A Unatego graduate has come up with a different way to make sparkling water, and a national publication recently took notice of his achievement.
Adam Lazar of Buffalo is the founder of Asarasi sparkling water.
The product became the first pure water to earn USDA organic certification, according to a July 7 article on the website of Food & Wine magazine, a Time Inc. publication.
It has “innovated a way to carbonate, store, and deliver this water.” The company received its big break in 2016, when it received $500,000 in funding from a state program seeking to revitalize the Buffalo area, said Lazar.
The company employs four people, but it works with contractors and manufacturers around the state, Lazar said.
The brand can currently be found in 1,500 grocery stores plus more than 500 restaurants and specialty retailers, Lazar said.
Lazar said he was living in Vermont in 2007 when he realized the potential of the maple syrup process.
He developed a business plan at the time, but said he didn’t have the money for the undertaking.
Lazar also worked in product development and management for Revision Military while in Vermont.
In 2016, the same year the competition gave the company its catalyst, Lazar said he started working full time for Asarasi.