In a world where convenience often comes at the cost of environmental sustainability, a new trend is emerging – “just add water”. From hair care to cleaning supplies and even plant-based milk, these innovative solutions are revolutionising the way we consume products.
The frustrating truth is that a vast number of everyday essentials we all consume are primarily made from water. Take oat milk for example, which contains only 10% oats, the rest being, you guessed it, water.
While high water content isn’t a problem in itself, it gives rise to an inefficient and wasteful product lifecycle. This is a solvable problem, given most of us are lucky enough to have clean, abundant and sustainable water sources at home.
So why not add the water to products at home instead? It would save huge amounts of packaging as well as emissions from transporting around all that water. Well, it turns out innovative new brands are doing exactly this in the plant milk, cleaning, and hair care space.
Overherd Oat Milk Powder
Overherd, a UK-based brand founded last year, has taken the oat milk market by storm with its ingenious dried oat milk. Simply add water, shake, and voila – you have a creamy, delicious oat milk which is more sustainable than its carton counterparts. Moreover, the Yorkshire-based start-up also argues it’s a more convenient solution too.
Why is “just add water” better?
One of the main drivers behind the rise of “just add water” products is sustainability. Take Overherd’s oat milk powder – it’s water-free, so weighs 10x less than store-bought milk cartons, and thus requires 90% less packaging.
This is particularly poignant given that only 29.5% of milk cartons in the UK end up being recycled (one of the worst recycling rates in Europe).
Then there are transport emissions – “just add water” products like Overherd are significantly less bulky than their diluted counterparts, which crucially translates to far fewer transport emissions.
“It wouldn’t make sense to dilute Ribena with water at the factory and ship it all over the country filled with water. It would be extremely inefficient and wasteful. We think the same applies to plant milk and a host of other categories like cleaning products” says the founder of Overherd.
Finally, there is the matter of food waste. Dried products naturally have a longer shelf life and so help to prevent food waste. Overherd’s oat milk powder is shelf stable for 12 months with no additives putting a stop to food waste and saving consumers money at the same time. Last year 490 million pints of milk went to waste in the UK primarily due to spoilage so this is clearly a problem which needs to be solved.
More convenient too?
But sustainability isn’t the only reason consumers are flocking to “just add water” products. These waterless wonders are so much lighter than diluted alternatives which means they can be posted through the mail, saving you that extra trip to the supermarket.
Overherd’s oat milk powder and other dried food products also won’t take up precious fridge space, and given that each pouch makes 8 litres of oat milk, you probably won’t be running out of oat milk any time soon either.
Then there is the travel-friendliness of “just add water” products. Imagine trying to jam 5 large cartons of oat milk into your suitcase, it’s not viable, and for camping and travel enthusiasts this is a real problem.
Embracing Change for a Better Future
In a world where sustainability is increasingly important, brands like Overherd, Home Things and Ethosa lead the charge towards a greener, more eco-conscious future. By making small changes to our everyday habits, such as opting for “just add water” products, we can collectively make a significant impact on the planet.
