After months of arguing that at-home fizzy water makers are a dumb fad, I caved and bought a SodaStream as a gift for my partner.
I was so wrong.
Two years later, I basically only drink carbonated things, and taking out the recycling is easier than ever. It would be nice to get back the counter space, however, and the bottles — which fall apart in the dishwasher — are pretty annoying, too.
Which is why other at-home carbonated water devotees might be curious to know that the New York-based startup Rocean is taking the concept to the next level, with a sparkling water dispenser that hooks up to your tap to make filtered, carbonated water.
And the company just raised $6 million in funding to bring its flagship product, Rocean One, to market.
Crowdfunded through Indiegogo in 2018, the dispenser is designed to sit up against the wall. It is five inches deep, to take up minimal counter space, and has slots for two pods that can be used to add flavor, or other enhancements like electrolytes, caffeine or CBD — if you’re really trendy.
It also supports using both pods at once, and can be preset to mix flavors in specific proportions.
Other key selling points include not having to carry cases of carbonated water on the subway — and reducing your contribution to the 450 million barrels of oil consumed by making, filling and transporting plastic bottles every year.
Blue, a Swedish investment firm focusing on sustainable startups, led Thursday’s funding round. Other investors include John Legend and former executives from Sony, Dyson, Tesla and VitaminWater.
According to the company’s website, the device will be available in limited batches late this summer, and it will retail at $349 a pop. That’s obviously pretty steep, but looking at the water bottles taking up precious space in my fridge I’m thinking — is it really, though?
