Soft drinks in your water bottle instead of boring water

By Marit Koopmanschap

Fill your reusable water bottle with a soft drink instead of water. Mark van Roosmalen of Moree explains how this can be done in a sustainable way.

What does Moree do?

“Moree is for everyone who values flavor as much as sustainability. Nine out of ten people have a reusable bottle, such as a Dopper. You can actually only fill those with water in the bathroom. Water is boring. If I want something different, I have to buy a can or a PET bottle that contains flavoring. Moree supplies a machine that produces five flavors of lemonade without any of the waste of a PET bottle. I now have 78 flavors that can go into the machine. It works like a coffee machine, so it’s super easy. You click on a flavor and instead of coffee, lemonade comes out.”

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How did you come up with this idea?

“Together with a classmate during my second year at Avans University of Applied Sciences. The lecturer said that it is best to start a business based on a source of frustration or irritation, because then you are highly motivated. I liked to use my reusable bottle, but I was annoyed by the dull taste and the bad feeling I got after buying an expendable PET bottle. So I started thinking about potential solutions. At the end of the study, there is always a party. That is where we tested a circular bottle that you could put in a crate at the end of the party. From there, we started thinking about a machine. We made the first prototype in a garage. With some friends, we pulled apart an old coffee machine to know how everything was put together. Then we knocked on the door of a manufacturer.”

What have been the toughest challenges?

“Getting the target audience in focus was definitely a challenge. That’s a difficult process because you have to do a lot of interviewing and then you also find out that you are not always asking the right questions. The other challenge was finding funding. That machine doesn’t just appear – it costs a lot. In the end, I was able to raise money by working during the summer.”

Where is your machine being used now?

“The machine is now at Coolblue. The reason why is that a lot of people work at Coolblue who have a reusable bottle. Before that, the machine was at Avans for 20 days. But in the education sector, it takes a long time before you can get anything set up there on a permanent basis. Plus, the plan is that we test at a few other locations to gather as much user information as possible.”

What does your future look like?

“I am in discussions with several parties to start tests there. Also, I am going to apply for a grant to develop my own vending machine or to be able to buy several machines.”

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