The Big Question: Can a viral sensation turn into a world model?
With over 12 million posts on Tiktok, producing billions of views, and influencer movies on Instagram attracting tens of millions of viewers, Air Up bottles have turn into a viral sensation throughout Europe.
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Founded in 2019 by a bunch of 5 college students in Munich, the model has now bought over 15 million bottles and greater than 200 million of their interchangeable pods. But what makes this bottle so fascinating and might a viral hit actually turn into a long-lasting international model?
Cristina Kenz, CEO of Air Up, joined Angela Barnes within the studio for the newest episode of The Big Question to debate how the corporate is popping viral consideration into buyer habits, and what it sees as its largest competitors.
Having beforehand held senior roles at PepsiCo, Danone and Kraft Heinz, in addition to on the firm behind Burger King, Kenz has spent a lot of her profession working with fast-moving client items (FMCG) manufacturers.
Is Air Up simply one other water bottle?
At first look you may suppose Air Up are promoting flavoured water, or simply one other plastic water bottle that can ultimately collect mud behind your kitchen cabinet. And whereas the latter may show to be the case, there’s one thing barely extra to it.
Though suggestions differ by nation throughout Europe, well being authorities typically suggest common fluid consumption, with particular person wants various relying on elements together with age, exercise and local weather.
“We exist to assist people drink extra water,” Cristina defined.
“And we do it in a method that’s no sugar, no artificials, simply pure water with a touch of flavour and that provides you the enjoyment.”
Their interchangeable pods, which click on onto the highest of the bottle, are designed to create the notion of flavour by means of scent alone, a course of the corporate has dubbed ‘scentaste’.
And to this point, they’ve been profitable in attracting high-profile buyers, together with Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and PepsiCo.
Can a viral sensation turn into a world model?
Cristina believes there have been three phases to their journey to this point: hype, virality and behavior constructing.
“The behavior constructing is slightly bit slower within the sense that we have to get folks adopting the system day after day for the hydration promise to be true. You have to proceed coming again, and that’s the half that we’re invested in now.”
And whereas there could also be scepticism in regards to the life span of a viral product and the way lengthy it will likely be a fixture of our lives, Cristina and her crew are specializing in making the product broadly accessible as a method of encouraging repeat use.
“Now we have now 15,000 factors of sale,” she defined.
“It’s slightly bit like when you consider a health club. We all know that being wholesome goes to a health club, but when you need to take a bus and you need to stroll a kilometre to get to your health club, you will not make it.”
What’s subsequent for Air Up?
Rather than pursuing fast cross-border enlargement, Cristina says the corporate is at the moment centered on constructing buyer habits in its 4 key trading floors: Germany, France, Italy and the UK.
She additionally mentioned a hypothetical future stock-market itemizing, saying that if Air Up had been to go public, she would favour Europe over the US. However, she confirmed that an IPO isn’t at the moment a precedence.
The firm can be contemplating pursuing additional cross-border development, with Cristina saying she recurrently receives approaches from potential companions in trading floors together with Korea, Mexico, Vietnam and Japan.
“But the place we’re within the journey, I believe what we have to do now’s to essentially make it possible for we discover our mannequin, discover the repeatability of the mannequin, discover the way in which that we go from the hype, the viral, the behavior.
“The second we get right into a behavior and we perceive how that mannequin works, it is a lot simpler to launch in numerous nations and discover the repeatability of the mannequin.”
The Big Question is a collection from Euronews Business the place we sit down with business leaders and consultants to debate among the most necessary subjects on right now’s agenda.
Watch the video above to see the total dialogue about Air Up’s viral success.
