FAQs

General Product Details

  • A: Yes! We made this really simple. You simply press the button on the side of the system to dispense filtered, chilled water. Our water is filtered to the highest rating and then run through a mineralized filter to add back some of the good stuff!

  • A: All of our dispensers are equipped with an Everpure MC2 SYSTEM. Everpure is one of the most trusted brands in water purification and their filtration systems are 3rd party tested by industry-leading regulatory agencies such as NSF/ANSI and ISO.

  • A: All beverages (including water) are dispensed at 40-45 degrees F.

  • A: The external parts of our cartridges are better than recyclable, they’re reusable! We pick up used cartridges and reuse them. But the cartridges have an internal, 1-liter, plastic bag. These bags are recyclable and our team makes sure they get into the right hands after they are used. But we are working hard to design internal bags that are the most sustainable options in existence.

  • A: sum. is a technology that provides a customer with a variety of options so they can build the perfect hydration beverage for their needs. Our system utilizes responsible manufacturing, distribution, and marketing practices so our products can be as sustainable as possible without producing any single-use waste and without sacrificing quality. Also, sum. is laser-focused on wellness, fitness, and athletic performance and we formulate our products using the most rigorous, updated hydration science.

  • A: Our system dispenses a variety of hydration options that are specifically formulated to optimize hydration for mental and physical performance. With multiple electrolyte concentration options, caffeine options, and all-natural flavors, you can create several combinations based on your hydration needs. All without producing any single-use waste!

  • A: We have one price per size regardless of how many supplements you add to your beverage. A 20 ounce is $2.50, 24 ounces is $2.75, and 32 ounces is $3.25. If you compare this with the cost of a similar beverage at retail, we are significantly less expensive. Most of these beverages cost ~$0.25 per ounce (compared to popular pre/during/and post-workout drinks). At this rate, ours would cost $5.00, $6.00, and $8.00 respectively. Oh, and filtered water is always free!

  • A: Our filtration system is ISO 3rd party validated to remove 99.999% of particles as small as 0.2 microns, as well as chlorine, and bacterial cysts such as cryptosporidium and giardia. Our filters are NSF/ANSI certified to Particulate Class 1, the highest level of certification for mechanical filtration.

  • A: Yes. The NIH defines microplastics as plastic "any synthetic solid particle or polymeric matrix and with size ranging from 1 μm to 5 mm". Our filtration systems are 3rd party ISO certified to remove particles as small as 0.2 microns, or 99.999% of microplastics.

  • A: Our Everpure MC2 Purification System is NSF 42 certified for chemical reduction and particulate class 1 mechanical filtration, NSF 53 certified for mechanical filtration and cyst removal, and validated under ISO 17025 for 99.999% reduction of Pseudomonas diminuta following the ASTM F838-05 protocol for the validation of 0.2 μm sterilizing grade filters.

Ingredients & Nutrition

Options Electrolyte Content 20 ounces 24 ounces 32 ounces
Low Sodium
Potassium
Magnesium 		300 mg
100 mg
25 mg 		350 mg
117 mg
30 mg 		414 mg
138 mg
35 mg
Medium Sodium
Potassium
Magnesium 		600 mg
200 mg
50 mg 		700 mg
233 mg
58 mg 		828 mg
276 mg
70 mg
High Sodium
Potassium
Magnesium 		900 mg
300 mg
75 mg 		1050 mg
350 mg
88 mg 		1242 mg
414 mg
104 mg

  • A: Our lane is hydration. Although many supplements fall into this category, we are laser-focused on the core hydration formulations that have years of scientific research associated with them. Our focus is on producing a core electrolyte blend of Sodium Chloride, Potassium Chloride, and Magnesium Chloride. We also provide a clean, natural source of Caffeine from the organic, green coffee bean along with four flavors to choose from.

  • A: Yes! This is what is so great about our system! Your body’s needs change throughout the day depending on what you have done or what you are preparing to do. We want to make sure that you’re covered regardless of what you need. A customer can choose between zero, low, medium, or high electrolytes. The table above shows the breakdown of the electrolytes in each option at each size. A customer can also choose between 3 different Caffeine options: 100mg, 200mg, or 300mg. Although the Electrolytes increase with size, Caffeine remains at the same level regardless of size.

  • A: How much of the Electrolytes you should consume varies largely from person to person and day to day. When you sweat, you primarily lose Sodium, secondarily Potassium. We choose to put Magnesium in our Electrolyte formulation because it’s very important to overall rest and recovery and most people don’t get enough of it in their normal diet. As a general rule of thumb, when you do a workout that doesn’t involve a tremendous amount of sweating, the low or medium Electrolyte will work for most people. If you do a workout that involves a lot of sweating and you know you are a very heavy sweater, you should consider the medium or high level of Electrolytes. The ability to personalize your beverage and try out different options to see what works best for you is one of the things that excites us the most about our product! To learn more about the nitty-gritty of how electrolytes work in our body, be sure to check out this blog.

  • A: Caffeine, especially natural caffeine, can provide wonderful benefits as it pertains to performance. But if misused, it can create problems for an individual. Here is the language that we make available in our mobile app as guidelines to adhere to when choosing Caffeine:

    Caffeine 100 mg- “For a light pick-me-up.”

