The latest news, trends, analysis, interviews and podcasts from the global food and beverage industry

Amidst recent environmental arguments surrounding bottled water, comes a new product idea from John Artis that is both environmentally sound and presents an added value opportunity for restaurateurs.

Indro is a refillable water bottle with a blue wired cap that looks elegant at the table and may easily be overprinted with a restaurant's name and logo.

Indro believes it represents an alternative approach to serving water at the table that can be more profitable than bottled mineral waters while, at the same time, promoting the restaurant rather than a particular brand of water.

It may be used with untreated mains tap water, but most establishments will find it preferable to fit an in-line water filter to remove off-tastes and odours.

A litre of water filtered in this way on your own premises costs a fraction of a penny compared with branded bottled waters. It enables restaurants to serve filtered water at a lower price than branded mineral waters and make a larger margin. Indro bottles are completely reusable and dishwasher-proof.

They are available in two different sizes, one litre and 36cl. Packed in cases of six, bottles are scuff resistant and, ultimately, fully recyclable.