O.Vine stresses sustainability strategy

28 Jun 2018

O.Vine, a spring water with functional ingredients from wine grapes skin infused water is said to be the culmination of a concerted strategy of attaining full sustainability from vineyards to table.

O.Vine, a spring water with functional ingredients from wine grapes skin infused water is said to be the culmination of a concerted strategy of attaining full sustainability from vineyards to table, reflecting the vision and journey of CEO Anat Levi.

This pure spring water infused with nutraceutical compounds derived from wine grape skins and seeds is said to create a new concept of refreshment drink based on the two oldest beverages: water and wine.

“I set out to deploy the same social responsibility model I developed several years ago in my previous position as a winery CEO,” said Levi. The catalyst for Levi was an event at the winery that could have spelled disaster. Yet within it, Levi was able to discover a ripe and decidedly unique opportunity. At the end of 2013, due to a technical glitch we lost a third of our raw material. This caused a huge loss of revenue. An easy solution would have been to lay off half of the employees and dramatically slash costs. I saw a hidden opportunity and instead chose to pursue it, with all of our employees together.”

Teamwork and focusing on the vision of engaging complete social responsibility combined with sustainability principles of a minimal footprint and maximum respect to people and nature led to an innovation process that helped Levi overcome the major challenge she faced. As a result, revenues increased dramatically.

“This proved my instinct to trust one’s employees was on target, to encourage and support them, and to become active and take responsibility,” she confirms.

During wine processing, 25% of the wine grapes—mostly seeds and skins—becomes waste. “In business, a key goal is to keep waste to an absolute minimum,” said Levi. “This wine waste typically is used for compost or animal feed, but storing and transport costs are expensive. Yet the skins and seeds of grapes are rich in phytochemicals that have been shown to have positive health benefits. The vision of Wine Water Ltd. was to upcycle these typically ‘lost’ ingredients and use them in a product toe to sustain well-being and health.”

The O.Vine line of non-alcoholic premium beverages is the company’s first launch in this effort.

“We intend to launch more innovative food products based on vine grape seeds and skins waste and our goal is to become a zero-waste company,” Levi said.