Last year we wrote about VIZcap, a bottling innovation that lets consumers release vitamins and other supplements into bottled water just before they drink it, and now a new line of health drinks has launched based on much the same idea.

Los Angeles-based Activate Drinks, which debuted earlier this spring, is a line of vitamin-enhanced waters that don't get mixed until the consumer is ready to drink them. Working on the premise that vitamins deteriorate in water over time, Activate Drinks are packaged in bottles featuring a special top, similar to the VIZcap, in which the vitamins and other supplements are stored separately in order to protect their freshness. When the consumer twists the cap on an Activate bottle, a small plastic blade within cuts the seal in the cap's waterproof chamber. Simultaneously, a small armature opens the chamber, allowing the ingredients to drop into the water below. (There's even a video on YouTube to demonstrate.) Four varieties currently make up the Activate Drinks line, including a Fruit Punch flavour packed with vitamins, an Orange flavour with supplements for immunity, an antioxidant-enriched Berry version and a Lemon Lime energy drink. No preservatives or sugar are included, and each drink contains 5 calories per bottle.

With a suggested retail price of USD 2.29 per bottle, Activate Drinks are currently available in a variety of stores throughout Southern California—meaning distribution opportunities likely abound throughout the rest of the world. Alternatively, we still love the idea of using caps like this for ready-to-mix bottles of baby formula; how about bringing the twist-and-release concept to other types of drinks? It's a thirsty world out there—no shortage of opportunities! (Related: Sipping flavour into milk.)

Website: www.activatedrinks.com
Contact: info@activatedrinks.com

Spotted by: Jamie Reedy

Whereas many mattresses today include polyurethane, formaldehyde and other materials with questionable effects on the environment and human health, Keetsa is an eco-bedding company that takes a thoroughly green approach to mattresses and other sleep products.

Keetsa mattresses are built with sustainable components including recycled steel, scrap memory foam bits, bamboo fabrics and unbleached natural cotton, while odor control and anti-bacterial properties are delivered using EPA-approved technologies based on silver and green tea. Since different Keetsa mattress styles use varying degrees of such sustainable components, the company uses a composite score called the Keetsa Quotient to summarize the overall greenness of each one. So far, so good, but maybe not entirely unique (other companies, like Greek Coco-Mat, also tout the benefits of sleep on natural materials.)

What we liked about Keetsa is that, going beyond their component materials, they've also developed a way to compress their large mattresses so they fit into convenient wheeled boxes (made from recycled cardboard, of course). Not only does that make them maneuverable by one person, but it also reduces transportation expenses and the products' resulting carbon footprint, and gives consumers savings of between 50 and 75 percent, Keetsa says. Which makes for a very integrated eco-approach. Once the customer unpacks the mattress at home, it will resume its full, normal shape within one to three days.

Keetsa's mattress prices begin at USD 385, and shipping is free. Pillows, protectors, foundations and mattress toppers are available as well, both through the company's two California showrooms and at a few select retailers nationwide. Keetsa is hoping to sign up more retailers soon; one to bring to eco-conscious consumers near you? (Related: Eco-friendly pack and move solution.)

Website: www.keetsa.com
Contact: joe@keetsa.com

Spotted by: Frank Marquardt

Lattes and cappuccinos may have achieved near-cult status around much of the world, but health benefits are not typically among their virtues. A new contender fresh out of South Africa is now proposing a healthier alternative: espresso made from red tea.

Back in 2005, South African Cape farmer and espresso junkie Carl Pretorius walked into his kitchen for a quick fix. Worrying about the caffeine, though, he opened up Rooibos red tea instead and poured it into the handle of his espresso machine. red espresso was born, featuring a strong, slightly nutty flavour and a clean finish. The Rooibos used for red espresso is grown wild and hand-harvested from a single farm at the highest altitudes in South Africa's Cedarberg Mountains. A patented cut and method of preparation give red espresso richer flavour, colour and health properties than regular Rooibos, yet it is still naturally caffeine-free and is claimed to contain five times more antioxidants than green tea—a full 10 times more than regular Rooibos tea itself. Like coffee-based espresso, it can also be made into lattes and cappuccino-style drinks.

red espresso launched into the South African market in November 2005, and won a Product of the Year award just a year later in an important South African food and beverage innovation competition. By the end of 2006 it made its way around the globe, and last fall it earned a spot on the shelves at Whole Foods markets around the US. Those in food and beverage: one to serve up to the rest of the world.

Website: www.redespresso.com
Contact: info@redespresso.com

Spotted by: Marijke Krabbenbos

We covered mobile virtual network operator Blyk both before and just after its launch last year. For those who have been wondering how the company is doing, last week it reported that it had reached 100,000 members in Britain in just six months.

Blyk targets 16- to 24-year-olds with its free mobile phone service, which includes 217 texts and 43 minutes every month. In exchange, of course, they get advertising—up to 6 messages sent to their phones each day. Britain's youth don't seem to mind, though—Blyk reached that 100,000-member target six months ahead of schedule. Response rates to the ads in question have also achieved a whopping average of 29 percent—far surpassing the norm, which tends to hover in the single digits.

Shaun Gregory, Blyk's UK CEO, explains: "Reaching 100,000 members is significant for advertisers because it gives them the opportunity to engage with a mass youth audience in a highly efficient and cost-effective way. In six months we have built up a deep knowledge of our member base, which now exceeds many established youth media players, and with over 7 million 16- to-24-year-old phone owners in the UK, there is huge potential for growth."

Blyk will launch in the Netherlands in the second half of 2008, followed by other European markets after that. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs and Industrial and Financial Investments Company (IFIC) recently joined the company's list of investors, which also includes Sofinnova Partners and a number of others. Free love, you're on a roll!

Website: www.blyk.com
Contact: membercare@blyk.co.uk — sales@blyk.co.uk

Spotted by: RK

Longtime Springwise readers may remember Kiva, the venture we wrote about back in 2006 that facilitates charitable microloans to entrepreneurs in the developing world. Now the organization has found a way to make loans go even further through a partnership with credit card issuer Advanta.

Earlier this month Advanta and Kiva announced the KivaB4B Project, an initiative through which Advanta will match the loans made by holders of its business credit card with up to USD 200 per month per card. Card holders simply select a business owner to sponsor through Kiva and make a grant using their Advanta BusinessCard. Advanta matches that grant, dollar for dollar, and Kiva distributes the total resulting funds. As the funds are repaid, they get deposited back into the card holder's Kiva account, while the match funds go back to Advanta. In the meantime, donors get materials to publicize their support, such as a KivaB4B button to put on their website, stickers for their storefront and postcards to send to customers.

Started in 1951 with USD 30 in seed money, Advanta is now one of the largest credit card issuers in the US small business market. Ami Kassar, Advanta’s Chief Innovation Officer, explains: “In our years of working with small business owners, we’ve found that many of them remember the moment someone gave them inspiration, some good advice, or a little cash to get things going. Now, through KivaB4B, American small business owners can offer that same ray of hope to entrepreneurs in developing countries.”

San Francisco-based Kiva has already opened a whole new world of opportunity to entrepreneurs in developing countries—it's facilitated more than USD 27 million in loans since its inception in 2005. With the power of a major bank behind it—and a little cause-related marketing incentive for donors—there's no telling how far its effects might go.

Website: www.kivab4b.org
Contact: aholderer@advanta.com

Spotted by: Susanna Haynie