José Ramón Campos Castillo, CEO and founder of Ozeanic tells us about the origin, present and future of his startup
In the exciting world of entrepreneurship, revolutionary ideas often emerge from chance situations. This is the case of OZEANIC, a project that was born in 2019 as a result of a personal experience.
My son got a stomach ache and the doctor recommended that we install a water purification device at home. As an engineer with basic knowledge of electronics and a lot of free time at the time, I decided to investigate how these systems work. We installed a device connected to electricity in our house, but soon realized that we needed a portable solution.
My son carried water to school in the mornings, and in the summer, it was gone by midday. After searching online, I discovered that there were no portable units on the market. So, I decided to do some research and develop a basic solution at home.
Over time, I obtained the patent for the technology and we decided to professionalize it with a team of engineers from IBI, in the Valencian community. IBI, known as the Spanish toy town, has become a center for the development and manufacturing of devices. This is how we created the company and worked hard until we achieved the innovative product we have today.
Unlike software-based services (SAAS), physical products require a larger initial investment and the process of entering the market is usually slower. However, physical projects have the advantage of greater stability in sales once they are accepted by the market. They also have the advantage of having a patent, which makes it difficult for competitors to enter the market.
One of the main challenges we have faced has been accessing physical distribution chains. These large chains are dominated by a few players and operate with intermediaries and commercial conditions that are unfavourable for small companies like ours.
On the other hand, suppliers have a large production capacity and capitalization, which makes it even more difficult to enter the market. For this reason, we have focused on online commerce during this first stage, where we can compete on better terms.
It is interesting to note that there have been no significant innovations in portable water purification technology over the past fifty years.
In the 1960s, water purification tablets and bottles with filters emerged. Then, in 2020, a bottle that uses UV rays to purify water was introduced. In 2021, we launched our unique ozone-based technology on the market. We have a patent in Spain and have been applying for its registration in the United States for more than two years.
We are currently in the final stages of the process and expect to receive a positive response from the US patent office by the end of this year.
OZEANIC users have proven the effectiveness of our system in various parts of the world, including exotic countries such as India, Cuba, Morocco, Egypt and Mexico, where the risk of water contamination is highest.
However, our bottle is also effective in improving the quality of tap water by neutralizing chlorine. When drinking tap water, which often contains chlorine, our system removes this component and improves water quality.
It is little known that reusable bottles become contaminated by microbes present in our saliva, every time we drink water from them. The OZEANIC bottle, thanks to its ozone system, guarantees the elimination of these bacteria and keeps the bottle free of contaminants and also free of bad odours.
While water purification tablets work well in emergency situations, they are not suitable for daily use due to their side effects and possible long-term negative effects.
Filters, on the other hand, act like a sieve and only prevent the passage of large particles, with viruses being able to pass through them without problems due to their small size. In contrast, the OZEANIC system acts at the level of the membrane that covers viruses and bacteria, oxidising it and eliminating these pathogens. This is a biological approach that is effective against pathogens.
One of the greatest added values of OZEANIC is that we contribute to reducing plastic pollution by decreasing the need to use disposable water bottles.
Each user who uses our bottle on a daily basis will manage to reduce approximately 5.6 kilos of polluting plastic per year, in addition to saving more than €200 annually on the purchase of disposable bottles.
Our OZEANIC bottle is now available on the market, although it can only be purchased online through our website, www.ozeanic.eu, and on Amazon Spain, Italy, France and Germany for the past three weeks. We hope that by the end of this year we will have the necessary capital boost to carry out a marketing campaign that will allow us to expand our reach and reach a wider audience.
The path taken by our project has been slow but sure. As entrepreneurs, we have learned to move forward cautiously, taking calculated and controlled risks. In Spain, we have had great support, such as the Expansión award we won in 2021, our participation in B-Venture in Bilbao that same year, and the backing of the CajamarInnova accelerator from Banco Cajamar in Almería in 2022. Currently, we are starting to work on the Orbita Program of the European Center for Business and Innovation in Castellón.
Currently, we are focused on gaining visibility. Many people are unaware of the existence of our solution, and explaining that a bottle can purify water by eliminating viruses and bacteria is a challenge due to its innovative nature. Therefore, we must make a great marketing effort to make the public aware of this viable and reliable solution.
We work every day to make our project known initially here in Spain. Our goal is to contribute to a healthier and more sustainable life, so we want to take our Spanish innovation, first to other countries in Europe and then to other markets.
