By Business & Finance 
In our Ones to Watch section, we highlight some of the top movers and shakers in Ireland. This week we feature Gigliotti.Co.
What is it?
Gigliotti.Co is developing an exciting hi-tech solution to the loss-making hotel minibar concept. SmartDrinx is an interactive, maintenance-free IoT (Internet of Things) beverage system and automated in-room profit centre designed specifically for the hospitality sector. It eliminates daily cleaning and rechecking, reduces restocking to monthly intervals and increases customer engagement and experience. Its primary market is Dubai and the Middle East, having secured a high-value distribution deal in Dubai. SmartDrinx can be adapted to fit into any hotel room theme, while smart stock and sales monitoring systems increase efficiency and reduce staff workload. Hotel managers are calling it a ‘must-have no-brainer’ – Gigliotti likes to call it a paradigm shift in hospitality IoT innovation.
Who’s behind it?
Charles Seadon is Co-founder, Chairman and inventor of the SmartDrinx concept and is founder of three previous start-ups including Direct Healthcare International. Charles has an engineering and design background and now specialises in cloud technologies and virtualisation. Fiona Levie, Co-founder and CEO, is a published author in the field of project governance with a background in sales and marketing and project management in both global corporations and Irish and Spanish SMEs.
How is it funded?
Gigliotti is incubated by Faster Capital in Dubai with match funding available of up to $400,000 plus $150,000 of technical development. Gigliotti is currently seeking $300,000 in seed funding to complete development of the software and hardware prototype and commence trials in hotels.
Future plans?
Trials will take place in 2018 in Fota Island Resort; The Kingsley Hotel, Cork; and the Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Dubai. The company plans to open a head office in Limerick and launch SmartDrinx at the Dubai Hotel Show in 2018. Once established in Dubai they will expand throughout the Middle East and Asia luxury hospitality markets.
Business & Finance, Ones to Watch
Business & Finance, in association with Comtrade Digital Services, recognises Ireland’s most dynamic emerging businesses in ‘Ones to Watch’.
Ireland is alive with a vibrant start-up scene and the entrepreneurs featured are shaping the country’s economic landscape.
