Canadian start-up exports fresh air to China

Soaring pollution levels in China led an enterprising Canadian company to sell out of its canned air product in the choking continent this week.

Edmonton-based start-up Vitality Air sells bottles of what it describes as fresh, Canadian mountain air at two locations - Banff in the Albertan Rockies, and nearby Lake Louise.

Founder Moses Lam admitted to the Telegraph that the company was started as a joke after he and a friend sold a plastic bag filled with air on eBay.

The first bag sold for less than 50p, but a second went for more than £100.

"That's when we realised there is a market for this", said Lam.

He confirmed that the company's first shipment of 500 bottles flew off the shelves in four days, as smog more than 50 times the health guidelines blanketed cities in the heavily industrialised north eastern and southern parts of China.

A crate - this time with 4,000 bottles of Canadian air - was on its way to China, but Lam said most of it was already spoken for.

A single 7.7 litre can of fresh Canadian mountain air was selling for RMB100 (£10). A bottle of mineral water in China often costs less than RMB2.

Lam said their biggest challenge had been keeping up with demand, as each bottle of fresh air had to be filled by hand.

"It's very labour intensive, but we also wanted to make it a very unique and fun product."