What’s your daily routine? The alarm goes off, you hit snooze, enjoying those last few quiet minutes that feel more valuable than money. You get up, brush your teeth, have your coffee, head to work, and stop by the store on the way home. Just like last Monday, you grab milk, bread, and eggs. It feels like the same day on repeat - like Groundhog Day. As we get older, we stop asking why things are the way they are. We just go with it, thinking that’s how it’s supposed to be.
And then there are the few - the ones who question everything, stay curious, spot what others overlook, and solve problems most of us ignore. Scientists, inventors, and future-focused designers who are quietly reshaping the world.
Part of the future belongs to food innovation pioneer SOLVEIGA PAKŠTAITĖ. Her invention, BUMP (by Mimica Lab), is a smart label that shows when food is truly fresh. It helps reduce food waste, saving money for both consumers and retailers, and also makes it easier for visually impaired people to check product freshness.
Solveiga’s innovative work has captured the attention of leaders in business, technology, engineering, and sustainability. She has earned several prestigious awards, and was named Inventor of the Year by MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).
We meet Solveiga at Mimica’s office, where she brings out samples to show how her invention works. The smart label uses a gelatin-based indicator that changes texture as food ages. Just touch it - if the surface is smooth, the product is still safe to eat; if it’s bumpy, it’s time to throw it out. The label stays smooth until the food begins to spoil, then changes texture within an hour.
“This label senses everything the food does,” Solveiga explains. “It’s a much more accurate, biological solution than a printed expiry date. Most of the time, we’re unsure if food has really gone bad—we just go by the packaging. We want people to be certain. Nobody wants a ‘maybe’ answer.”
Solveiga studied Industrial Design and Technology at Brunel University, but her career took a surprising turn.
“To make real progress, people from different fields need to work together,” she says. “With this project, I wanted to push boundaries—and I ended up somewhere I never expected. Industrial design is usually about creating physical products, but I found myself working in science. Still, that’s where real innovation happens.”
I’ve seen Bump mark featured in major national newspapers - there’s been a lot of buzz around your invention. When did the Eureka moment happen?
It all started during my six-month internship with The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. My task was to explore the everyday challenges blind people face when using public transport and think about how technology could help. For those six months, it felt like I stepped into their world. I asked all kinds of questions—how they make tea, how they choose clothes.
One question really stood out: How do you know when food expires?
The answer? We don’t.
That struck me deeply. I discovered that many visually impaired people suffer from conditions like obesity and diabetes, often linked to poor nutrition. They tend to avoid fresh food because it spoils quickly, and they can’t see when it goes bad. I knew something had to change.
Braille wasn’t the answer—it’s difficult to learn, and many blind people now use screen readers instead. Plus, most food packaging doesn’t include Braille anyway.
The true Eureka moment came when I saw a brown, speckled banana. Its appearance clearly showed it was past its best. That’s when I thought: Why can’t packaging tell us the same thing?
I began speaking with university professors, and one suggested I experiment with gelatin. At first, I used it in a completely different way. It took a lot of trial and error, time, and support from scientists across different fields before we arrived at what Bump Mark is today—a two-layer label that mimics the condition of the food it’s attached to.
Now, it’s not just a solution for the visually impaired. It’s a tool for everyone—consumers, retailers, the food industry. Especially here in the UK, where food waste is a huge issue. With this invention, I hope to help people make better choices, reduce waste, and make expiry dates truly meaningful.
Did you immediately believe the label would be a breakthrough invention?
At the time, I just thought it was an interesting idea.
When Bump mark was born, you were only 21. Did the scientific community - full of experienced experts - take you seriously?
I remember going to a professor in the design faculty to ask for feedback. He gave me about twenty minutes - just to tell me my idea was completely unrealistic. He said that if he were my supervisor, he’d never allow me to pursue it, because I was a designer, and this was science.
And he wasn’t the only one who said something like that. But thankfully, my dissertation supervisor believed in the idea. He told me it was worth exploring and encouraged me to go for it. After all, it was still a university project. I remember him saying, “This is basically your last chance to mess something up and still get an A. Once you’re working in a company, you won’t get that kind of freedom. So go ahead—make a mess of it.”
So, he encouraged you to try—even if it didn’t work out?
Exactly. That’s what university is for - experimenting and trying new things. He really gave me the push I needed. But even then, it still felt like just a student project.
Then, before I’d even finished the first semester, I won the James Dyson Award for Inventor and Entrepreneur. That came with a £1,000 prize. Out of 120 design projects, only six were selected - and mine was one of them.
Where did the £1,000 go?
Funny enough, I still had the money a year later. After winning the award, people started telling me that nothing like this had ever been done before. That got me thinking about patenting the invention.
