Why Water Matters
Thanks for scanning. Here's the story of the fruit in your can.
Water is precious
1 in 4 people worldwide, about 2.1 billion people, still lack safely managed drinking water (WHO and UNICEF, 2025). Farming uses about 70% of the fresh water the world takes (FAO).
Meet the prickly pear
A cactus fruit built for a drier world. It opens its pores at night, when it's cooler, so it loses three to five times less water than most crops. It thrives on just 200 to 300 mm of rain a year (FAO and ICARDA, 2017).
Less water, same harvest
In a five-year US field trial, prickly pear used up to 80% less water than some traditional crops (University of Nevada, Reno, 2021).
Rain it likes each year
| Crop | Rain a year |
|---|---|
| Prickly pear | 200 to 300 mm |
| Coconut palm | 1,500 to 2,500 mm |
Sources: FAO and ICARDA 2017; FAO 2007.
Where ours grows
Family-run farms in Sicily. Picked ripe and puréed on site.
Your can
Our cans are aluminium, which can be recycled again and again. Don't be a prickly, please recycle.
What we're working on
We make Cacto for people & planet. We're working with our grower to share their own water figures, and we'll post them here.
Organisations doing great work on safe water
Delicious. Refreshing. Built for a drier world.
Read the research
Studies on prickly pear and water in general, not on Cacto drinks.
- FAO and ICARDA 2017, Crop ecology, cultivation and uses of cactus pear
- Neupane et al. 2021, GCB Bioenergy and the University of Nevada, Reno summary
- FAO 2007, coconut palm
- WHO and UNICEF JMP 2025
Independent third-party research, shared as reading. Not Cacto claims or medical advice.