    Caffeine 200 mg- “Provides performance enhancement in people weighing less than 145 pounds.” (Not recommended for people weighing less than 100 pounds.)

    Caffeine 300 mg- “Provides performance enhancement for people weighing less than 220 pounds.” (Not recommended for people weighing less than 110 pounds.)

    *Do not exceed 2.7 mg/pound or 6 mg/kg of body mass of caffeine. Limit the use of caffeine-containing medications, foods, or beverages while taking this product because too much caffeine may cause nervousness, irritability, sleeplessness, and, occasionally, rapid heartbeat. Do not give to children under 12 years of age.

  • A: Currently we have four flavors: Pineapple, Raspberry, Blackberry, and Peach. Our flavors are all-natural, gluten, nut-free, and Kosher. When we selected our flavors, it was our goal to get the most natural flavors possible and keep them light. We don’t want to recreate the typical sports or energy drinks. It’s our goal to create clean, light flavors that enhance, but not overpower our drinks.

  • A: Stevia is a natural product that comes from the Stevia plant. It is considered a sugar substitute that is 250-300 times sweeter than sugar. Stevia is a no-calorie sweetener and does not impact blood glucose levels. We believe Stevia is the best possible sweetener that isn’t sugar. Most Stevia products (and most alternative sweeteners) contain Erythritol. Erythritol is a compound synthesized from corn that is added as a sweetener to many products including many alternative sweeteners to make them sweeter. We use pure Stevia that contains no other compounds. We use very little flavoring. There is roughly 7.6mg of flavor additive, depending on which flavor you choose, in each of our flavors. The amount of Stevia in each flavor is a small fraction of that number.

  • A: We do not use synthetic preservatives, but we do use Organic, NSF certified Citric Acid, which is naturally occurring and found in citrus fruits. Citric Acid is added to products to keep them safe from bacteria, mold, or any other harmful substance.

  • A: Although all sports drinks on the market have some color, this isn’t because they are naturally occurring. Dyes are added to most, if not all, sports beverages on the market. This is all for the purposes of marketing. We actually feel the opposite. We believe that the best marketing is to provide the best product. We don’t use any dyes, so regardless of which beverage you build on our system, it comes out crystal clear!

Mobile App

  • A: Yes! Our mobile app acts as the screen, so you only touch your screen to build a beverage. To access water, you don’t need to use your mobile device, but you can to keep the system touchless. Otherwise, there is a button on the side of the system that you can press to access filtered, cold water anytime at no cost!

  • A: We saw the need for an individualized experience. A mobile app is the best way to provide this. We also believe that, as long as we provide an amazing experience and product, customers would rather have the ease of use and individualized experience a mobile app offers. One of our objectives is to provide people with easy access to information about hydration. With a mobile app, we can provide that information in a very convenient, digestible way.

  • A: When we started sum. we committed ourselves to making the best possible decisions for the health of our customers and the planet. A less-is-more approach has been a very important core value for everything we do. Especially when it comes to building a physical product. We wanted our systems to have a very long useful life, but also be made up of a high quantity of recyclable products. Unfortunately, screens are not the best for our planet and their ability to be recycled is next to zero. This fact, coupled with the fact that most people are carrying a screen around with them, we felt it was best not to create redundant technologies in the spirit of sustainability. Further, although more subjective, every time we’ve encountered a touchscreen, the quality of the interface seems to be inconsistent and carries the potential of a poor experience.

  • A: We practice “digital minimalism”. We don’t want to ask our customers for any more information than what is necessary to provide them with a wonderful experience. But we have made a commitment never to use our customer’s data for self-serving, irresponsible purposes. We never sell data and we never use data to manipulate our customers. We will use the data we collect in order to develop new products based on our customer’s likes and dislikes. We will use their data to communicate with them about new products that are available and to provide special, free beverages on special occasions. Otherwise, we only want to collect information that will provide the customer with ease of use.

Location Partners

  • A: We provide our dispensers at no cost to the location. Nor do we charge the location for replacement cartridges or filters. One of the differentiators of our system is that it is a point of sale, meaning that the person purchasing and consuming the beverage, pays for the beverage. In our partnership agreement, we share a percentage of the top-line sales revenue with each location partner.

  • A: Each system can easily be installed with a ⅜” pressurized water feed line (30-100 psi) and a ¼” drain line, along with a 110v / 60Hz outlet. We cover the cost of basic installation unless there are items that you would like removed and repaired due to the installation.

  • A: We partner with licensed, reputable third-party plumbing companies across the country. We will schedule a date and time for them to install the water, drain lines, and dispenser. We will cover the cost of basic installation. We do ask if there are any special installation requests that the location partner pays for these. But, most of the time we cover 100% of the installation costs.

  • A: It is 55.50” tall and 17.50” wide. But we like to give the system 34.75” of room so the door can open freely in order to perform any internal maintenance.

  • A: We designed our system specifically to make it easy on you! Our system will notify you when and which cartridges are low. The main thing you will need to do is change out cartridges as needed and keep the exterior of the system nice and clean.

  • A: Your system speaks to our system, so we know when you’re in need! sum. provides direct service, meaning a sum. team member personally delivers your cartridges when you need them.

  • A: Our system has a self-cleaning mechanism that cleans itself after every dispense cycle. But we also do regular, quarterly cleanings. Our team takes care of this maintenance including water filter changes as needed.