The Campaign

With the intention to prevent drink spiking we assessed what measures were currently available. In recent years there have been news stories of cups, nail polish and straws that can test for drugs in drinks. However, these never seem to make it beyond a prototype stage. We discovered a drink coaster test was available and after observing that young people are accustomed to wearing wristbands at festivals and other events, we took the innovative step of putting a drink test into a wearable paper wristband. We connected with the creator of the coaster test, Drink Safe Tech in Tallahassee, Florida USA, and came to a manufacturing agreement. The wristband was designed solely for Monash University and manufactured by Drink Safe Tech. Most importantly the ability to test your own drink empowers people with the freedom to manage their own risk as they see fit.

Creative Execution

The wristband is functionally a strip of PH neutral paper that has been treated with chemical reagents in two specific areas. The wearer simply puts a drop of their drink onto two spots on the wristband and in a short amount of time it will react to the presence of one of two drugs used in drink spiking - specifically ketamine and GHB. The Sip Safe wristband was created to fit seamlessly into a youth environment and with a recognisable test design, simply wearing the Sip Safe wristband provides a visual deterrent to any would be drink spiker. The design of the wristband can also incorporate the logos of any brand, nightclub or festival to gain greater traction and uptake in a youth environment. At present a wristband option with 3 sets of test areas is being researched for future implementation.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

The results to date have been nothing short of remarkable. In the space of six months we've launched a product to some of the most vulnerable young people, refined the product, begun an ongoing program around university campuses where more than 6,000 wristbands have been distributed as well as garnered international attention to drive further sales. We have also established connections with venue safety advocates within the bar/club industry. In an important piece of feedback, we conducted a university survey after launching on campuses. The survey showed 89.5% of students now have a greater awareness of drink safety after engaging with Sip Safe. Further survey results showed: 31.6 % knew of people who’ve had their drink spiked 78.9% Could see themselves or their friends using the wristbands. From a commercial viewpoint, the Sip Safe wristband has been registered for trade mark and the website’s had order enquiries from 27 countries.