mymizu
mymizu operates Japan's first free water-refill app, connecting 500,000+ users with 206,000+ refill spots across 50+ countries. The non-profit generates revenue through corporate sustainability consulting, sponsorships, donations, grants, and merchandise to combat single-use plastic waste.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersShibuya, Japan
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What mymizu does
mymizu is a Japan-based non-profit social enterprise operated by Social Innovation Japan G.I.A., founded in July 2019 by co-founders Mariko and Robin Lewis to address single-use plastic waste through a free water-refill discovery platform. The core product is the mymizu mobile app (iOS/Android), supplemented by an open-source web app launched September 2022, which together provide a global database of 206,000+ free water refill spots across 50+ countries. Users discover nearby refill points at cafes, restaurants, hotels, and public facilities, track personal impact (plastic bottles avoided, CO2 saved, money saved, hydration intake), and contribute new refill spots in a co-creation model. The app has surpassed 500,000 downloads as of October 2025 and covers all 47 Japanese prefectures.
The business model is multi-stream and mission-driven rather than equity-financed. Revenue is generated through enterprise consulting services (the mymizu Challenge program for corporations, local governments, and educational institutions), speaking engagements and workshops delivered to 300+ organizations, corporate sponsorships, individual donations including a monthly supporter program starting at 500 yen, grants (notably a $1M Chivas Venture joint prize and the APAC Sustainability Seed Fund 2.0), and merchandise sales of branded reusable bottles. The platform charges nothing to end users or refill partner businesses; business model leverage comes from B2B service packaging and ecosystem partnerships.
Strategic partnerships anchor distribution and credibility. Flagship partners include Mitsubishi Chemical Cleansui and Meisui Holdings (water purification/dispenser infrastructure), Water Stand and OSG Corporation (water servers), and Hachidori Denryoku (renewable energy, added April 2026). Corporate refill partners include IKEA Japan, Starbucks Japan, LUSH Japan, Patagonia Japan, Hilton Nagoya, and 67 Comfort Hotel locations. The Local Government Alliance counts 10+ municipalities including Yamagata Prefecture, Nagoya City, and Fujisawa City. The organization has earned the Ministry of Environment Zero Ocean Pollution Award (2020), MIT Innovators Under 35 recognition for co-founder Robin Lewis (2020), Obama Foundation Asia Pacific Leadership Program selection (2024), and AWS Women Social Entrepreneur Award (2025).
mymizu firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- mymizu
- Legal name
- Social Innovation Japan G.I.A.
- Website
- https://mymizu.co
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- mymizu operates Japan's first free water-refill app, connecting 500,000+ users with 206,000+ refill spots across 50+ countries. The non-profit generates revenue through corporate sustainability consulting, sponsorships, donations, grants, and merchandise to combat single-use plastic waste.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
mymizu industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Sustainability Platform
- NAICS
- Environmental Consulting Services (541620), Environmental Consulting Services (54162)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Reusable & Refill Packaging Systems (Returnable Packaging, Refill-at-Home/In-Store) (IMALAMAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Reusable Packaging & Refill Systems (Returnable Transport Items, Deposit/DRS Ops) (EUAIANAE), Reusable Packaging & Container Return Programs (On-site) (BPABALAJ)
Keywords
Where mymizu is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Shibuya
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices2 records
Markets served
mymizu business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Enterprise Consulting Services (mymizu Challenge): Paid consulting packages for companies and organizations to take action on plastic waste and SDGs. Includes challenge programs, sustainability consulting, and workshop services.
- Speaking and Workshop Fees: Revenue from speaking engagements and workshops on sustainability, SDGs, and social business topics. Delivered to 300+ companies, international conferences, events, universities, and high schools.
- Corporate Sponsorships: Sponsorship revenue from companies partnering with mymizu for sustainability initiatives and plastic reduction campaigns.
- Individual Donations and Monthly Supporters: Donations from individuals supporting the mission. Monthly 'mymizu supporters' program starting from 500 yen/month with exclusive perks.
- Grants: Grant funding from foundations and organizations supporting environmental and sustainability initiatives.
- Merchandise Sales: Sales of mymizu-branded bottles and collaboration bottles. Includes MiiR bottle sales through Borderless Creations.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free App - Core refill spot discovery and tracking |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | mymizu Challenge - Enterprise sustainability programs |
| Subscription | Monthly | mymizu Supporter - Monthly individual support |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels10 records
mymizu product offering
Product offeringCore offering
mymizu operates a free water refill discovery platform via its iOS, Android, and open-source web apps, connecting users to a global database of 206,000+ free refill spots across 50+ countries. Beyond the consumer app, it sells paid corporate consulting packages (mymizu Challenge), workshops, speaking engagements, branded merchandise, and monthly Supporter memberships, all underwritten by a nonprofit operator to drive single-use plastic reduction.
