A London-based startup called Skipping Rocks Lab may have just changed the face of on-the-go hydration with its first product, the Ooho — a membrane-enclosed water sphere. The Ooho serves to hydrate the body in motion while eliminating the need for plastic water bottles, effectively providing for an environmentally friendly, transportable alternative.
Skipping Rocks Lab introduced the Ooho in 2014 and after two years of product testing to bring the design onto a bigger scene. Ooho is completely biodegradable and can be ecologically compared to a fruit peel. The product is simply a portion of water contained by an organic membrane composed of sodium alginate and calcium chloride, mainly derived from seaweed. The membrane can be discarded and composted, degrading easily in under six weeks.
Due to its organic composition, the Ooho is edible as well and can be colored and flavored to increase palatability. “When people try it for the first time, they want to eat it because it’s part of the experience,” company co-founder Pierre Paslier told Fast Company.
Skipping Rocks Lab was started by three design students working together on a project that involved repurposing plastic bottles. They founded the Ooho mission by turning to nature and seeking out more sustainable methods of liquid transportation than plastic. The implemented spherification design allows for effective water portion packaging within an organic membrane that can vary in volume and is easy to transport.
To top it off, production of Ooho is cheaper than plastic, creates five times fewer CO2 emissions, and requires nine times less energy, according to the company’s website. It is currently marketing to outdoor events and cafes, where mass water bottle consumption is prevalent.
In addition, the packaging can be made on site, eliminating the energy-intensive process of long-distance product transportation. A campaign on CrowdCube recently allocated doubled funding that will allow for widespread production.
