Dash Water: Alex Wright and Jack Scott

Name: Alex Wright
Company name: Dash Water
Location: London
Date Launched: 15/5/17
Twitter handle: @dashdrinks
Website: www.dash-water.com

Tell us what your business does:

Dash is British sparkling spring water infused with wonky fruit and vegetables for a dash of flavour containing no sugar, sweeteners or calories.

Where did the idea for your business come from?

We want to encourage people to start drinking more water and stop throwing away deliciously-wonky fruit and veg. Both from farming backgrounds, we’ve seen first-hand just how much produce never even gets to our plates.

How did you know there was a market for it?

We sampled our flavours in parks around London to see if people would swap their usual sugar or artificially filled fizzy drink with a healthy, natural, beverage.

We received amazing feedback which gave us the confidence that we weren’t the only ones who loved our infusions!

What were you doing before starting up?

I previously worked at a mainstream fizzy drinks brand

Have you always wanted to run your own business?

Absolutely, I’ve always been keen to create an exciting and innovative start-up.

The food and beverage space is buzzing with people looking for more specialist products so it’s a great time to get going!

How did you raise the money?

Dash was backed by the Virgin StartUp team who gave us investment and a great mentor to launch the brand.

Describe your business model and how you make money:

We infuse our spring water with either wonky lemons or cucumbers in Herefordshire. These are then packaged in our recyclable cans and are retailed in top speciality stores around the UK.

What challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them?

Creating an innovative beverage for the first time is never easy, it took us about a year and a half to perfect our infusions before we were confident to launch!

What was your first big breakthrough?

Launching into Selfridges, Planet Organic and Daylesford.

What advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?

With the ease of retailing online and connecting with customers on social media there’s never been an easier time to start a business.

Where do you want to be in five years’ time?

To keep encouraging people to drink more water and less sugar as well as raising awareness about food waste.