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IT’S WELL KNOWN that plastic isn’t good for the environment or for your health.
Now, London-based startup CanO Water believes it has found the solution — and celebrities like David Gandy and Ellie Goulding are on board.
The company, founded by three friends — Ariel Booker, Perry Alexander Fielding, and Josh White, all under the age of 25 — is selling tall cans of water with resealable lids for 99p (€1.16).
The sleek-looking cans, filled with water from a spring in Austria, are already stocked in 320 locations, including Selfridges, Whole Foods, and Fenwick, as well as a number of gyms, hotels, schools, and universities.
CanO Water has also started shipping to China and the Czech Republic, while it is also pitching to supermarkets and corner shops in the UK.
The idea came about when Booker, who was previously a headhunter for banks and hedge funds working in the City, took a trip to Thailand.
“I canoed to this island and the sea facing side of it was devastated — covered in plastic bottles, washed up nets, and rubbish,” he said. “It was a real eye-opening moment for me.”
According to the World Economic Forum, at least eight million tonnes of plastic ends up in the ocean every year. Its 2016 report warned that there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050 unless major action is taken.
Along with friends Fielding and White, Booker came up with the idea for a canned water product when he returned from his trip to Thailand in 2015. Aluminium is the most recyclable material on the planet, according to the company.
“A couple of days ago we saw a statistic about the top 10 things that are found on beaches, and cans weren’t in there,” Booker said, adding that most people grow up with the understanding that cans should be recycled.
“Aluminium doesn’t lose any of its quality when you recycle it,” White said. “75% of all aluminium we use today was first mined back in the 1800s. It’s infinitely recyclable.”
You might hear plastic is recyclable, but that doesn’t mean a bottle is going to be another bottle. When plastic is recycled it gets downgraded each time…eventually it cannot be recycled anymore.
There are also fewer health hazards involved with drinking water from an aluminium can than from a plastic water bottle, he said.
“When a plastic bottle is left in the car in direct sunlight, chemicals can start seeping into the water and can cause carcinogenic illnesses,” Fielding said. “It’s not 100% safe. The aluminium can is. It’s sealed from light and air.”
The cost of recycling plastic is also incredibly expensive, according to the company. “It actually costs more to recycle it [than to throw it away], which is the main problem,” White said. “It ends up getting dumped because nobody wants to take the cost of recycling it.”
The trio were still working full-time jobs when they started the company. While Booker was working in the city, White was working in events, marketing, and sales, and Fielding had a job as a graphic designer with a background in fashion.
“None of us had a clue about this industry,” Fielding said. “We just had so much belief in the product and the purpose it serves, so we thought, do or die. We quit our jobs and put everything on the line.”
Their first interested retailer was Selfridges.
“Selfridges were planning to get rid of their single-use plastic water bottles. We got a sizeable order that gave us credibility to think: ‘We’ve got something here,’” White said.
Private investment followed, according to Fielding. The three founders each invested £3,000 up front, but CanO Water would not reveal the identity of its other backers or how much money has been ploughed into the business.
“It all happened really quickly from there. It took us six to seven months from the initial idea to the point where we sat with our investors, then it was a matter of weeks until we were in an office running a company.”
They also partnered with London Fashion Week to “test the market” in a space where they could also reach celebrities. It was there that they caught the attention of David Gandy.
“He’s not an official ambassador, but he’s posted about us on social media,” Booker said. “Josh and I had coffee with him a few weeks ago.”
The company now provide the water for Gandy’s salon, which he opened in South Kensington with Larry King.
“David Gandy is someone who actually cares about what we’re doing,” White said. “He’s a very down to earth guy who really cares about the whole problem.”
The company has also received attention from singer Ellie Goulding and McFly’s Dougie Poynter, while Booker recently went to Buckingham Palace to drop samples off for Prince Andrew. Rapper Tinie Tempah went one step further.
“We were introduced to him and the first thing he said was, ‘do you need any investment?’” Booker said. “We were like, ‘thankfully, we’re actually alright.’ It was another mind blowing moment.”
The trio have since been approached by a number of celebrities and brands looking to endorse the company in return for a promotion fee, but refuse to spend big on getting names involved.
We could have spent a couple of million pounds last year if we would have accepted every offer that came our way,” Booker said. “I spoke to Formula E, for example — they wanted £150,000 from us.”
“People like Voss, Evian, and Smartwater are happy to throw £20-30,000 at an event to be there,” he added. “That’s one of the frustrating things — unless it’s the right opportunity with the right people, you’ll just pay money and get thrown to the wayside.”
Even getting charities on board has been a challenge.
“You would think that charities would want to work with you for free because you’re promoting the message… but a lot of them chuck crazy figures at us and it’s a bit disheartening,” White said.
But the company is placing some bets, including in Hollywood. “We’re sponsoring the Vanity Fair Oscars Party, which is a massive opportunity for us,” Booker said.
Still, there are those who argue that refillable bottles are the way forward, suggesting companies should do away with selling water altogether. But CanO Water believe this is an “unrealistic scenario.”
