Interview with Sarah Larby, Founder and CEO of Water Club

Water Club is a consumer cleantech brand on a mission to change the way people consume drinks, starting with mineral water. We believe nobody should have to choose between their own health and the health of the planet.

Our smart refill stations cut out all single-use packaging and reduce transport CO2 by 6000% making Water Club a simple sustainable choice. We utilise AI to ensure Water Club is as healthy and convenient as packaged water.

Key facts

• Zero single-use packaging saves 300g of CO2 per 500ml

• 1 for 1 bottle scheme removes a bottle from the environment each refill

• 6000% less CO2 is emitted from transporting heavy water

Water Club is unique in its response to the global plastic problem. We never package our water: consumers need to bring their own bottle to refill, resulting in 100% less packaging. Refilling at our smart stations is completely contactless, so our customers can be confident that filling up with Water Club is more hygienic than buying a bottle of water.

Greenwashing practises made to appease sustainable consumers rather than fundamentally stopping unsustainable practices like unnecessary packaging, need to be challenged. Water Club exists to directly challenge packaged water brands on this.

We never transport water, instead, we transport crystalline mineral blends which means we are 6000% more carbon-efficient than packaged water. Our stations remove 99.99% of nasty impurities such as microplastics, hormones and heavy metals from the source water. Then, they add back a blend of healthy minerals to produce pure mineral water.

Our 1 for 1 program removes one plastic bottle from the environment for every refill, simply refill and we handle the rest. This is part of our drive to empower consumers to be more sustainable with zero friction.

How did you come up with the idea for the company?

Whilst working in supply chain and operations for a coffee capsule brand I began to fully understand the destructive impact single-use convenience products were having on the environment.

After visiting a waste management and recycling facility it struck me how they were not equipped to process the amount of plastic waste being created, meanwhile the big brand producers were just swapping packaging materials.

It got me thinking that there had to be a better way to consume quality water using the existing water infrastructure to eliminate packaging and product transportation. Our refill stations are decentralised production facilities that are packed full of sensors that ensure quality and enable consumers to personalise their drink.

Truly sustainable alternatives must address the inefficiencies in the full supply chain, not just one area; for example, adjusting the packaging material.

What advice would you give to other aspiring female entrepreneurs?

Do it! I think you only regret the things you don’t do and if you have a great idea that you believe in, you’re the best person to bring it to fruition.

Never be afraid to ask for help, in my experience, most people will go out of their way to help you and I’d highly recommend getting a mentor.

What can we hope to see from Water Club in the future?

Our mission is to become the go-to brand for soft drinks and to clean up the pollution our competitors have left on our land and oceans.

Grow our network

We want to make Water Club as convenient as packaged water by partnering with national brands that share our sustainable ethos; this will help to accelerate our mission and reduce the carbon outputs of partner businesses.

Diversify our product offering

We will introduce flavoured and sparkling water-based functional drinks to increase our product offering. All of these future offerings will be natural, low sugar drinks with ethically sourced ingredients.

For more information visit: https://www.water.club/