Product overview
mymizu is a co-created platform and community focused on water refill to achieve a sustainable world where single-use plastic is eliminated. The core offering consists of the mymizu App (iOS/Android) and mymizu Web App, which together provide a global database of over 200,000 free water refill stations. Supporting the platform are additional products including the mymizu Challenge service for corporate and organizational plastic reduction programs, a Refill Partner Registration system for businesses to join the network, mymizu Collaboration Bottles for merchandise sales, a monthly Supporters Program, and a Local Government Alliance program. The platform is operated by Social Innovation Japan G.I.A., a non-profit general incorporated association based in Tokyo.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- mymizu App (iOS/Android) Free mobile application for iOS and Android that helps users find water refill stations at cafes, restaurants, public facilities, and hotels worldwide. Includes refill spot discovery, plastic bottle and CO2 savings tracking, hydration tracking, and user-contributed spot additions.
- mymizu Web App Open source web application (Beta) accessible via PC and mobile browsers. Provides refill map functionality without requiring mobile app download. Built as an open source project with public codebase on GitHub.
- mymizu Challenge Paid corporate and organizational consulting program enabling companies, schools, and local governments to run plastic waste reduction initiatives tied to SDGs. Includes challenge programs, structured tracking, and reporting of environmental impact for enterprises and municipalities.
- mymizu Collaboration Bottles Branded reusable water bottles sold through Borderless Creations e-commerce, including MiiR collaboration bottles. Proceeds support mymizu activities and sustainable social initiatives.
- mymizu Supporters Program Monthly individual supporter subscription starting from 500 yen per month. Includes access to the supporter Slack community, original charms made from ocean plastics, and special offers like waterdrop sets.
- Refill Partner Registration Free registration platform for businesses (cafes, restaurants, hotels, retailers, public facilities) to become refill partners and appear on the mymizu app map. Includes a welcome kit with stickers and promotional materials for storefronts.
- Local Government Alliance (自治体アライアンス) Structured partnership program for Japanese local governments to collaborate with mymizu in promoting refill culture, sustainable city development, and CO2 reduction through water refill initiatives.
Quantifiable outcome
- 500,000+ app downloads (October 2025)
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use mymizu
Customer profileNamed customers16 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
mymizu technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
Feature5 records
mymizu partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
20 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- Apple JapanflagshipCo-founder Mariko spoke at Apple Marunouchi Earth Day session. Featured on Apple App Store front page.
- Hachidori Denryoku (ハチドリ電力)flagshipPartnership to expand from refill to renewable energy. 100% renewable energy provider. Includes 1% for society initiative. Launched April 2026.
- Yokohama F. Marinos (横浜F・マリノス)coreHEROs PLEDGE sports initiative. Refill stations set up at home matches. Joint promotion of single-use plastic reduction.
- Yamagata Prefecture (山形県)coreJoined mymizu Local Government Alliance to promote mybottle movement. One of 10+ municipalities in the alliance.
- Youth Co:LabminorAWS Women Social Entrepreneur Award recipient. Social innovation challenge for youth entrepreneurs in Asia Pacific.
- Nagoya City (名古屋市)corePartnership agreement for local government alliance and plastic waste reduction initiatives.
- LUSH JapanminorCharity pot events held at LUSH stores in Shibuya, Shinjuku, Harajuku, and Ikebukuro for plastic-free initiatives.
- waterdropminorCity Green Fes. exhibition collaboration. Micro drink brand featuring at sustainability event.
- KNT365 POP-UPminorPOP-UP store collaboration at Isetan Shinjuku featuring mymizu x indosole products.
- Borderless CreationsminorE-commerce partnership for mymizu bottle sales. Online store for MiiR collaboration bottles.
- Code ChrysaliscoreOpen source community development support. Silicon Valley-style programming bootcamp providing volunteer recruitment and community event support for web app development.
- STRATAcoreWeb app foundation development and open source advice. Global engineering and design firm providing CTO consulting and staff augmentation for software development.
- TBWA\HAKUHODOcoreWeb app UI design. Joint Design For Good initiative. Comprehensive advertising agency (joint venture of Hakuhodo and TBWA Worldwide).
- Water Stand (ウォータースタンド)coreStrategic partnership for water server and dispenser solutions. Partnership agreement signed with Chiyoda Ward for plastic waste reduction.
- OSG Corporation (OSGコーポレーション)coreStrategic partnership for water dispensers. OSG's 'Sutehaji' project promotes single-use plastic reduction. Partner in HEROs PLEDGE sports initiative.
- Meisui Holdings (株式会社メイスイ)flagshipStrategic partnership for water purifier and dispenser solutions. Joint projects at British School in Tokyo and other educational institutions.
- Nike JapanminorSummer sustainability campaign. Joint initiative using Nike Run Club to achieve 2.5 million km running goal.