Filing the patent only cost £30, but writing it was the hard part. I spent a lot of time researching other patents and trying to write a solid draft that would define the invention clearly - because that’s the document you’d rely on if someone tried to copy your idea. It had to be airtight, legally.
I wrote the first draft myself, which took about a week. It was incredibly boring, but necessary. Then I paid a lawyer for one hour to review and revise it. That hour cost £600. The remaining £400? I spent it on a vacation to Croatia.
You received prestigious James Dyson Award for British inventors and entrepreneurs and also won the esteemed Hawley Award, a major honour in the UK’s science and engineering community.
I was actually doing an internship when I found out I’d won the James Dyson Award. It was just my second week there when I got the call. The very next day, I was meeting with journalists from the UK’s biggest newspapers and giving interviews to BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4. That day, my face and voice were everywhere.
At the time, I was interning at a company researching future retail trends. My colleagues were shocked - one day I was just the intern, and the next, I was on the front pages of major media outlets.
The idea to start my own company came from those press interviews. Journalists kept asking, “So when will we see this in stores?” And that’s when I realized - maybe I needed to make it happen.
Your life must have completely changed.
Those awards really introduced me to the world. Right after I won the James Dyson Award, Coca-Cola was the first company to invite me for a meeting. I was still doing my internship, so I’d sneak out during lunch breaks to talk to Coca-Cola’s team.
I was terrified - more scared than excited, honestly. It’s such a huge company. But soon after, other major retailers started reaching out too - Asda, Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer.
By the time I finished my internship, I didn’t even have a chance to look for a regular job. My schedule was packed with meetings with top executives from the UK’s biggest retail brands. It all happened so quickly.
The interest from major companies must have given you a boost of confidence?
Absolutely. When I was studying, I imagined I’d graduate and get a regular job like everyone else. But the recognition I received made me believe the idea was worth pursuing. It gave me the push to keep going.
Still, it was a bit scary - for me and for my parents. No one in our family runs their own business. Both my mom and dad are academics. They taught computer science at a university in England. We’ve all followed more traditional career paths, so this was something completely new.
You once dreamed of finding a good job and living a quiet life. Now you're the director of your own company. Many people might find that incredible. But it must also be really challenging - after all, no one’s handing you a paycheck at the end of the month. Everything depends on you.
Exactly. I have to earn my own salary - and make sure everyone else gets paid too. It was only after two and a half years of hard work, that I started paying myself a proper salary. Before that, I had to take on freelance jobs just to cover my living expenses. It was incredibly tough.
But honestly, the hardest part of running my own business is the loneliness. Every decision falls on me. My parents can’t really offer advice, since they’re not from the business world. My friends are supportive and curious, but they don’t always know what to say or how to help. Sometimes, I even feel like I don’t have the right to complain.
In business, the highs are really high - but the lows can be crushing. People often only see the success, not the struggle behind it. It might look like I live an exciting life, but I have to work non-stop to keep it going.
There are moments when I feel genuinely scared - especially when I think about the responsibility of paying salaries, not just for myself, but for other people. If something goes wrong, it’s on me.
I’m also not afraid to admit when I don’t know something. On the contrary, I ask for help. I reach out to experts and professionals whenever needed. I’m sure that if I hadn’t, the company wouldn’t have made it this far.
Speaking of your Lithuanian roots, do you feel proud of where you come from?
I’m definitely proud of it. England is such a multicultural country and I am who I am. I do ask friends not to call me Sol - I always correct them and say, “My name is Solveiga.” I’m a bit more forgiving when it comes to my last name. But honestly, I’d feel terrible if I were ashamed of where I come from.
Have you ever faced awkward or uncomfortable questions about your origins?
Not really because I’m Lithuanian - but definitely because I’m a young woman. Sometimes I feel like I spend the first third of a meeting just proving that I belong there, that I have a brain and a right to use it. I’ve had people say things like, “Oh, so you’re actually quite smart, aren’t you?” - which is something I doubt anyone would say to a man my age.
There have even been cases where, after looking at our website and seeing the team, people send emails addressed only to the one man on our team - even though I’m the director.
How do you see the future of Mimica products?
I’d love for our inventions to become the new standard in the food industry. The current expiry date labels have barely changed since the 1970s. I think it’s time we moved forward.
In brief
I love... silly jokes.
I’m terrified of... reaching the end of my life without having made the world a better place.
I don’t like when... people board the train before others have gotten off.
I would love to have... a passport with a stamp from every country.
I dream of... more companies caring about the future of our planet.
I was most disappointed when... the UK voted to leave the EU.
I can’t shake the habit of... boiling water and then forgetting to make the tea.
Lithuanian Business Link. This project is partially funded by the Lithuanian Media Support Fund.
