When it comes to yoghurt lids there are typically three types of people: the “licker,” the “spooner” who scrapes the remaining yoghurt back into the pot, and the “waster” who throws it away. But a new kind of lid will unite these groups.

    Called Toyal Lotus, the technology is inspired by the water-repellent* nature of a lotus leaf and uses microscopic* bumps* to stop liquids from sticking.

    Yoghurts in Japan’s Morinaga Milk Industry can be opened and the lids peeled off without any liquid left on the surface.

    In 1977, German botanist Wilhelm Barthlott studied the surface of a lotus leaf under a microscope. He discovered that instead of having a smooth, waxy surface, the leaf was covered in microscopic bumps.

    These bumps increase the contact angle at which droplets touch the surface, which in turn force the droplets to form into spheres.

    These spheres can’t fit in between the bumps and consequently* roll off the surface. On a lotus leaf this contact angle is typically 150 degrees, and the higher the angle the higher this level of repellency.

    This is known as the “lotus effect” and has inspired a range of water-repellent materials.

    The Toyal Lotus lid’s surface is based on this principle and creates a contact angle of 170 degrees. It aluminium* surface is modified using a water-repellent material that is compliant with various food and hygiene* standards.(SD-Agencies)