- Fujisawa City & Odakyu (藤沢市と小田急電鉄)corePartnership agreement for sustainable circular economy promotion and SDGs achievement. Part of local government alliance.
- Mitsubishi Chemical Cleansui (三菱ケミカル・クリンスイ)flagshipStrategic partnership to propose sustainable lifestyle through water. Joint mymizu Challenge programs and environmental education initiatives. Featured in Meisui magazine 2025.
- IKEA JapancoreAll IKEA stores across Japan joined the mymizu platform to reduce plastic waste through free water refills.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
mymizu competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Olio: Community-sharing app for food and household items, designed to reduce waste through neighbor-to-neighbor exchange. Comparable to mymizu in its consumer behavior-change app model, co-creation community dynamics, and sustainability mission.
- WaterAid: International nonprofit focused on water access, sanitation, and hygiene in low-income countries. Mission-aligned with mymizu's water and sustainability focus, and a comparable nonprofit-driven structure with global reach, though operating through infrastructure delivery rather than a consumer app.
- Too Good To Go: European-headquartered app that connects consumers with surplus food from restaurants and stores to reduce food waste. Highly comparable operating model (consumer mobile app, partner business network, location-based discovery, environmental impact tracking) applied to food waste rather than plastic waste.
- Litterati: Data platform for tracking litter and plastic waste via community-submitted geotagged photos, with corporate sustainability programs. Closely comparable to mymizu in using a consumer app to crowdsource environmental data and offering B2B sustainability dashboards to brands and municipalities.
- Plastic Pollution Coalition: Global nonprofit alliance working to end plastic pollution through advocacy, education, and corporate campaigns. Comparable to mymizu as a nonprofit-led movement organization addressing single-use plastic with corporate and government engagement.
Broad incumbents
- Water.org: Global nonprofit co-founded by Matt Damon and Gary White focused on expanding access to safe water and sanitation through microfinance. Mission-adjacent to mymizu's water focus and a comparable high-profile nonprofit brand, but addresses water scarcity through financing rather than refill behavior.
- Plastic Bank: Global social enterprise that operates plastic collection and recycling networks, monetized through 'plastic credits' sold to corporations. Comparable to mymizu in tackling single-use plastic and working with consumer-facing apps, but operates a broader, more capital-intensive recovery infrastructure rather than a refill-discovery app.
Emerging players
- Earth Hero: Sustainability action app that helps consumers measure their carbon footprint and discover climate-positive brands and actions. Comparable to mymizu in providing consumers with environmental impact tracking, action discovery, and brand/community partnerships.
- rePurpose Global: Plastic action platform offering individuals and brands ways to fund verified plastic recovery, with a consumer-facing app and corporate programs. Overlaps with mymizu in combining a consumer behavior app with B2B sustainability services targeting plastic reduction and corporate ESG goals.
Direct peers
- Refill (City to Sea): UK-based nonprofit that operates the original Refill app and 'Refill' scheme for finding free water refill stations in cafes, shops, and public buildings. The most direct global competitor to mymizu, sharing the same model of community-submitted refill spots and partnership with local businesses.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
mymizu social profiles
Digital presencemymizu financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
mymizu leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
mymizu funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
mymizu M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about mymizu
What does mymizu do?
mymizu operates a free water refill discovery platform via its iOS, Android, and open-source web apps, connecting users to a global database of 206,000+ free refill spots across 50+ countries. Beyond the consumer app, it sells paid corporate consulting packages (mymizu Challenge), workshops, speaking engagements, branded merchandise, and monthly Supporter memberships, all underwritten by a nonprofit operator to drive single-use plastic reduction.
Is mymizu a public or private company?
mymizu is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was mymizu founded?
mymizu was founded in 2019. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is mymizu based?
mymizu is headquartered in Shibuya, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does mymizu make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Enterprise Consulting Services (mymizu Challenge) is the primary driver. The others are speaking and Workshop Fees, corporate Sponsorships, individual Donations and Monthly Supporters, grants and merchandise Sales.
Who are mymizu's main competitors?
Others on record are Olio, WaterAid, Too Good To Go, Litterati and Plastic Pollution Coalition. Broad incumbents are Water.org and Plastic Bank. Emerging players are Earth Hero and rePurpose Global. Refill (City to Sea) is listed as a direct peer.
Does mymizu have an API?
Yes. Open source web application with publicly available source code on GitHub. The codebase is open for developers to contribute to, view design files, and build upon. Available at https://github.com/mymizu/mymizu-web/. Documentation for web app features available at the project site. Developer documentation is at github.com/mymizu/mymizu-web.
What industry is mymizu in?
mymizu's product category is Sustainability Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMALAMAE, Reusable & Refill Packaging Systems (Returnable Packaging, Refill-at-Home/In-Store), with a secondary code of EUAIANAE, Reusable Packaging & Refill Systems (Returnable Transport Items, Deposit/DRS Ops). Its NAICS code is 541620.