Folia Water

Safe drinking water is a problem for 2.1 billion working poor who earn $2-10/day. The barrier for universal access to safe drinking water is the lack of a successful distribution model capable of achieving habit change at an accessible price.

The Folia filter paper is simple, does not require electricity, and is sold at the same price point as other household consumables that are bought daily/weekly. Silver nanoparticles kill bacteria and viruses, while the paper’s pore size physically filters out larger parasites. By leveraging the consumer marketing techniques and last mile distribution of FMCG firms, our strategy will allow us to overcome accessibility issues to low-income urban consumers.

If scaled, our solution enables consumers to have agency over their own access to safe water, helping to battle water-borne diseases that cause higher mortality rate and reduce the strength, health, and equitability of communities across the world. 

The problem of safe drinking water is particularly prevalent in urban communities. From our on-the-ground research in Dhaka and Mexico City, it is clear water quality is poor and there are no affordable and high quality solutions that have reached out target segment (D/D+ segment of urban working poor). As megacities form as a result of mass migration, infrastructure is overwhelmed. Corruption and other issues also prevent effective maintenance of the infrastructure that is in place, meaning that sewage leaks into the water network, particularly in the slums.  In our target markets of Dhaka, Jakarta, and Mexico City, approximately 10M, 14M, and 11M people are affected by this problem respectively. 

We have begun in depth consumer sales testing in Dhaka, having received a $400k contract from Unilever Global Innovation to prove the consumer sales recipe. We are also conducting surveys to measure consumer awareness and product feedback to determine the viability of a broader sales launch with Unilever as a bottom rung on a water purification product ladder. 

Our target is the D/D+ segment of urban working poor. Our beachead is in Dhaka, Bangladesh (est. 10M people), with an eye on Jakarta.  

The user of the product is likely a woman (potentially mother) who will make the buying decision. In Dhaka the D/D+ segment share the pain point and awareness around lack of access to safe drinking water and already shop for FMCG products, such as soap. 

We have conducted 250 interviews and numerous focus groups in Bangladesh, helping us update our product design, tailor our marketing to focus on health, family, and taste, and realize the importance of educating the consumer to change the filter after 20L. Visual cues, such as the paper turning color when it is no longer effective reinforces this importance

The demographic FW is targeting is overlooked. We see this problem as an opportunity, and believe the FMCG sector has the tools needed to solve a crucial UN Millennium Development Goal.

We are a materials firm, and our first product line uses this material to filter water. The technology is central to the material. Folia Water is the sole owner of a broad global process patent (national patents pending) covering a set of industrial-scale manufacturing processes that utilize standard reel-to-reel machinery for in-situ synthesis of metal nanoparticles (starting from commodity metal salts) formed throughout paper or similar materials as they are being manufactured.  

Our goal is to create a more robust formulation of the nano-silver filter paper to ensure effective antimicrobial performance under all typical and non-typical (stressed) water conditions to obtain industry-standard certifications at mass-manufacturing production levels. This work has been directly stated as a requirement by multiple $X0B beverage, CPG, and materials corporate customers.

Performance testing so far: 

Removes: 99.9999% bacteria, 99.999% viruses, 99.99% protozoans, below 5 NTU for turbidity, with a flow rate of 2-3 L/H. 

Third-party verified: Tested in 6 different countries with over 50+ different water sources by 6 independent laboratories.

We are doubling flow rate to 6 L/H in 2 ways:

• Using papers with properties that allow for faster flow rate 

• Increasing filter size, surface area, and pressure

By leveraging the low-costs and scale of paper manufacturing, Folia Water can price it’s proprietary nanosilver-infused paper water filters (packaged like coffee filters) at a retail price of $0.20 for 20 liters, only 1¢/liter. Folia Water’s technical innovation therefore also opens up a business innovation: the world’s first consumer packaged goods water filter, i.e. a product priced as a consumable and sold through food/beverage retail grocery stores. Additionally and importantly, our simple product design has been closely guided by the consumers in our target markets. Through focus groups and research over the past 2 years, we have created a product that fits into the consumer kitchen and shopping journeys, thereby minimizing the need for habit change. 

By pushing Folia Filters as an affordable consumer good, we will create the first FMCG water filter category. This is a crucial change from the durable good appliances that currently exist, and will allow us to reach the last mile and use the existing tools around consumer marketing and distribution available to FMCG corporates. 

Our competitive advantage is a manufacturing method that utilizes standard paper and coating machinery to synthesize silver nanoparticles on the paper fibers throughout the surface and bulk during the manufacturing through adding silver salts and other reactants as nano-silver precursors in the size press (e.g., no additional treatment steps are needed).  Thus, the cost is much lower because low cost inputs (silver salt is 1/10th the cost of nano-silver) and fewer manufacturing steps (just paper making). This allows our product to be affordable, and the fact it is made of paper means we can adapt a simple product design easily.

Our global patent is filed in all major markets and covers making metal nanoparticles specifically using any of the different sections of paper mills, coating processes, or any reel to reel process. Further, there is a large amount of know how around consistency and quality control which is critical for performance.  

Initial stages of our sales pilot: 36% Bangladeshi customer purchase rate at yard sale sessions. 

It is too early to have an accurate repurchase rate, however we have data collecting measures in place to understand how to improve this purchase rate and to have visibility on the repurchase rate. 

