This article is an orphan, as no other articles link to it . Please introduce links to this page from related articles ; try the Find link tool for suggestions. (November 2024) |
Company type | GmbH |
---|---|
Industry | bottle manufacturer |
Founded | 2018 |
Headquarters | , |
Key people |
|
Products | water bottle that enhances plain water with flavour |
Revenue | >€200 million [1] |
Number of employees | >300 [2] |
Website | shop |
air up GmbH is a manufacturer of water bottles with different scents, headquartered in Munich, Germany. [3] [4] The company is the first to have developed a drinking system that works through scents by means of retronasal smell. [5]
In 2023, air up generated revenue of over €200 million and employed more than 300 employees. [1] [2]
Founded in 2018 by Fabian Schlang, Tim Jäger, Lena Jüngst, Simon Nüesch, and Jannis Koppitz, [6] the idea for air up emerged in 2016 during the product design studies of Jüngst and Jäger. Their aim was to develop a flavoured water option without added sugars. [7] [8]
Within the first six weeks of its establishment, the company sold 80,000 bottles via online marketplaces and offline retail. [9]
In 2019, the company began selling the bottles through online retail. [6]
The company subsequently expanded into the European market, including Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, [5] France, Belgium, Great Britain, [10] Italy, and Sweden. [11] In 2022, air up made its entry into the US market [11] and introduced eleven new flavours that same year. [12]
Over the years, the company has raised over €60 million through various funding rounds, attracting investments from beverage company PepsiCo and venture capitalist Frank Thelen. In the fiscal year 2022, Air Up reported a revenue increase of 75%, reaching approximately €160 million. [13]
Between 2022 and 2024, air up invested over €20 million in production improvements. To ensure sustainable production practices, the company has relocated its bottle manufacturing from China to Europe: The production of the tritan bottles is located in Austria, while the pods are produced in the Netherlands. [5] [14] [12]
In 2023, over 10,000 sold counterfeit air up products were recorded. This led to significant revenue losses for the company – over €10 million – as some customers opted for these cheaper imitations instead of the original product. [15]
By early 2024, however, air up had sold over 5 million bottles and achieved a tenfold increase in revenue within three years. [16]
The core principle behind air up is retronasal olfaction, [17] a process where scents are detected through the nasal cavity as air is exhaled, enhancing the perception of taste. [7] [18] By leveraging this biological mechanism, air up creates the impression of drinking flavoured water without actually incorporating any flavours, sugars, or additives into the liquid. [3] [7] [19]
The air up bottles are made from durable, BPA-free plastic [19] or alternatively from steel. The sizes for the plastic bottles range from 650 mL to 850 mL. [20] The bottles feature a built-in straw. [19] The straw directs airflow through the scent pods as users drink, allowing the aromas to reach the olfactory receptors. This creates the perception of flavoured water in the brain. [16]
Scent pods are small, interchangeable cartridges located at the top of the bottle. Each pod contains aromas from plant-based ingredients and can flavour several litres of water. [3] [19] The pods are made from recyclable materials and available in different flavours. [21] [22]
In January 2022, Daniel Böniger wrote in Der Bund that the drinking bottles from air up had become a "must-have for teenagers", while questioning the price point of the bottles. [23] Jelmer Luimstra analysed in Business Insider Nederland in 2023, that the cost for the pods per litre is on average lower than the cost for the same amount of fizzy or flavoured drinks bought in supermarkets, however, customers only save money over a longer period of time due to the initial cost of the bottle. Luimstra also said that the strength of flavour varies between the pods. [24]
Katharina Koerth wrote in Der Spiegel in April 2022 that air up is one of the most successful startup brands in Germany. Through research into the company's practices however, Koerth commented that the website claimed that the scent pods are made from recycled materials, which upon further investigation turned out to be untrue, with company management stating that the pods have not been made from recycled materials, but from recyclable materials. The mistake on the website was acknowledged and the wording was changed shortly after. [25] Zoe Wood of The Guardian suggested in May 2024 that Air Up "might keep children away from sugary drinks". [1]
In an October 2024 article, Elisabeth Gerstendorfer of Kurier quoted Klaus Dürrschmid from the Institute of Food Sciences in Vienna. He said that Air Up uses only "food-grade flavours" which pose "no toxicological risk" and comply with legal standards applicable to the food and beverage industry. [26]
Max Skowronek from Business Insider wrote in November 2024 that air up had "managed to grow from a small startup to a successful company within a few years". [5]
Bottled water is drinking water packaged in plastic or glass water bottles. Bottled water may be carbonated or not, with packaging sizes ranging from small single serving bottles to large carboys for water coolers. The consumption of bottled water is influenced by factors such as convenience, taste, perceived safety, and concerns over the quality of municipal tap water. Concerns about the environmental impact of bottled water, including the production and disposal of plastic bottles, have led to calls for more sustainable practices in the industry.
Dasani is a brand of bottled water created by the Coca-Cola Company, launched in 1999. It is one of many brands of Coca-Cola bottled water sold around the world. The product is filtered and bottled.
Lucozade is a British brand of soft drinks and energy drinks manufactured and marketed by the Japanese company Suntory. Created as "Glucozade" in the UK in 1927 by a Newcastle pharmacist, William Walker Hunter, it was acquired by the British pharmaceutical company Beecham's in 1938 and sold as Lucozade, an energy drink for the sick. Its advertising slogan was "Lucozade aids recovery". It was sold mostly in pharmacies up until the 1980s before it was more readily available as a sports drink in shops across the UK.