“Refillable is a solution, but it’s not a long-term solution,” Booker said.
“There’s always going to be a need for it [buying a bottle of water, but we’re doing our bit," White added. 'We’re trying to create an alternative so people can have the choice."
Fielding added that the recent shift towards healthier eating among the younger generation has made their job easier.
“It’s important for us to target the younger generations because we are the ones who are facing this problem,” he said. “The last generation was smoking, drinking energy drinks, and eating fast food, but it’s all changing now. Everyone’s vegan, people don’t smoke, and everyone wants to be a part of something good.”
“We’re in a generation where a small David can actually compete against a Goliath,” White added.
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There should be a 5 cent deposit on plastic bottles. It will keep them off the street and provide one cash for those willing to collect them.
A real Can do attitude lol
Yes this works pretty well in other countries , its 1 SEK (10 cent) added charge and when returned you get the money back. It keep the place spotless. However all the homeless be diving into dumpsters to get as may bottles as possible.
Yes more taxes please! Suckers
@John Smith: You generally need to have a job to pay taxes John.
Yes we used to do that when we were younger with the Taylor Keith bottles…and then go spend the money on jaw breakers….oh they were the days
You pay tax when purchasing items too.
Not necessarily, you pay taxes on every day items you purchase… just saying ;)
@Michael Collins: Let them off. I wouldn’t begrudge any homeless person 5c for a plastic bottle they retrieved from a “dumpster” (known as a ‘skip’ over here)
Shipping a bulky product from Austria, when there is a plentiful local supply doesn’t really give it much environmental credibility.
Those three lads look exactly as I’d imagined they’d look.
lol – McFly.
How much did they pay for this sponsored content?
Plastic bottles should be loaded with a five euro tax – plastic wrappings the same
What’s the resealable cap made from?
This was my first thought. It surely couldn’t be plastic!
All plastic bottles and tin liners should be BPA free .
Oooh celebs are seen with it…must be the way forward!!!
This will be the trend for a short time for the wrong reasons…people following celebrities rather than thinking about their carbon footprint and simple small changes they can make.
Journal.ie is fast becoming “DailyJournal” with the rubbish celebrity centred articles on here today.
If people go to the supermarket and buy their milk, pour it into their own resusable container and left the plastic bottle in the shop for the shop to dispose of…. it would not take long before the shop starts sourcing only reusable or non-plastic containers.
Better again Red you bring your own container to the shop and fill it there
Back in the day, milk deliveries were great. Maybe could be again …
From a sink in the shop probably!
We spent 80 mil on consultations to make money out of water ,and there’s three guys doing it for a fraction, and will probably make alot of money ,p’s where’s all our smart people, they’re centainly not in government.
@Gerard Heery: they’ve been forced to emigrate to get away from Fiannadum and Finedee.
I know all the smart people are gone and won’t be back unless their cercumstances change I was being cinical against the government for all the damage they inflicted on irish families and their loved ones for ruthless greedy bankers
CanO Water, reminds me of when Joan fell out of the canoe into the water
Does the fact that the water comes in a can, stop the can from being dumped now.
Refillable?
Bottles are refillable as well.
Cant be reused, bad for your health to reuse a plastic bottle i suggest research
The whole thing about everyone needs to buy a bottle of water is somewhat strange. Not that many years ago the whole concept of bottled water was the reserve of a French company selling water for restaurant tables. When I was young we carried metal water bottles in our bags or on our bikes and could ask anyone if we could fill them from their tap. The milkman system of delivery and recycle was a model for the future along with deposits on bottles of minerals and beer. It seems we have no responsibility for our actions at all now. Just fe%’it all to the wind and let our kids sort it out.
CanO pi** or Peckham springs comes to mind
Cano water boring. I need cano beer !
I once opened a can o worms.
Recommend a https://www.gulp.ie/ filter in every home, reusable water bottles & clean healthy water at a fraction of the cost & environmentally friendly.
Like all the other fads, it won’t last long so watch this space, folks!
Job wise myself, apart from being a semi professional troll, my main source of income is from hooking.
Oh my God what a fantastic idea. It’s really brilliant. I hope they make millions and millions.
Has CanO Water yet formulated a post-brexit raw material sourcing strategy?
Also, if I bought water while out and about, I’d buy it canned.
I’d look out for these in the shops. If they were in the shops, which they aren’t!
There’s so many adverts on this site these days.
They must be starting to sell their water in Ireland.
Nothing new here, they have been putting water in cans for years….
It’s not so awful long ago,we were inundated with the condemnation of aluminium,being dangerous for our brain health plus other diseases,I’m a small bit bewildered at the idea of using aluminium again,as I got rid of the same,in exchange for stainless steel.
Would like to know what percentage of aluminium is in these cans,plus has any medical research in recent years proved it safe to use for human consumption for the foreseeable future.
Great initiative and a fully agree on the plastic excesses. Why Austria though? Surely it would be far more environmentally friendly and cost efficient to source the water locally?
My son has been telling me this idea for the last ten years, o well it’s taken.
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