Going Green with Herb-infused Water in Glass Bottles

The Who’s Who of environment activists and political leaders from across the globe at the ongoing CMS-COP13 at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar are being served Herbal-H2O to slake their thirst. The herb-infused water in glass bottles is the brainchild of Vadodara-based entrepreneur, Prateek Patel. The innovative herbal water is giving a spirited fight to packaged water in plastic bottles and creating its own space among those concerned about health and environment. And to reach the tables at the 13th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention On The Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS-COP 13) is no mean achievement for a product that’s just six months old.

Patel launched his startup, Shrishti Lifescience, and his product, HerbalH2O, with a strategy to go green, after spending four years in management consultancy for pharmaceuticals and auto industries. In recent seminars held by government agencies, Dholera Special Investment Development Authority (DSIRDA) and the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation , Patel’s company served water in returnable glass bottles rather than using plastic bottles that are discarded after use. At these seminars, HerbalH20 used natural botanical extract of basil to flavour the water.

With the health and environmental appeal of HerbalH2O, Patel’s franchise-based business model and concept of circular economy is making quick inroads in the bottled water segment, a top sector of FMCG products. His herbal water in glass bottles has become a regular feature at government, NGO and corporate events.

“The herb-enhanced water in glass bottles is a better alternative to water packaged in plastic. They have set up plants across the country with each plant having 1 lakh per day bottling capacity. Nine more plants are in the pipeline for Delhi, Indore, Nagpur, Raipur, Somnath and Udaipur among other cities.

“Drinking water can be used as a medium to deliver the compounds of essential herbs, which we generally do not consume due to lack of habit or ready availability. HerbalH2O gives you the option of drinking the goodness of herbs without additional efforts. The glass bottles reduce micro-plastic contamination of water and help mitigate plastic waste generation,” said Patel, adding that this thought was the primary driver behind his startup venture.

Each 200ml plastic packaged water bottle generates approximately 11 grams of plastic waste. The glass bottle is the safest and most eco-friendly form of packaging as it doesn’t react with the product and can be reused. The startup follow the concept of circular economy of packaging. In the circular economy, nothing goes to dustbins. They buy back all used bottles for 30% to 50% of MRP. This makes the product safe from packaging contamination and prevents waste generation and reduces the packaging cost in the long run as packaging comes back instead of going to the dumping yard.

It is claimed that in the last six months, approximately 300 tonnes of plastic waste generation has been prevented with his venture of providing herbal-infused drinking water in glass bottles.

The extracts of herbs grown in-house are added in the drinking water. There are four variants for three seasons — Tulsi for monsoon, mint and fennel for summer, and ginger for winter.

Previously one litre of water in India sold at the MRP of at least Rs 200 but now the pricing is Rs 80 and if consumer return the bottle they get a cashback of Rs 30, that cost Rs 50 for glass bottled Enhanced Drinking. This cost will soon be reduced as volume will increase and it has a potential to compete with single use plastic bottled water in prices as well and I am working on it.