Chan Pik-fung, founder of Grand Maple Optical Ltd., stated that the company was established in 2012, specializing in manufacturing eyeglass frames, and has its own factory in Liaobu Town, Dongguan City. However, for the first seven years of its establishment, the company only engaged in original equipment manufacturing (OEM) or original design manufacturing (ODM) businesses, without creating its own brand. In 2019, it launched its first self-created brand, Grand Maple, but failed to achieve significant breakthroughs.
Incorporating Graphene into Plastic Eyeglass Frames
At the end of 2021, through a friend's introduction, she met a local inventor. It turned out that the inventor had developed a raw material using graphene and a certain metal to emit far-infrared rays and promote human blood circulation. He was looking for a partner to apply this technology to manufacture eyeglass frames with health elements, so he inquired around for eyeglass frame manufacturers.
After their detailed meeting, the inventor provided her with a batch of raw materials for the company to trial-produce eyeglass frames. However, during the trial production, the company found it difficult to combine graphene and that metal with the plastics commonly used in eyeglass frames. The company trial-produced dozens of eyeglass frames, but after various normal impact, tensile, and accelerated aging (UV lamp exposure) tests, most of them easily broke or shattered, with only two or three passing the tests.
At that time, she had already "given up hope" that the cooperation plan would likely fall through. Unexpectedly, she gave the two or three surviving intact eyeglass frames to the inventor, who, after wearing them for a short time, immediately reported that they effectively alleviated his ongoing migraine. Thus, both parties agreed to cooperate.
To solve the material bonding problem, the company spent another three years researching and testing, finally succeeding last year. By June of this year, the company officially launched a series of products called "Oxygen for Eye (O4i)" frames. This means that the plastic eyeglass frames in this series have graphene and a certain metal provided by the inventor added to at least some parts, allowing them to emit far-infrared rays, promote blood circulation around the user's eyes, and increase oxygen content, thereby alleviating issues such as dry eyes and dark circles.
Chan Pik-fung emphasized that the company is not making empty claims, but has commissioned third-party testing agencies in Hong Kong and mainland China to conduct multiple tests.
For example, a testing agency in mainland China found that after 33 people continuously wore these eyeglass frames for 14 days, the average moisture content of the stratum corneum around their eyes increased by 6.22%, moisturizing the skin around the eyes, alleviating dry eye problems, and somewhat fading dark circles. On the other hand, the average perfusion volume of their ocular microvessels did not significantly increase (i.e., no congestion occurred). She revealed that this testing method actually referenced some beauty products, as suggested by that mainland testing agency.
Three and a Half Years of R&D, Cumulative Investment of Approximately 2 Million
Additionally, the company also conducted subjective tests in Hong Kong and mainland China, asking participants who continuously wore these eyeglass frames for 7 or 14 days whether their dry eyes, eye fatigue, discomfort when viewing electronic screens, etc., improved, and whether their concentration in learning or work increased. The result was that over 90% of the participants felt a significant improvement.
Chan Pik-fung revealed that from the end of 2021 to the present, the company's cumulative investment in "Oxygen for Eye" frames has reached approximately 2 million yuan, including R&D, testing, molds, and inviting influencers for "live commerce" in recent months. The company's "Oxygen for Eye" frames have already obtained a patent and were first publicly exhibited to buyers from various countries at the "Hong Kong International Optical Fair" hosted by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council in mid-November.
During the exhibition, a Brazilian brand and a chain eyewear store in Shenzhen expressed great interest in cooperation, hoping to discuss further details later. Chan Pik-fung stated that to further open up the market, the company can accept cooperation with clients in a dual-brand format. However, if buyers demand only their own brand to be affixed, completely excluding the Oxygen for Eye brand, as if procuring ordinary eyeglass frames without technical content, the company will not accept it.
Currently Focusing on Plastic Eyeglass Frames, Metal Frames Require Accessories
Regarding product procurement prices, the company can also offer some flexibility depending on customer requirements and budget. Because according to tests, only a very small part of the eyeglass frame needs to have graphene and that metal added, such as the front ends of the two temples, to be effective; the entire frame does not need to be incorporated.
In terms of product styles, there are three main categories: general eyeglass frames (for users with vision correction lenses), sunglasses, and sports glasses. The company also plans to participate in some large sports-themed exhibitions in mainland China later.
However, Chan Pik-fung admitted that for eyeglass frame materials, currently only a few common plastics can directly combine with graphene and that metal; other metals cannot. Nevertheless, if customers wish to purchase metal eyeglass frames but also want them to have the aforementioned functions, the company has a solution, which is to add them through accessories. For example, the company can incorporate the aforementioned materials into the plastic nose pads of metal eyeglass frames. Alternatively, it can produce additional transparent plastic sleeves containing the aforementioned materials to cover the front ends of the two temples, etc.
