Dive Temporary:
- Austrian beverage startup Waterdrop, which makes “microdrink” hydrating sugar-free cubes that dissolve in water, has raised 60 million euros ($70 million) in a Sequence B investment spherical, in line with a press unencumber emailed to Meals Dive. Singapore-based funding company Temasek led the spherical. Waterdrop plans to make use of the brand new investment on R&D and to proceed its enlargement within the U.S. and Asia.
- Waterdrop additionally debuted the Lucy “sensible cap” for reusable bottles that filters water via a UV-C device and deactivates as much as 100% of possible germs, in line with the corporate. The cap additionally flashes to remind the patron when to drink, and is derived with a cell app to trace water intake.
- Waterdrop, which objectives customers on the lookout for new techniques to extend their hydration whilst reducing their carbon footprint throughout the drinks they purchase, is now creating a play for his or her issues over the standard credentials of bottled water.
Dive Perception:
Waterdrop seeks to concurrently build up the volume of water folks drink whilst reducing the volume of plastic bottles used for intake. In its press unencumber, the corporate notes that over 500 million plastic bottles are manufactured each and every yr. By way of switching from plastic bottles to Waterdrop pods and reusable bottles, the corporate claims customers can cut back their CO2 emissions and plastic use by way of 98%.
“Our strategy to the water industry is to broaden ecological answers to advertise accountable intake of faucet water and keep away from the old-fashioned thought of getting to bottle and send unsustainable and most commonly dangerous drinks,” Founder and CEO Martin Murray stated in a remark.
Past sustainability, Waterdrop may be aiming to focus on the nourishment side of its product and inspire hydration. Its sugar-free microdrink cubes are made with fruit and plant-based extracts and are available in 4 flavors, each and every containing trending wellness components equivalent to elderflower, acai, ginseng, cactus fruit and lemongrass. The corporate stated greater than 70% of its gross sales come from its direct-to-consumer channels, permitting it to higher perceive user wants and tastes.
With the Lucy cap and built-in app generation, Waterdrop has the facility to improve its reference to customers. In line with the corporate’s web page, the cap tracks a client’s ingesting conduct and synchronizes it with the Waterdrop Hydration app.
Any other corporate with identical “microdrink” flavoring and hydration monitoring generation is LifeFuels. The Virginia-based corporate’s sugar-free and zero-calorie “elixir” pods comprise electrolytes and are offered in quite a few flavors equivalent to tropical punch and candy tea. It had reportedly won a $20 million funding from Keurig Dr Pepper and introduced a sensible diet bottle that tracks customers’ hydration and diet objectives in 2019. LifeFuels in short shuttered its industry in 2021, mentioning pandemic-related difficulties, however restarted operations after being got by way of Utah-based water bottle corporate Infuze Hydration, Technical.ly reported in October.
The microdrink marketplace has observed larger pastime from Large Meals corporations and startups over the last few years. In 2021, the well being science department of Nestlé got Nuun, which supplies dissolvable hydration tabs aimed at athletes. And Tea Drops creates “tub bombs for tea” that comprise natural components, and promotes moral sourcing and sustainable packaging. The girl-owned startup had a $5 million investment spherical this previous Would possibly, and has raised $7 million so far, in step with Crunchbase.
Waterdrop’s center of attention on serving to customers build up their water intake in a sustainable, protected approach may assist it stand out. In recent times, the purity and high quality of bottled water has been thrown into query, with separate investigations discovering contaminants equivalent to arsenic and microplastic debris in non-public and main branded merchandise.
