We got the opportunity to chat with Nicholas Reichenbach, Founder, Chairman & CEO at Flow Alkaline Spring Water, who shared how successfully his company meets its objective of reducing environmental impacts by offering sustainably sourced naturally alkaline spring water, his thoughts about Flow’s recent partnership with the TSC New York City Marathon, followed by the benefits participants and spectators will receive from this partnership and how it will contribute to brand awareness and trial in the New York area and throughout the United States.
A seasoned executive & serial start-up, investor and consumer product entrepreneur, Nicholas has built a robust track record, founding, creating and building multiple businesses in the consumer goods, social media, internet/mobile technology, entertainment and hospitality space; Flow ( a socially responsible water company), Mindfull INC (an organic Food & Beverage Company), Rabbit (a leading social video chat platform venture-backed by Google Ventures, CrunchFund and other leading VCs), GuestDriven (a leading start-up in hospitality/hotel SaaS with clients such as Thompson, Hyatt & Intercontinental), Magmic Games (Voted top 10 mobile social game & app publisher having produced over 300 games from Guitar Hero mobile to NewYork Times Crosswords) and Bplay( One of the largest mobile smart phone direct-to-consumer mobile content storefront that powered At&t, Verizon (Alltel), U.S. Cellular, Rogers Wireless and R.I.M Blackberrys, worldwide).
How will you describe your entrepreneurial journey, which includes a strong track record, founding, creating, and building multiple consumer goods, social media, internet/mobile technology, entertainment, and hospitality businesses?
I’d say my first key milestone was co-founding a multimillion-dollar entertainment business that brought European electronic dance music to the Canadian market, laying the foundations for thinking on a global scale. I moved into tech in 2011 founding video-chat company Rabbit and spent the next two years in Silicon Valley as the President and a Board Member. Here I learnt from the best in the business, I grew as a leader and significantly, I learnt how to work with purpose in mind. My time in tech culminated in a trip to Burning Man in 2014, which led to the life-changing epiphany that informed Flow.
Burning Man’s zero-trace policy meant whatever you brought with you, you took home or recycled. At the end of our trip, I walked past a literal plastic bottle mountain, all from water, all for recycling. I realized this was a problem that I could help fix, founding Flow using water from my family’s artesian spring and advanced packaging to create a 100% recyclable water bottle. Over the years, my businesses have ranged in sector, but they tend to operate in white space – a gap in the market where consumer intention is strong, but no major businesses are acting on this sentiment. Consumers are more mindful of how their spending choices are impacting the health of the planet and the economy at large. Being mindful in business, operating with a mission at heart, makes good business sense, with the bonus of being able to follow avenues I’m truly passionate about.
How successfully does your company meet its objective of reducing environmental impacts by offering sustainably sourced naturally alkaline spring water in a recyclable and up to 75% plant-based package?
Flow has a comprehensive sustainability program that goes beyond the package to cover impacts across 5 key pillars: protecting the source, a more sustainable package, climate protection and carbon footprint reduction, supporting the circular economy, and giving back to our communities. Our package plays a role in all of those areas, but most clearly aligns with the first through third sustainability pillars.
How is the pH of the water maintained within the pack? Can the Flow pack be recycled?
The water’s alkalinity is a measure of calcium carbonate in the water, and alkalinity is a solution’s ability to buffer an acid. Flow’s alkalinity in the package remains stable as long as the package is sealed. pH is a measure of hydrogen ion activity, and can give a snapshot of the water’s alkalinity at a certain time and temperature, but can vary from the source to the package. Our pH of +/- 8.1 as measured at the source is an average of the historical pH range of the springs over time.
The Flow package is recyclable. In Canada, 95% of the country has curbside recycling access for cartons. You can find more info on recycling at: https://www.recyclecartons.ca/.
What are your thoughts about Flow’s recent partnership with the TSC New York City Marathon? What are you hoping to achieve through this collaboration?
Launching our partnership with NYRR has been an incredible experience and we look forward to working together over the next four years. The TCS New York City Marathon is one of the foremost sporting events in the world, presenting us with a valuable opportunity to resonate with global audiences who value healthy living. For its 51st edition, we connected with the Marathon’s 50,000+ runners in addition to millions of spectators watching in-person and worldwide to profile Flow as a more sustainable alternative to traditional plastic bottled water. Over the course of this incredible partnership we hope that by supporting the NYRR’s roster of events, we will continue to connect with global audiences to build Flow’s brand awareness and encourage further trials in the New York area and across the US.
How will participants and spectators benefit from this partnership? And how will it contribute to brand awareness and trial in the New York area and throughout the United States?
Flow’s sustainable packaging that is 100% recyclable and made with up to 75% renewable materials, provides participants and spectators with a more sustainable alternative to single-use plastic, with 100% recyclable packaging. In addition to this, thanks to the optimum balance of minerals and electrolytes, Flow will provide the best and healthiest form of hydration to runners over the next 4 years, which ties into Flow’s ethos of capturing consumers that live traditionally healthy lifestyles.
I anticipate the collaboration will help build our brand awareness in the New York area and throughout the wider United States, with NYRR’s events over the next few years contributing towards a greener template for future sporting and entertainment events in the future.
