No, these aren’t miniature raindrop cakes – they’re called Oohos – and this time, they really are made of raindrops. A London-based start-up company, Skipping Rocks Lab, hopes to reduce landfill waste with their alternative to water bottles, especially at crowd-heavy events like marathons or markets.

A post shared by Ooho! (@oohowater) on Nov 27, 2016 at 11:22am PST

The desire to replace plastic and halt its destructive effect on the environment is not a new one, but Ooho seems poised to take the lead when it comes to water packaging, since its solution is both environmentally friendly and cheaper to produce than plastic. The substance is made by combining calcium chloride and brown algae extract then dunking a block of ice into it. As Gear Junkie explains, the ice then melts, leaving the membrane behind and “creating a gelatinous, contained ball of water”.

A post shared by Ooho! (@oohowater) on Mar 21, 2017 at 1:32am PDT

Ooho has made waves online, where people are already debating possible allergies, how practical the portion size is and, most notably, the hygiene of the membrane. As for the latter, it should be noted that, though the packaging is safe to consume, it is up to the drinker to ingest it that way, first peel away the membrane or to simply slurp out the water.

A post shared by Ooho! (@oohowater) on Oct 27, 2016 at 6:26am PDT

What’s even better is that the packaging is not limited to water: Oohos can contain anything liquid like cooldrink, spirits and cosmetics. Additionally, while the membrane is usually used in its original flavourless condition, flavour can be added. We hope Oohos take off and become an institution in the athletic and food worlds – anything this darn cute and good for the environment gets a tick in our books.

A post shared by Ooho! (@oohowater) on Oct 21, 2016 at 2:44am PDT