Richard’s Rainwater, the first bottled rainwater and sparkling rainwater company, entered into a partnership with Buffalo Bayou Brewing Co. in Houston, Texas, expanding both the company’s production capacity and commitment to local brewery partnerships on the heels of closing a $2 million financing round. 
The Austin-based brand captures renewable rainwater before it has a chance to hit the ground – making it 100 times cleaner than the strictest standard for bottled water purity. At the forefront of sustainability, Richard’s Rainwater builds local, low energy rainwater capture centers as close to its customers as possible to keep its carbon footprint low and has identified breweries as ideal partners.
The company is teaming up with Buffalo Bayou Brewing Co. to collect rain for its new line of sustainably packaged still rainwater in cans. The facility projects to capture 500,000 gallons of clean drinking water by the end of 2020 and will explore collection opportunities off adjacent roofs to enhance capacity and stormwater management. This partnership is the first of multiple new facilities planned to be operational by the end of 2021.
“We are thrilled to partner with Buffalo Bayou Brewing Co. to bring rainwater collection to Houston,” said Richard’s President Taylor O’Neil. “In addition to a significant capacity expansion for our business, we are excited about the opportunity to work with the Buffalo Bayou Brewing team on their commitment to being on the forefront of sustainability initiatives. Together, we will prevent more than a half million gallons per year of stormwater from entering the system in a flood zone while providing a superior clean drinking water option to the local community.”
Rassul Zarinfar, Buffalo Bayou CEO, commented on the partnership. “Water is literally the first ingredient in beer, and yet you never really hear anything about it. Hops get all the glory,” he said. “When the Richard’s Rainwater team came and explained their passion for water quality and conservation, we knew we found a great partner who shares our values and will be fun to work with. Not only will we be capturing and canning rainwater, we will be utilizing it in our brewery. At Buffalo Bayou, we meet ingredients on their own terms and use flavor theory and cutting-edge techniques to build unexpected ideas that challenge the way people think about what they drink. We can’t wait to learn more about beer’s most important ingredient in its purest form, straight from the source, working alongside fellow flavor-innovators.”
Currently, the company distributes through multiple retailers in the United States, including Whole Foods, H-E-B, The Fresh Market and many other regional natural grocery chains.
