems that society is having, the faster we can advance as human beings and achieve the well-being that we all want," says Carlos.
Glatt Stove is a Mexican B Corp and its innovation has been awarded with several prizes and recognitions. It has excelled in media such as Forbes Mexico, Wired, Reforma, CNN Expansión, Excelsior, Entrepreneur, El Financiero, Imagen, Radio Image, Disruptive TV, MVS News and SME Universe and has won awards such as "Designed in Mexico", "Bid16", "Worldsafe" "Pitch @ palace Global", "Pitch @ palace LATAM", "The Venture" and "Carousel Image".
According to Carlos, "Glatt Stove is on the right track and will continue to grow with the passage of time", and could even innovate in other areas and generate a greater impact.
The inspiration of Carlos Glatt arose from his work in a previous company, which did not make him feel completely "full", as he says, since he wanted to "have a greater impact with what he did". It all came about when he saw a 14-year-old girl with a terminal illness caused by the inhalation of wood smoke in a community in Guerrero, a situation that deeply shocked him.
Thanks to a year of effort, trial and error, he developed this new technology and generated his patents. A year later, he introduced the product and began to receive good acceptance.
A "Lover of innovation", as he refers to himself, he proposed to create a new product with an innovation that did not exist in a social and international market, having a great impact on the health of people and their environment. Carlos says, "this is not easy, but I like challenges, even if they seem impossible".
Carlos was inspired by the percentage of people who die yearly because of cooking with wood inside houses; 3 billion people cook like this in the world (WHO, 2017). With his innovation he wants this percentage to decrease dramatically.
A third part of the planet cooks with wood, which is not healthy and pollutes the environment. For him, "in a country like Mexico, this type of situation would not have to happen", he believes that "with this innovation many people would be saved and the destruction of trees would be reduced, which are the ones that produce the oxygen without which we could not live. "
Carlos's dream is that his product, La Estufita, with the help of donations to its foundations, reaches every corner of the planet, especially families that cannot afford to have a conventional stove and continue to cook with wood or charcoal, he hopes that "the people with limited resources have their "estufita" (little stove) and help themselves as well as the environment".
The Estufita has great benefits in different dimensions, among which the following stand out:
It's portable: It weighs only 1.33 kg. and it fits in a backpack, as Carlos says, "you can take it anywhere and cook wherever you want".
It's easy to use: It turns on and off in seconds. Carlos shares that in order for it to work "you only have to empty the fuel in the stove, introduce a lit match through one of the holes and that's it!"
It is functional and efficient: You can cook almost any food at a temperature of 320 ° C (same as in a conventional stove that uses LP gas).
It serves different needs: It is a product that can extend its use to different markets. According to Carlos, he serves "people who cook with firewood (or some other type of biomass), construction workers, people who have restricted or limited access to LP gas, banquettes, and campers, among others."
It is economic: efficient and competitive product in the market considering cost-benefit.
Its impact is international: Product of exponential reach, since it can be produced in high volumes and used anywhere in the world.
So far, Carlos Glatt and his team have generated 45 million pesos (2.5 million USD) from different sources to carry out their idea and have sold close to 10,000 Estufitas in the country. According to Carlos, "these profits are reinvested in the business, which allows the production of Estufitas to increase and thus supply communities affected by various natural disasters" as in the case of the recent earthquakes experienced in September 2017 in Mexico where La Estufita had a significant contribution.
In addition, the profits obtained from the sale of the product have contributed to the benefit of several communities. Thanks to these profits, "it has been possible to finance 90% of the total cost of La Estufita", so that those communities, who are unable to afford the expenses involved in having a conventional stove and its complements, have had the opportunity to acquire the stove and enjoy its multiple benefits.
La Estufita, being "the easiest and simplest stove" in the world, can prevent the third cause of death and "saying goodbye to firewood," says its creator Carlos Glatt. It began to be manufactured with the technology of the cans since they are the quickest and easiest way to transform the sheets at the lowest cost, which makes them more accessible, efficient and ecological. It works with a fuel called methanol, "that pressurized gas that we all have in large iron tanks, difficult to transport and reach people in rural areas." But this way, the gas is handled in a liquid state, according to Carlos "making it easy to transport and use". Once the fuel is poured into La Estufita, it converts the liquid into gas, and ignited generates powerful blue flames ideal for cooking.
The fuel is actually cheap because the liter has a value of around $20 pesos (1 USD), with an alliance between small and large grocery stores, this fuel is sent to you, since in each corner of Mexico we have at least one "little store" . Everyone can continue using it without the necessity of wood that generates smoke and causes these diseases.
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Carlos Glatt, Chief Executive Officer
Glatt Stove- La Estufita is not only a Mexican company that came to revolutionize the way of cooking, it is a company that improves the health of our compatriots, those we often forget, people who often do not have the resources to cook in a different way, from all those who end up with diseases such as cancer or COPD and do not have enough to pay for adequate treatment. La Estufita not only has our compatriots present, it did not leave behind our mother nature, either.