Mineral water brand Evian has created a new “connected in-home natural mineral water appliance” that claims to use 66% less plastic than a 1.5L bottle.
Dubbed Evian Re(new) the water container itself has a flexible bubble-like structure that is both made of recycled plastic and completely recyclable. The water contained inside the plastic skin gives the packaging its shape, which deflates through use.
A starter pack consists of one base and two five litre bubbles. The device can be connected to the Evian Re(new) app which tracks water usage and can automatically order refills. Customers can also press a button on the dispenser’s base to reorder.
The product is part of an ongoing collaboration with fashion designer Virgil Abloh who is acting as the brand’s advisor for sustainable and innovative design.
Whilst not completely plastic free the Evian Re(new) system goes some way to reducing the amount of plastic needed to package its product. It “was born out of an ambition to reinvent the way we package and deliver our natural mineral water while minimising our environmental impact,” says Patricia Oliva, the company’s global brand vice president, explaining the brand’s wider sustainability goals to become a “circular” business and to make all its containers from recycled plastic by 2025.
The brand has launched a limited number of 200 units for ‘selected customers’ in London and Paris to trial the product, with the hope to roll out the system in the future.
“We are inviting consumers to join a community of early adopters who will be an extension of our innovation team, helping us to co-create this solution. Together we will fine-tune Evian Renew with a view to bringing a scalable and circular solution to the market,” said Oliva.
Evian is also taking part in trials with Loop – a zero-waste platform that is working with major brands to deliver refillable bottles to customers’ homes – selling water to Parisian consumers in reusable glass bottles that the company will take back and refill at its bottling site in the Alps.
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