Dive Brief:
- A former chemist in the wine industry has developed a premium drinking water brand made from waste byproducts of food and vegetable processing.
- To create premium water brand AquaBotanical, Dr. Bruce Kambouris collected the water removed from fruits and vegetables when they are condensed into concentrate. He then purified it for drinking purposes.
- The water byproduct is safe to drink, and AquaBotanical does not bear the flavor of the fruit or vegetable the water comes from. But previously, this water would eventually be disposed of rather than repurposed.
Dive Insight:
This is another example of how sustainability can be a profitable pursuit for manufacturers. If manufacturers were to collect water byproduct from their own processing setup, they could then either turn it into bottled water themselves or sell the water to a company that would. Either way, something that was once commonly wasted presents itself as a lucrative opportunity.
Other companies have approached this method of sustainability by repurposing waste products. Chobani debuted a reverse osmosis filtration system at its Twin Falls, ID, plant as a solution for acid whey, a byproduct of Greek yogurt production. Chobani's system converts the acid whey into pure water and a concentrated form of whey that can be used in animal feeds.
Additionally, more manufacturers and retailers have also embraced the "ugly produce" movement. Manufacturers can now capitalize on this movement by buying ugly produce often at a lower price, which improves margins, and it appeals to eco-conscious consumers.