If you think this is just a story about yet another new bottled water, it’s not — in fact, it’s not in a bottle at all. Meet Flow Water, opens in a new tab naturally alkaline Canadian spring water packaged in unique Tetra Pak containers.
Burning Man and the Light-Bulb Moment
Founder and CEO Nicholas Reichenbach came up with the idea for Flow in 2014 after attending the Burning Man festival, where he witnessed a mountain of plastic water bottles left behind by the more than 50,000 attendees. He knew it was time to rethink hydration habits: There had to be a better way to achieve maximum hydration while leaving a minimal impact on the environment.
Mindful Hydration, Responsible Drinking
Nicholas and his wife, Tammy, started Flow by turning to his family’s artesian spring, a self-sustaining and self-replenishing source, in the woods of Bruce County, Ontario, Canada. The spring waters boast an alkaline pH of 8.1.
The company was founded on the belief that the choices we make about the water we drink — from sourcing to packaging — can have a powerful influence on people, communities and the environment. Its driving force is "mindful positivity" and its values that steer all decision-making include:
Protect the source
Package only what the land naturally gives
Pursue minimum impact
Be a positive force
To this end, the company’s plant outside of Toronto oversees the entire supply chain from sourcing to packaging with a goal to minimize waste, energy and water consumption. Not surprisingly, they also had to find a better solution for packaging in order to lower consumers’ eco footprints. So they worked closely with Tetra Pak on a unique recyclable, paperboard-based BPA-free carton that’s made with up to 70% renewable material. The company was recently certified a B Corp organization for rigorous social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency standards.
Water & Kindness
Flow aims to spread kindness in the world at large. In 2017 the company both supported communities closeby by donating water to children in need and to newly arrived Syrian Refugees, as well as efforts far from home in Puerto Rico.
And Flow’s work isn’t done yet. Nicholas explained, “We are always looking for ways to protect our source, to ensure its sustainability, and to make better decisions about our packaging and business practices. In this way we ensure that we are a positive force in the world. We feel a great sense of responsibility and pride to change what it means to be in the business of hydrating people.”
Find Flow Water at your local Whole Foods Market store opens in a new tab today.
