Reston-based smart water bottle to shut down

Life Fuels, a Reston-based startup that sells smart water bottles, is shutting down after seven years of business.

In a LinkedIn post released on Sunday, founder and CEO Jonathon Perrelli said the COVID-19 pandemic had a crippling effect on the business. LifeFuels offered a smart water bottle that keeps track of the drinker’s water, mineral, and vitamin intake through an integrated app.

The company sold pods that would inject ingredients into the water. Each bottle retailed for 179. Like a Keurig coffee maker, the bottle had plastic pods with nutrients and vitamins to mimic the flavor of a sports drink.

“The world of startups is an onerous one in the best of times. The challenges that many small businesses have faced with the pandemic over the past year has been crippling and LifeFuels is no exception,” Perelli said.

Although the LifeFuels chapter has ended, Perrelli said his team is exploring alternative scenarios for its platform. But its bottles and pods are no longer available.

“The dream of LifeFuels is ending but the spirit of entrepreneurship lives on,” he wrote.

Photo via Life Fuels