Waterdrop

Waterdrops are used to flavour water / Source: Waterdrop

EuropeFood & BeverageGlassNorth AmericaPackagingSteel

5 MINUTE READ

Sophie Benson

WHAT WE SAY:

Plastic bottles are used to package, ship and market ostensibly distinct, individual, ready-to-drink products. But around 90% of each drink is water, and you can get that at home, so why package and ship the water when you could concentrate on what’s really unique – the flavour?

That’s exactly what Austria-based Waterdrop asked when it launched Microdrinks: small, dissolvable cubes which add flavour to water. Saving up to 98% of plastic compared to a conventional single-use bottle, it’s not a plastic-free solution – yet – but the habit shift and awareness it could ignite among consumers could be just as valuable as the plastic it eliminates.

KEY FACTS:

Waterdrop is tackling excess packaging within the beverage industry by swapping ‘selling drinks’ for ‘selling flavour’.
The company offers an array of Microdrinks – small, solid cubes of flavour that are designed to be dropped into a bottle of water to transform it into a tasty thirst quencher. Microdrinks are available in a range of different flavours and can create a 400-600 millilitre beverage each.
Five gram Microdrinks are packaged in individual PP blister packs, the design of which has recently been updated to become thinner and recyclable – albeit ‘recyclable’ certainly doesn’t mean it will be recycled. The company claims the amount of plastic required for just the cap of a single plastic bottle could produce up to ten Waterdrop blisters.
By reducing packaging volume by 98%, Waterdrop in turn reduces transport emissions by up to 98%.
Waterdrop sells accessories including water bottles, tumblers, glasses and carafes to further facilitate and promote a beverage industry free from single-use plastic bottles. Its water bottles are made from Steel and Glass. Both materials are strong and durable and can be reused time and time again, while being infinitely recyclable at the end of their life.

Microtea capsules / Source: Waterdrop

Waterdrop tablets and branded accessories / Source: Waterdrop

DIVE DEEPER:

The beverage industry creates a huge amount of plastic packaging. Globally, two trillion drinks containers are estimated to be made and sold each year, with Coca-Cola alone producing the equivalent of 200,000 plastic bottles every minute.
The majority of most beverage formulations is water, so in removing the water and selling dissolvable flavour cubes, Waterdrop reduces the associated plastic packaging. By 2021, the Austrian company claimed it had saved more than 30 million bottles from ending up in landfills, although the methodology behind reaching that figure is unclear.
Microdrinks are sugar-free, contain no artificial preservatives, and are only approximately four calories per serving. They are produced by dehydrating fruits and plants and condensing them into a fine powder.
Available in flavours including Zen, Love and Glow, Microdrinks are manufactured from natural fruit and plant extracts such as hibiscus, white tea, lemon grass, juniper berry and nettles. The company has extended its range to include Microenergy drinks, containing 90 milligrams of natural caffeine, and Microtea including assam, mint and rooibos.
Sold in packs of 12, prices range between GBP 6.99 (USD 8.50) and GBP 8.90 (USD 10.95), making the price per drink comparable to a multipack canned drink.
Supporting its central message – ‘Drink More Water’ – Waterdrop also sells a range of drinkware accessories. The collection includes glass and steel bottles, insulated tumblers and the LUCY Smart Cap, which records water consumption and stores it in Waterdrop’s Hydration App. The Smart Cap also features integrated UV-C to purify water.
Waterdrop has stores in the UK, US, Austria, Germany, France and the Czech Republic, and sells on a D2C basis in 12 markets. Around 150,000 customers visit its online shop monthly, with an average spend of EUR 35 (USD 37) per person. Approximately 90% of its revenue is generated on a D2C basis via its online shop, and around half of first-time customers return.
To date, Waterdrop has sold more than 200 million reusable products, Microdrinks and containers to over one million consumers.
In February 2022, the company raised USD 70 million in a Series B funding round. It plans to use the funding on R&D and to continue expansion into the US and Asia.

"The aim of Waterdrop is to encourage Brits to not only drink more water but ultimately to make hydration exciting."

Waterdrop

Key Design Considerations:

Brand narrative is key

Waterdrop exists to encourage its consumers to drink more water, not just to be a more sustainable product in comparison to industry leaders. Launching a plastic-free product is a great step, but for it to have maximum impact there should always be more to the story. Waterdrop’s health-conscious messaging broadens appeal beyond just environmentally conscious consumers.

Think plastic-free... and packaging-free

Waterdrop’s use of plastic seems unnecessary when there is an abundance of plant and Paper-based packaging solutions on the market. Could you explore other materials such as Moulded Fibre, or create a product which is robust enough to cut out the extra packaging altogether?

Recyclability vs recycled

Plastics around three inches or smaller generally cannot be processed at recycling facilities, so although your material might be recyclable in theory, in practice it may not be. Take care when making claims of recyclability, and remember recycling comes last in the 3Rs hierarchy.

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Waterdrop

WHAT WE SAY:

Plastic bottles are used to package, ship and market ostensibly distinct, individual, ready-to-drink products. But around 90% of each drink is water, and you can get that at home, so why package and ship the water when you could concentrate on what’s really unique – the flavour?

KEY FACTS:

DIVE DEEPER:

The beverage industry creates a huge amount of plastic packaging. Globally, two trillion drinks containers are estimated to be made and sold each year, with Coca-Cola alone producing the equivalent of 200,000 plastic bottles every minute.

Microdrinks are sugar-free, contain no artificial preservatives, and are only approximately four calories per serving. They are produced by dehydrating fruits and plants and condensing them into a fine powder.

Sold in packs of 12, prices range between GBP 6.99 (USD 8.50) and GBP 8.90 (USD 10.95), making the price per drink comparable to a multipack canned drink.

To date, Waterdrop has sold more than 200 million reusable products, Microdrinks and containers to over one million consumers.

In February 2022, the company raised USD 70 million in a Series B funding round. It plans to use the funding on R&D and to continue expansion into the US and Asia.

Waterdrop

Key Design Considerations:

Brand narrative is key

Think plastic-free... and packaging-free

Recyclability vs recycled

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