Under the original concept, ZitA was created as a new product with a brand new function and design suitable for people who make time for family and friends. Before launching, an extensive trial and error process was conducted. CEO Shigetomi talks about the story.

I was exploring the market to make a brand new product, and learned about “automatic trash cans" then. I didn't think much about it, but once I did I realized no one really wants to open and close trash cans manually. Also, it can reduce the labor in daily life as a robot cleaner does, which is already popular.

So I bought it, but I was disappointed by trying to avoid accidentally opening it when I came close, the shortage of battery life and the frame being easily broken.

After that I got an idea for opening and closing the lid from the largest company of automatic trash cans in China. It had already been applied to a prototype but not yet to a commercial product, so it didn't really get much attention (they said). I got interested when I heard that.

I was surprised by the stress-free usability and the seamless ease of use. It was like being treated by an excellent concierge. Well, maybe that’s a bit exaggerated (lol). But to my surprise, indescribably, I became attached to it. Then, I strongly felt, "this is it."

"The design for a brand new product" and "usability as a trash can" were what I insisted on during the development.

For example, among the people who are going to buy houses (despite the majority of buying ready-built houses) there are people who insist on every detail such as focusing on the subtle height difference of 0.78 inches (2cm) or such. So I wanted them to feel "it fits my ideal house" and / or "I want to use it in my house" with ZitA.

I was thinking what it would be like to have a trash can with style and which doesn't look like a trash can, and also has a stylish design like part of the interior. After deep consideration, I adopted a cylindrical design made of stainless steel, which suits an office environment. I was investigating the size, power source, etc. to compare with existing trash cans and automatic trash cans to pursue. By the time I noticed, it had already been 7 months since I had started.

Although it was successfully managed to the release stage, we still thought of how to make this minor idea of automatic trash cans popular and get people to buy them. Since we wanted to emphasize it as the product which makes a better daily life rather than just a “trash can”, we strongly focused on "how to relay" its features (to the general public). First, we started crowdfunding with the phrase "Trash cans evolve once again" as a sales copy. The goal was 9,160USD (1,000,000JPY), but in the end we raised 63,477USD (6,930,000JPY) by 525 people. We had confidence, but actually we were relieved. In the meantime we also started normal sales, and it went well too, and we realized that the appeal was spreading steadily.

Soon after, we received reviews such as "ZitA is now part of my family" from the users. That was the moment that I knew that what I felt when I used it for the first time was successfully recognized.