Written on: July 1, 2026 by Patrick Heskins
In the April 2026 edition of the BAMA Bulletin, I took the opportunity to share some innovative ideas that university students brought to BAMA back in 2005. For presentation at the BAMA Innovation Day this year, we invited a group of students from Leeds Beckett Business School to consider the task to “explore the innovation landscape of the aerosol sector to identify, justify and propose an innovative idea to enhance competitiveness, resilience and sustainability.”
Modular Aerosol Architecture
We ended up with five fantastic presentations from six students. Aneesh Babu and Himanshu Nikam started us off with a discussion on Modular Aerosol Architecture, which they called CRRH. Their plan was to produce new components that would fit onto existing aerosol containers, but utilizing a reusable spray head, a lock system to attach the spray head to the container and a reusable barrier chamber that contains the product. The concept shifted aerosols from a linear “make, use, dispose” model to one in which companies inspect and refurbish components rather than making new ones each time.
SprayLink, a “Forever Can” & ZPAA
Olamide Dairo had a similar refillable concept, but with Project Aura—a “Forever Can” refilled with pods of product via a docking station. He then took this concept further, suggesting that companies could develop subscription models to increase revenue and reduce investment costs for both manufacturers and consumers.
The third presentation was from Senyo Agbleze, who challenged the aerosol industry to develop Zero Pressure Aerosol Architecture (ZPAA). This was also built around a refill model, but used a mechanical atomization system to create the spray. His concept was designed to be used across different categories, including traditional areas CRRH Modular Aerosol Architecture Project Aura where the aerosol has many advantages, such as shaving preparations and medical and pharmaceutical devices.
Thi Hong Nhung Le then took the audience through the idea for a mechanical system called SprayLink, which had a reusable “dry” engine to create the spray, alongside a “wet-energy pod” that contained the product and provided the energy for Zero Pressure Aerosol Architecture the system.
New tech for a closed loop approach
Our final presentation was by Vedang Sen, who examined how we might create a closed-loop approach to recover the aerosol package. This involved using QR codes and blockchain technology to track products through the manufacturing, use and recovery processes before they are reused or remanufactured into new aerosol dispensers.
Winners
Having heard the “elevator pitch” from each of the students, the audience was invited to vote for a winner.
In third place was Vedang Sen, for his closed-loop aerosol packaging system, taking home an iPad mini. Second was Thi Hong Nhung Le, for SprayLink, who won an iPad. The very deserving winner was Senyo Ableze for his ZPAA concept; he left the conference with a MacBook Neo. All of the presentations can be found on the BAMA website by navigating to the Innovation Day page.
All of the attendees were mightily impressed by the quality of the work the students produced and their confidence as they stood up in front of an audience of 180 people to make their pitch. We at BAMA would like to thank all the students who took part, as well as Adekunle Oke, Dr. David Chikwere and Olga Munroe of Leeds Beckett University for helping to make this happen. SPRAY
