Solar power tech company Zon Inc. is boosting its exposure with a deal to put its phone-charging umbrellas into 40 Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf locations.

The international coffee chain is installing Zon’s Powersol, a solar-powered umbrella that charges up to three mobile devices at a time through USB ports, at its corporate-owned locations in a Southern California pilot program that is part of a rebranding effort.

The deal announced last month for 50 Powersols is the largest rollout at one time for Zon, which has seven employees and began production in 2014. The El Segundo company said it has sold more than 2,000 of its umbrellas, priced at $2,000 to $3,000 each, to about 300 clients, including universities, hotels, and corporations.

The Powersol, which uses solar panels on a canopy and a battery to charge three USB devices as quickly as a wall outlet, is a sustainable solution to a world where people are tethered to their devices, said Sarah Akin, founder and chief creative officer.

“Schools want it because they see students fighting for plugs,” said Akin, 43. “Hotels want their guests to have a pleasant experience. To be able to sit outside and work and have your lunch is great.”

The company lists resorts and universities among its biggest buyers, and some of its most notable customers include Marriott International Inc., UCLA, USC, and Google. Zon, which also generates revenue from licensing and distribution deals, declined to provide any revenue figures.

Akin’s business was introduced to Tim Welsh, vice president of development at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, owned by International Coffee & Tea, through a mutual acquaintance. The Starbucks Corp. competitor, which began as an office coffee supplier in 1963, has been trying to update its brand and has spent the past year doing focus groups to home in on what to improve, he said. The Powersol fit in with that effort.

“One of the biggest complaints was that people wanted better Wi-Fi and more charging stations,” Welsh said. “Coffee stores are a … place to work and hang out, like an office, or to do homework.”

As part of its brand makeover, the Miracle Mile-based company wanted to focus on its Southern California heritage, which it associates with being sunny and happy. Coffee Bean was able to customize the design of the Zon umbrellas with stripes in a way that fit its brand, he said.

“On the one hand, it felt like a simple change, but the more we thought about it, we realized it touched some points that we were trying to get across,” said Welsh.

Zon (pronounced Zahn) has raised $5 million, according to Chief Executive Cameron Welborn-Wilson, from individual investors and has other projects in the pipeline, including a new version of the Powersol to which the company is considering adding Wi-Fi and other high-tech features.

Rising sun

Akin said she came up with the idea of the Powersol in 2012 when she was trying to read a book on her iPad by the side of a hotel pool in Las Vegas. Her tablet died and she was forced to go back inside to charge it.

Akin, who said she studied architecture and design, saw solar power being used on an industrial scale but not on a personal level. When she researched her idea, she was surprised to find that nothing similar existed.

Other companies in recent years have tried using solar power on a micro level, with solar-powered phones, backpacks with charging stations, and even an umbrella similar to Zon’s but on a smaller scale. Welborn-Wilson said the company doesn’t have any direct competitors

Akin recruited Welborn-Wilson, an entrepreneurial attorney and former neighbor in Manhattan Beach, to form Zon. They filed an international patent, as well as some provisional patents for some other ideas that Akin worked on with an industrial design friend. The duo spent about two years coming up with a prototype, which was manufactured in China.

Through an acquaintance of her husband, Akin said she had a Powersol installed for a trial run at the Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley during an event hosted by Rolex Watch U.S.A. Inc. in 2014. A Rolex executive saw it and ordered about a dozen for the company’s corporate campus.

Akin also brought the Powersol that year to a university trade show. The next order was for 11 umbrellas from Pasadena City College, she said.

“We got almost an immediate validation in the marketplace,” said Welborn-Wilson, 43, Zon’s chief executive.

In 2014, the first year of production, the company sold umbrellas to more than 100 universities, Welborn-Wilson said. They also decided to move production from China to a plant in Winona, Minn.

“It’s easier for quality control,” said Akin. “We can really be involved in the process. It may be a little bit more expensive to manufacture here, but in my opinion it’s 100 percent worth it.”

Seeing light

When they reached out to Eric Marlo, a former head of innovation at Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., he said that he liked the product but the price point was too high.

At that time, Zon only had a more high-end and expensive version available, he said. He recommended it to colleagues at other hotels.

After developing a less expensive version, Zon reached out to Marlo again. The timing was right since he was looking for a sustainable product to pilot.

“We’re always looking for phone charging solutions,” said Marlo, who is now director of global operations at Marriott International, which acquired Starwood last year. “From a hospitality standpoint, guests are traveling on average with five to six devices.”

Although costly, Marlo said it is worth it since the company is focused on user experience.

“That’s what drives our purchasing decisions,” he said. “Is it going to bring in revenue or make our scores go up?”

Although the price might not make sense for an individual consumer, the value proposition is greater for businesses focused on a guest experience and that can have a greater number of users, said Neil Fromer, executive director of the Resnick Sustainability Institute at Caltech.

“If I was going to go out and buy it as an end consumer, it would be hard for me to justify the expense,” said Fromer. “But if I’m a restaurant or a resort, I have a financial incentive different than energy efficiency. I have marketing, which allows (Zon) to set a different price point. … In that sense, they identified a segment of the market that’s willing to pay a premium, whether it’s just enhancing the experience or also providing a benefit from less electric use.”

Outshining competition

The logistics of solar power, which is inefficient, have made it difficult to scale down for personal use, said Fromer. Because solar panels are generally 20 percent efficient, a large area is needed – which is why an umbrella works well. But energy savings from these types of solar-powered devices is generally modest.

Researchers and companies are working on ways to improve the efficiency of solar power.

Although Zon says its Powersol can charge phones and tablets as quickly as a wall outlet for up to 16 hours of continuous use, it can’t charge laptops.

Some companies are working on improving battery life and portable battery packs, which could pose a threat to Zon’s business, said Carmen Palafox, a partner at Make in LA, a business accelerator for tech hardware companies.

User experience, including how easy it is to use and quickly it charges, will determine Zon’s success, she said, pointing to the Duracell Powermat, which Starbucks began installing in some of its stores in 2014. The Powermat requires users to download an app and plug a charging ring into their phones.

“Their customers are businesses, so they’re trying to make the business experience a good one and ultimately the end user’s experience a good one,” said Palafox.