A Kilauea native says he’s proof that a sound business concept that addresses an environmental concern can be a win for a business and consumer both. Wyatt Taubman is the founder of FloWater Refill Stations, an environmentally friendly option for
A Kilauea native says he’s proof that a sound business concept that addresses an environmental concern can be a win for a business and consumer both.
Wyatt Taubman is the founder of FloWater Refill Stations, an environmentally friendly option for premium, chilled water on the go without using plastic bottles. After four years, FloWater is expanding to a Mainland presence.
“This is my first venture,” the 27-year-old said, “and it’s been a true adventure.”
FloWater Refill Stations are the first premium reusable water bottle refill stations in existence, Taubman said. The FloWater technology is more advanced than reverse osmosis systems. Taubman said a seven-stage purification system includes a sediment filter, carbon filter, reverse osmosis, coconut carbon filter, activated oxygen, ultra-violet light and mineral enhancement to deliver the high-quality drinking water.
FloWater is about one-third of the cost of bottled water. Using a credit or prepaid purchase card, the consumer can select from six standard container sizes that range from 25 cents for a 350 milliliter container to 85 cents for 1.5 liters.
A standard 500 milliliter plastic water bottle averages around $1.50. The same size FloWater refill is 35 cents.
“That’s a savings of $1.15 per fill, which can add up to hundreds of dollars per year, for better, higher quality water that doesn’t cause any pollution,” Taubman said.
The concept began when Taubman was a student of environmental studies and economics at the University of San Diego. His passion for the concept started much earlier as a young man on Kauai, where the dangers of plastic pollution were known for years and beach cleanups were a daily part of malama aina (respect for the land).
“Picking up plastic debris from the beach or roadside made me aware of how much waste there was in the world,” he said. “When I was little, my mom had me cutting up plastic six-pack rings before we recycled them so that seabirds or marine life wouldn’t be harmed.
As a surfer, Taubman hated to see plastic waste in the water.
“It wasn’t until I got to college I figured out how to take the next step,” he added.
After graduating from college, Taubman started FloWater with an SBA loan through Larry Dressler and Sonia Topenio at the Bank of Hawaii. The pilot project was at his former Island School in 2010.
Mike Goto, Island School business manager, said Taubmann was a good student, surfer and outdoor enthusiast. The environmental background encouraged his ideas to reduce the use of single-use plastic bottles containers that end up in landfills or contribute to beach debris and ocean flotsam.
“We have been impressed by Wyatt’s entrepreneurial spirit and tenacity, and believe that his business will continue to grow successfully and thereby help our environment,” Goto said.
Island School discontinued selling bottled water on campus.
“We were impressed with his concept and business plan,” Goto said. “The vending machine was installed and immediately became a hit with the students and staff.”
Readouts display water usage to let you know how many plastic bottles were not used in the process. After less than a week, the Princeville refill station displays “1,828 bottles saved” on its digital pad. A remote monitoring platform notifies service technicians to replace filters and other servicing is required.
Additional beta testing with a small round of investment capital led FloWater to gain more presence at the University of Hawaii, Iolani and Punahou schools. The Hawaii machines were pulled off-island for a Los Angeles sustainability conference in 2012, which led to contracts with universities in California, Nevada, Alaska and Hawaii.
Pulling the local stations where it all started was not an easy decision, he said.
“It was necessary to keep the business moving forward and that’s why I’m so excited and happy that they are finally going back in,” Taubman said.
FloWater was also accepted into Blue Startups, the Hawaii accelerator program on Oahu. It also received a seed investment capital from Hawaii Angels, Tech Coast Angels and Blue Ventures. Rich Razgaitis became CEO, and FloWater relocated its headquarters to San Francisco.
Taubman is the vision and chief marketing officer with a focus on universities, K-12 schools, fitness centers, hotels, wineries, grocery stores, airports, and wherever people would refill water containers.
With FloWater gaining presence around the country, Taubman is finding his opportunity to return to Kauai, with two new stations at Big Save Supermarket in Hanalei, and the North Shore General Store in the Princeville Shopping Center. Once a contractual order to a chain of fitness centers is completed more machines may be coming to Hawaii.
“We hope to install more FloWater refill stations on Kauai very soon,” Taubman said.
