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The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

water tech

Three Tech Trends Helping To Save Water in the Food Industry

Between disappearing glaciers and groundwater and intensifying droughts, water supply pressure is on the rise in many regions, creating a great need to use water more efficiently.

The Spoon took a look at emerging technologies that are driving smarter use on farmlands and in food processing facilities. Here are some key innovations that could help the food system adapt to a water-depleted world:


Precision irrigation

Crop irrigation accounts for about 70% of water use worldwide, according to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. High-tech monitoring systems can help to ensure that irrigation water is being used as efficiently as possible.

California-based startup Ceres Imaging company captures aerial images of farmers’ fields, and then runs them through crop-specific data models to analyze plant health. Ceres can get an idea of how much water is in the soil using color infrared imaging — and can also use its proprietary Water Stress Index to detect irrigation issues. CropX of Israel takes a different approach, using a network of soil sensors to analyze moisture and other conditions.

Updated irrigation systems are also helping farmers to save water. Drip irrigation involves laying “drip lines” of tubing along crop rows. The drip lines are fitted with water drippers at intervals to apply a specific amount of water to each individual plant.

Wastewater management

At the processing stage, many plants consume large quantities of water to perform cleaning operations. Businesses must then decide what to do with the resulting wastewater, most of which flows back out into the environment.

A handful of startups are developing high-tech systems that help businesses to find secondary uses for that wastewater. California-based startup Aquacycl has developed a microbial fuel cell (powered by bacteria) that both treats wastewater and generates electricity. According to a Forbes interview with company CEO Orianna Bretschger, the system removes 70% of suspended solids and high levels of carbon and sulfur from wastewater — and the cleaner, resulting water can be recycled for use in cooling processes and other industrial operations.

Indoor farming

Indoor farming systems allow growers greater control over evaporation and soil drainage. Growers can also recycle irrigation water using recirculating systems; and can precisely control the amount of water that is applied to each plant using automation systems. The budding industry also cuts water use at the produce processing stage: There’s no need for triple-washing, as indoor-farmed produce is grown in a clean and controlled environment.

So it’s no wonder that many indoor farming companies boast high rates of water savings. Gotham Greens, Freshbox Farms, and Infarm all estimate that their systems use 95% less water than conventional agriculture to grow the same amount of produce.

The U.S. Forest Service estimates that 50 years from now, about half of freshwater basins in the country will be unable to meet monthly water demand. Annual drought conditions as well as concerns about a water-scarce future are likely to continue driving tech innovation in the space. Food growers and producers alike may also find that increased transparency around water-saving practices appeal to consumers who are looking for sustainable options.

Bevi Fights Plastic Bottle Waste With Its Smart Beverage Machine

What’s twice the size of Texas, floats on water, and weighs as much as 500 jumbo jets?

That would be the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

By recent numbers, there are roughly 1.8 trillion plastic pieces floating in the patch, which sits in the North Pacific ocean between Hawaii and California. Much of that debris comes from plastic drink bottles, which can take hundreds of years to disintegrate. The U.S. alone buys about 29 billion water bottles per year, and only one in six of those are recycled. The rest wind up in landfills or, more often, the ocean.

Finding an alternative to those plastic bottles is the core mission behind Bevi, the smart beverage dispenser currently making its way into offices, gyms, schools, and hotels. In the words of cofounder and Head of Marketing Frank Lee, the company is “building a future without plastic bottles and cans.”

The Bevi machine dispenses both still and sparkling water, which can also be flavored, and comes in two sizes: a five-foot-tall dispenser and a countertop model. It’s hooked up to a tap water source, and that water runs through the machine’s custom filtration system. Users, meanwhile, can select flavors (the machine can hold up to four at one time) and adjust their drink’s sweetness with a sliding scale that appears on the touchscreen. All flavors are vegan, kosher, and sweetened naturally, according to the company.

But back to the floating garbage patch: Bevi Cofounder and Head of Product Eliza Becton started reading about it when she was studying industrial design at Rhode Island School of Design. “[Bevi] was essentially a way for her to figure out how to clean up the ocean,” says Lee. Becton, Lee, and CEO and cofounder Sean Grundy joined forces in 2013 and started making smart beverage prototypes, from which Bevi was eventually born.

Besides being an eco-friendly alternative to bottled drinks, Bevi is also trying to offer more consistency and precision when it comes to flavor. A traditional soda gun (which the trio reverse engineered at one point in the name of research) has no consistent flavor level or carbonation settings. So instead, Bevi used some of the same technology found in medical devices, where dispensing the correct dosages is life or death. In other words: precision is paramount.

Water flavors may not fall in the lifesaving department, but digitizing the way people get them still delivers a much more consistent product.

Lee points out a couple other advantages to being digital:

For one, Bevi is an internet-connected machine, which means the company can monitor flavor data in real time. That makes it much easier to know when a machine’s flavor supply needs to be refilled. Office managers, Lee points out, typically have to restock beverages by going to a place like Costco and buying cases that have to be lugged back to the office or facility. By proactively monitoring levels and dispatching someone to refill them before they run out, Bevi eliminates this particular task, along with the wasted time and back pain that goes along with it.

The other advantage to being digital is that it allows Bevi to analyze which flavors are working, which are less popular, and any other noteworthy trends. At the start of the year, for example, cucumber-flavored water spiked as people were making their new year resolutions. That’s great information for Bevi, who can plan ahead to next January and push “cleansing” flavors accordingly.

Right now Bevi is focused on putting their devices in public places, where they see the most opportunity. While many, including myself, have asked about a home version of the machine, Lee didn’t have any specifics as to if or when that might materialize. Currently, both models of the machine are only available for business use. Pricing varies by company, but the Bevi website notes that “Bevi can cost as low as 26 cents per drink.”

Bevi is all about changing consumer behavior, which is a cornerstone of any true innovation. It’s also not easy to accomplish, and when it comes to plastic water bottles, there are decades of conditioning to undo in consumers before the majority of them opt for a more eco-friendly alternative. That’s really true for any kind of beverage receptacle, plastic or otherwise. I’d love to see a future where everything from fast food joints to Starbucks to the gas station has a Bevi or Bevi-like machine that’s not only digital but also offers a a real alternative to those fridges full of plastic.

No telling if that’ll actually happen, but in terms of changing the way we think about what we drink, the folks at Bevi seems up to the challenge.