FloWater, manufacturers of water bottle refilling stations, just raised the incredible $15 million. Only eight years old, the company has already pleased customers like Google, Airbnb, and even Red Bull.
It is insane how something simple like having a sip of water can have such a big impact. If you are somewhere on the street, in need of water, your only choice is to buy a whole new plastic bottle- costly and very polluting.
There are so many brands of portable bottles that we can opt for- green, recyclable, non toxic. However, without a place to top these up, the green bottles are just another thing to carry in the bag, which does not solve the issue of buying bottled water.
Thankfully, water bottle refilling stations have been gathering popularity, and we can only be grateful for that. This is probably one of the reasons why FloWater’s initiative is so successful. Their refilling stations are all over schools, hotels, offices, and this is not where it will all end. In the latest fund raising round, the company managed to secure additional $15 million, coming from a total of 13 investors.
It is almost unbelievable that only eight years ago, the company based in California, started with a loan from a bank for the modest sum of $18,600. Since then the founder of the company, Wyatt Taubman, brought in additional $200,000 from another bank and friends and family. Taubman then decided to transform the company, redesign the product, and give way to a new CEO, Rich Razgaitis. With this fresh new look, in 2016, the team secured another $2.6 million.
Quite an impressive development for such a short period of time, I must say. Especially since the water bottle refilling stations can already be found in almost 50 states.
The refilling stations can contribute to tackling quite a few issues of our modern day society. In the words of Razgaitis, there are four major environmental concerns that can really benefit from FloWater.
Firstly, it is of course the enormous pile of disposable single-use plastic bottles (40 billion to be exact), which get thrown away every year. Then there is the millions of tons of carbon dioxide byproduct waste, as well as oil and petrol, used to transport these plastic bottles. Thirdly, the pollutants that are released from these bottles into our drinking water, and in the environment after disposal, are proven to cause problems to our endocrine systems. And last but most definitely not least, the ever-so growing obesity problem caused by sugary drinks, which are always the preferred choice when money is to be spent.
If you think about it, water bottle refillable stations can indeed solve, or at least contribute to solving, all of the above. It is definitely not one of those empty claims.
So, let’s see where this goes. I see an incredible added value, and a big niche for this product. I am convinced I am not alone.
Image (c) FloWater