We know from our market research that the segments we are targeting are problem/solution aware. 

We expect our solution to work for a number of reasons. 

Our approach places a lot of emphasis on consumer feedback. We are assuring that the consumer guides our marketing and product design, while also taking guidance from experts that are aware on marketing and sales techniques for BOP consumers. 

We acknowledge distribution as a core problem as to why no solutions have been effective so far. By creating a low-price FMCG water filter category we have a strategy that can reach the last mile. 

Finally, by selling at the same price point as other FMCG products, we are affordable. We know our target can afford our product as they already shop for FMCG products, such as soap and SIM cards. 

Our current impact has been limited (2500 sales since 2016). We begin our focus now on a small pilot to gather proof points. At this stage our potential impact is huge. We have a letter of intent and term sheet signed from Unilever stating its intention to sign a distribution agreement with Folia Water or incorporate Folia Water proprietary materials into its products. 

Current: 500

In 1 year, we project recurrent sales to 50k households

In 5 years, we project recurrent sales to 850k+ households

The focus on a small and lean sales test at this stage rather than volume is critical, as this will allow us to improve our product design and identify consumer-product fit through low touch sales. With our $400k paid pilot with Unilever in Bangladesh, this is what we have just started to do. Once we believe we are ready to scale, we will be able to do so quickly through a mass market consumer good partner.

Folia Water has a three-staged commercialization approach. Briefly, the steps are:

• Consumer sales testing to prove consumer-product-channel market fit,

• Scaling this approach in one country before scaling to neighboring countries,

• Becoming an OEM materials supplier into other consumer goods products globally.

In the short term, Folia is establishing a go-to-market strategy and retail sales playbook to reach low-income consumers and for distributors to those consumers for replication in other geographies. The market trial focus is therefore not on amount of revenue, but rather proving B2C product-market fit through mass-market FMCG retail, and the transition to B2B2C sales through distributors. The outcome should therefore be a documented scalable retail sales and marketing playbook for distributors.

Our long term vision is that our product, that is both simple and adaptable to different cultural expectations, is available to this massive category of the working poor to eliminate the numerous risks of drinking dirty water. We plan to establish the low-price FMCG water filter category. At this point, Folia can shift to selling material through FMCG product companies, dominating the physical supply and consumer mindshare of the active material. Folia aims to become a branded material, selling rolls of paper or functional materials to existing regional or global consumer goods distributors.

We aim to show that mass market FMCG is a scalable means of addressing basic needs. We position our filter like soap, toothpaste, and sim cards that reach the last mile. 

At the initial stage we have a number of challenges:

• We need to localize product design and get a design that fits with consumer habits. 

• We need to localize our marketing concept

• We need to advance manufacturing at country scale

• To reach the scale that we want we need to secure a major conatract with a mass market consumer good firm, such as Unilever. 

• We believe it is crucial to improve the flow rate of the filter.

• We need to create a more robust formulation of the nano-silver filter paper to ensure effective antimicrobial performance under all typical and non-typical (stressed) water conditions to obtain industry-standard certifications at mass-manufacturing production levels. 

We have hired a design engineer who is communicating closely with the consumer engagement teams on the ground in order to perfect our product design, as well as paying field visits himself. We are also localizing our marketing concept through high touch sales for consumer informational feedback. In terms of manufacturing, we have just received the NSF $225k grant in order to stress test and improve manufacturing reliability. We are also on the right track in finding our first FMCG partner, having received $400k from Unilever for a paid pilot in Bangladesh and an LOI stating the firm’s intent to work with us as in the future. Our CTO and newly hired microbiologist are working on doubling flow rate by using paper with properties that allow for faster flow rate and increasing filter size, surface area, and pressure.

6 full time, 2 part time

We have assembled a team with a variety of expertise in paper production, water treatment, microbiology, nanotechnology, materials chemistry, consumer goods product/distribution, and retail supply chain. Additionally, we have local on the ground presence in target markets. 

Jonathan Levine, PhD, CEO, co-founder 

Teri Dankovich, PhD paper chemistry, CMU. Inventor, product lead, CTO, Cofounder

Mohammed Rashed, Bangladesh Country Director. Previously head of three $1M+ BRAC social enterprises

Charles Cochin, Head of Business Development. Experience in consumer goods/retail trade in emerging markets  

Daniel Canestaro-Garcia, Design Engineer

Eman Elshalakany, Microbiologist

Advisors from consumer goods, international development startups, paper industry, nano-silver industry, water industry. Such as:

Adam Simons (Head of Emerging Brands, Clorox)

Michael McCready (Former CEO Safeway)

Satinder Singh Baraj, Ph.D. (Former R&D Manager, Global Healthcare at P&G)

We are planning to form a 5 person board

Folia Water has received a $400k contract from Unilever Global Innovation to prove the consumer sales recipe in partnership with the Unilever Bangladesh PureIt team. In addition to partnering with Unilever in Bangladesh, Folia Water has partnered with:

BOP Innovation Center, a consumer marketing/product testing firm 

iSocial, in order to implement door-to-door sales and gather valuable data and insights as to what retail recipe will work for low-income urban communities. 

Jeeon, a network of pharmacies through which to sell

Through these partnerships we are activating new clients and accessing the store-owners in target countries.