Lemon & Paeroa, often shortened to L&P, is a sweet, lemon-flavoured soft drink manufactured in New Zealand. It is considered Kiwiana, and was traditionally made by combining lemon juice with naturally carbonated mineral water from the town of Paeroa. Today, it is manufactured by multi-national Coca-Cola. The origin date of the drink is uncertain, but the brand estimates 1907.
Thums Up is a brand of cola. It was introduced in 1977 to offset the withdrawal of The Coca-Cola Company from India. The brand was later bought by Coca-Cola who re-launched it in order to compete against Pepsi to capture the market.
A.G. Barr p.l.c, commonly known as Barr's, is a Scottish soft drink and energy drink manufacturer based in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, Scotland widely known for manufacturing the drink Irn-Bru. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892. It manufactures, sells and markets soft drinks including Coca-Cola, other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, and alcoholic beverages. Its stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is a component of the DJIA and the S&P 500 and S&P 100 indexes.
Campari is an Italian alcoholic liqueur, considered an apéritif of the amaro variety, obtained from the infusion of herbs and fruit in alcohol and water. It is a type of bitters, characterised by its dark red colour. It is produced by the Davide Campari Group, a multinational company based in Italy.
Perrier is a French brand of natural bottled mineral water obtained at its source in Vergèze, located in the Gard département. Perrier is known for its carbonation and its distinctive green bottle.
PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manufacturing, distribution, and marketing of its products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company and Frito-Lay, Inc., PepsiCo has since expanded from its namesake product Pepsi Cola to an immensely diversified range of food and beverage brands. The largest and most recent acquisition was Pioneer Foods in 2020 for US$1.7 billion and prior to it was buying the Quaker Oats Company in 2001, which added the Gatorade brand to the Pepsi portfolio and Tropicana Products in 1998.
Container-deposit legislation is any law that requires the collection of a monetary deposit on beverage containers at the point of sale and/or the payment of refund value to the consumers. When the container is returned to an authorized redemption center, or retailer in some jurisdictions, the deposit is partly or fully refunded to the redeemer. It is a deposit-refund system.
Volvic is a brand of mineral water. Its source is in the Chaîne des Puys-Limagne Fault, Auvergne Volcanoes Regional Park, at the Puy de Dôme in France.
Bisleri International is an Indian multinational company which is best known for the eponymous brand of bottled water. The company was started in the 1970s by Ramesh Chauhan, and sells bottled water and soft drinks.
Ethos Water is an American brand of bottled water with a social mission of "helping children get clean water." A Starbucks subsidiary, Ethos began in 2001 when Peter Thum had the idea after working in communities in South Africa that lacked access to clean water. Thum, who was working as consultant for McKinsey & Company at the time, realized the potential to create a bottled water brand to raise awareness and funding for safe water programs. The idea became an obsession for Thum, and he wrote the business plan for Ethos, left McKinsey, and moved to New York in early 2002 to start the venture.
Bionade [ˌbi.(j)oˈnaːdə] is a German range of non-alcoholic, organic fermented and carbonated beverages. It is manufactured in the Bavarian town of Ostheim vor der Rhön by the Peter beer brewery. Sales started in 1995 and Bionade is now available in most European countries. Until 2018 Bionade GmbH was a subsidiary of Radeberger, a group of breweries which is a division of Dr. Oetker. Now Bionade is part of the Hassia Group.
The Red Dot Design Award is an international, annual design competition for product and industrial design, brand and communication design as well as design concepts, in which the Red Dot quality label is awarded to winners. The Red Dot Design Award, which is organized by Red Dot GmbH & Co. KG, dates back to 1954 when the "Verein Industrieform e. V." was founded.
Retronasal smell, retronasal olfaction, is the ability to perceive flavor dimensions of foods and drinks. Retronasal smell is a sensory modality that produces flavor. It is best described as a combination of traditional smell and taste modalities. Retronasal smell creates flavor from smell molecules in foods or drinks shunting up through the nasal passages as one is chewing. When people use the term "smell", they are usually referring to "orthonasal smell", or the perception of smell molecules that enter directly through the nose and up the nasal passages. Retronasal smell is critical for experiencing the flavor of foods and drinks. Flavor should be contrasted with taste, which refers to five specific dimensions: (1) sweet, (2) salty, (3) bitter, (4) sour, and (5) umami. Perceiving anything beyond these five dimensions, such as distinguishing the flavor of an apple from a pear for example, requires the sense of retronasal smell.
Glaceau Smartwater is a brand of bottled water owned by Energy Brands, a subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company. Introduced in 1996 as Ice Mountain Spring Water and Glaceau Mineral Water in the United States, it became known as Smart Water in 1998. By 2016, it was one of the top five most sold brands of bottled water in that country with sales worth nearly $830 million in 2017.
Bubly Sparkling Water, or simply Bubly, is a line of flavoured sparkling water distributed by PepsiCo. Distribution of the product first began in February 2018, with eight flavours introduced as part of the initial line-up. The brand is aimed at competing in the growing market for healthier alternatives to traditional soft drinks, primarily against other sparkling water brands such as La Croix.