How Baricade The Fingerprint Locked Water Bottle Came To Life

The idea for Baricade didn’t come from a brainstorming session or a market trend report. It came from personal experience and a growing awareness of a pervasive issue.​

Years ago, I was out with friends, enjoying a night that quickly turned into a nightmare. Someone spiked my drink. Fortunately, my friends noticed the signs and got me to safety before things escalated. That incident left a lasting impression—not just because of what happened to me, but because of how common such stories are.​

Statistics reveal that approximately 8% of college students have reported having their drinks tampered with, and alarmingly, 42% of women have either been spiked or know someone who has. These numbers are more than just data points; they represent real people, real fears, and real violations of trust.​

Recent events have only heightened my concern. In Laos, a tragic incident claimed the lives of several tourists, including two Australian teenagers, after they consumed methanol-laced cocktails. Closer to home, a Wisconsin woman was found guilty of killing her friend by spiking her water bottle with eye drops. These stories are harrowing reminders of the dangers that can lurk in seemingly safe environments.​

The advice is always the same: Hold onto your drink. Watch it like a hawk. Never let it out of your sight. But why is the burden always on us? Why do we have to be the ones constantly worrying?​

That’s when it hit me—what if there was a way to take back some control? What if you didn’t have to stay hyper-vigilant, not because the world suddenly became safer overnight, but because you had a simple tool that made a real difference?​

I wanted to create a bottle that wasn’t just reusable or aesthetically pleasing but one that actually protected its owner. A bottle that locked—not just to keep drinks cold, but to keep them safe. A bottle that gives people, especially women, an extra layer of security in a world that doesn’t always feel as safe as it should.​

The goal was simple: give people peace of mind. Whether you’re at a gym, in a classroom, at a festival, or even just at work, you should never have to second-guess what’s in your bottle.​

I know this won’t solve everything. The real problem isn’t open bottles—it’s the people who take advantage of them. But while we wait for the world to change, we deserve ways to protect ourselves right now.​

So, I created this bottle. Because safety shouldn’t be a privilege. It should be a given.