Death is a part of life – as is mourning. And sometimes, when you’re in the midst of grappling with loss, there are still logistical matters to handle.
Entrepreneur Candis Best knows the experience all too well.
Best is the founder of Leaf & Water, a water cremation business based in Brooklyn, New York, with a processing facility in Bennington, Vermont, that she launched in 2024. But back in December 2022, when her sister, Dawn, passed away, she was simply someone whose world had been turned upside down by grief.
“In addition to the trauma of [losing] my only sibling, my best friend … that was the first time in my life that I was personally responsible for having to make plans” for a funeral, and for handling remains, she recalled.
For Best, burial of the body was not an option she even wished to consider, which only left traditional fire cremation on the table. “Everybody’s aware, intellectually, of what cremation is. But once you make that choice, it’s very personal … and not only was I horrified, I was then taken aback by how horrified I was.” Several months later, her mother passed away, too. Best again resorted to traditional cremation.
The thing is, “in both cases, I was aware of water cremation. I knew it existed, but it wasn’t really accessible. There was no place in the vicinity.” A financial advisor by trade with previous business ownership experience, Best decided to apply her professional expertise to the process of bringing water cremation to the East Coast, so that other families would have more options.
What Is Water Cremation?
Best hears this question often – which means she’s ready to answer it at a moment’s notice. Water cremation, also known as alkaline hydrolysis, serves to “accelerate the natural decomposition process.”
She continues, “When we pass away … we decompose from the inside, out. Our molecular bonds start to break down. What water cremation does is accelerate that molecular breaking-down process using water, heat and pressure,” as well as a chemical called potassium hydroxide, which serves as a cleaning agent that allows the water to be safely drained upon completion.
In a still chamber, heat and water accelerate decomposition – “what would take four to six weeks [happens] into four to six hours.” Afterwards, the sterilized water is drained, and the skeletal remains left behind are dried and reduced to ash, which is then returned to the deceased person’s surviving loved ones.
Research shows that the water cremation process utilizes roughly 90% less energy than traditional fire cremation does. Moreover, there are no emissions of mercury or other harmful substances that can be particularly dangerous to breathe in.
Start Big, Dream Bigger
Beyond the ecological benefits, Best and others are drawn to the comparatively gentler nature of breaking down remains using water, rather than fire. Leaf & Water services an 11-state swath of the Eastern U.S., catering to like-minded families from Maine down to Maryland.
It was an essentially unserved market prior to starting up, Best says – though there are facilities on the West Coast offering water cremation, the practice hadn’t really made its way east until recently. This is due, in large part, to the fact that it is not legal throughout the United States. Currently, just 26 states permit water cremation.
But beyond that hurdle, getting the word out poses a significant challenge all its own. Clients come her way through a mix of direct inquiries and referrals from funeral homes with whom she’s forged relationships. Best also speaks at a variety of industry events, to let people know about water cremation as an alternative, and her business as a provider of it. But for now, Best says her bootstrapped company has not yet achieved profitability.
That said, traditional fire cremation has become the preferred option among Americans, with just under 63% of families choosing it in 2025 – which gives Best hope. “I think as more people know that [water cremation] is an option, I absolutely believe it will become the dominant” choice. She sees nationwide potential for Leaf & Water down the road, in light of this. And, she says her business is on track to make a profit within the next year.
Until then, whenever the startup road gets tough, Best grounds herself in her purpose – helping others break free of the binary choice currently available to most grieving families.
She recalled a client she recently worked with, a medical aid in dying case in which the ailing matriarch of a family wished to “go” on her own terms. After the remains were processed, one of her children approached Best. “The last thing the daughter said to me was, ‘We told our mother what we were doing [with her body], and she was so happy.’ It just confirms for me that this is a passion.”
She continued: “I want my business to be successful – but I genuinely mean it when I say, I just want more people to know they have a third option. That is what really drives me.” ◼️
Leaf & Water was named to The Story Exchange’s 2026 Brilliant Business Ideas list earlier this year.