Food waste has always been a huge issue in restaurant kitchens, supermarkets and homes. While it’s always been in the back of people’s minds, recently there’s been a real surge of interest in how chefs, charities and producers are tackling the problem. It’s now become a badge of honour for brands and cooks to take perfectly edible ingredients that are destined for the bin and turn them into something people want.
Dash Water is one of those brands. A new company, they sell cans of carbonated spring water infused with wonky fruit and veg. It comes in two flavours – lemon (with a touch of lemongrass thrown in to keep it interesting) and cucumber, which offers something a little bit different. Founders Alex Wright and Jack Scott work with charities such as Feedback, British farmers and food suppliers to take produce that’s too ugly, wonky or misshapen to go to the shops. Instead of being thrown in the bin, they use it to infuse flavour into their drinks.
‘We both come from farming backgrounds so we’ve seen first-hand how bad food waste can be – around thirty percent of all fruit and veg grown in the UK ends up being wasted,’ says Alex. ‘We got the idea for Dash about two years ago when we were both working at Cawston Press; we’d bring a bottle of water into work infused with fruits or vegetables every day and realised there wasn’t anyone offering the same thing in shops. There aren’t any calories, sugars or sweeteners, and being able to use surplus fruits and vegetables to flavour it was a no-brainer.’
