GLOUCESTER, Mass., April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The beverage industry is under attack from all sides.  Schools are taking high sugar drinks out of cafeterias.  Many parents refuse to buy sodas and caloric juice drinks.  Legislators are looking at taxing sodas and other beverages.  Environmental groups are campaigning to reduce plastic bottle waste.  

(Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100422/NE91469 )

One Mom entrepreneur has invented an alternative: Flavrz Drink Mix.  Karen Barth, a Harvard Business School graduate and former beverage industry consultant had a revolutionary idea.  Her company, Flavrz Drink Mix, offers a healthy beverage concentrate that is mixed with water at home or on-the-go.   It comes in bottles or and in single serving pouches that reduce packaging waste by 90% compared with pre-made beverages.

What is so revolutionary about a drink mix? "First of all, it's healthy and organic," says Barth. "Most of the beverages in America are largely water, 95% or more, and the rest is sugar, artificial colorings, and chemicals.  We must stop putting chemicals into our bodies and the bodies of our children."

Flavrz is made from fruit extracts and juices and sweetened mainly with agave nectar, a natural sweetener derived from a cactus plant. This unique combination results in a product with less than one third the sugar of most sodas and juices and 100% RDA of Vitamin C.  According to Barth, the taste is superior to powdered mixes.  "You would never guess it was a healthy drink," she asserts.  

The idea came to Barth as she walked down the supermarket drink aisle.  "I couldn't find one drink I would give my family -- so I created one."  

Barth began experimenting with combinations of concentrates.  "I had all my kids' friends coming over and asking 'for some more of that new drink,'" she remarks with the hint of a smile. "At that point I knew I had something. If the picky kid who likes to down cola and Kool-Aid went crazy over my drink, I had to market this."

Barth realized that she didn't have to make a premade drink in a plastic bottle.  Instead, she created a flavor concentrate that people mix at home.   "This is the biggest part of the idea.  When families mix their own drinks with filtered tap water," Barth points out, "it completely eliminates the need for plastic bottles. It prevents waste which is much better for the planet than recycling."  

According to Flavrz website, Americans used about 50 billion plastic water bottles last year, but only 23% were recycled. That means 38 billion water bottles -- more than $1 billion worth of plastic -- were wasted.  Plus massive amounts of fuel are consumed in transporting beverages that are mostly water and in recycling the bottles.

Flavrz is not just for kids.  It's a healthy drink alternative for anyone who wants healthy hydration at home or on-the-go.  Flavrz is sold in Market Basket and natural grocery stores throughout New England.

For more information on Flavrz Drink Mix or Karen Barth, visit www.flavrzdrinkmix.com

SOURCE Flavrz Drink Mix

Back to top

RELATED LINKS
http://www.flavrzdrinkmix.com