When it comes to a product, the marketing, research, and success are measured and conducted in vastly different ways depending on whether the product is physical or digital. Having experience in both, we spoke to Oliver Bolton, Founder of Waterbomb and CEO of Almond, to get his take.

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So can you tell us a bit more about the products you’ve created?

Sure; so I started Waterbomb 12 years ago, and we’ve created all sorts of physical drinks products, such as FACT water and What A Melon, but recently I’ve moved into the digital sphere and am currently working on the Almond app (read more about that here).

What’s the difference between working with physical products and digital products?

With the physical product, Waterbomb was a bit more predictable — you need to get your listings, you go to premium stores, and then open to the mass market. There’s a rough formula to grow. I’d say that’s both a benefit and a negative of physical versus digital. With physical products, it always tends to take three times as long to get things done than you anticipate, and cost three times as much. But with a digital product like Almond, you can scale up overnight if you have the right formula. That’s what attracted me to the industry; it has the power to grow far quicker.

So your biggest driver to move to digital was about being able to grow quickly?

That was a part of it, yeah. But really, it ran a lot deeper for me. Working in the drinks industry, I didn’t always feel like I was always making the biggest impact in helping to solve the climate crisis. A big driver for me now is my son, and how he’ll be affected by negative impacts to the environment. I want him to have the same quality of life that I’ve had. The reality of the situation is that if we continue the trajectory of how things are going, we need to get to global net zero by 2050. So that’s 21 years to work out carbon emissions, which is pretty aggressive.

When my kids are 20, and they’re asking me what I did to help, I want to be able to look them in the eye and say that I really did my all to help. I want to use the next 10 years to make as much positive impact as possible; Almond as a platform which lifts up responsible brands can multiply the good I can do.

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Bringing together tech, food and sustainability makes Almond a key business driving the future of food and FoodTech. At Forward Fooding, we are passionate in our belief that entrepreneurship can make a difference in solving some of the biggest issues affecting our current food system, and the Almond app represents the future of how data and sustainability can work collaboratively to drive a positive environmental change.

Talking to Olly, it’s clear he’s passionate about the climate crisis, and absolutely recognises the vital importance of orchestrating this positive re-vamp of the current way we interact with our environment. Pushing sustainability, awareness, and active change is a core principle at the heart of Forward Fooding’s drive, and we’re sure you’ll join us in looking out for Almond’s launch!

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If you’d like to join Almond in being part of a community which powers the FoodTech revolution and strives for a future of sustainability, come and be part of Forward Fooding’s Global FoodTech Map here. You can also check out Olly’s website here.

If you enjoyed this article, follow, clap or share and join us in our Food Revolution at ForwardFooding.com

This article has been written by Mathilde Redshaw