Introduction
As a daily necessity, water bottles have become a must-buy item for consumers. However, with a wide variety of styles available in the market, they face intense competition. How can new sellers break through the crowd and create bestselling water bottles in overseas markets? In recent years, a water bottle named Air up has rapidly gained popularity in overseas markets.
If only natural choices like fruits and herbal spices were available, selecting food based on taste might be a good idea. But nowadays, processed foods, artificial flavors, and excessive sugar additives abound. Those tasty foods may not necessarily be healthy. Therefore, Jüngst, together with four co-founders, created a product that allows consumers to enhance flavors using their sense of smell.
So, how does this miraculous device achieve the feat of “making plain water taste like fruit”? In this article, we will give an introduction to this hit water bottle product.
How Do Air Water Bottles Work?
It harnesses the principles of taste and smell by incorporating special flavor components into a water kettle. When you pour water and drink it, these components release fruit aromas. These aromas are transmitted through your nose to the brain, making you feel like you’re drinking water with fruit flavor, when in fact, you’re just drinking plain water. Don’t be fooled by its simple principle; its effect is anything but simple. Not only does it help reduce sugar intake, but it also allows people to taste various fruit flavors like apple and peach. In just one year, it earned over a billion euros in net profit, even prompting Pepsi to vie for investment. However, its success surely isn’t just about this one function. It has tapped into a niche market from a broader health perspective, avoiding the saturated market of traditional sports water bottles. By positioning itself as a low-sugar healthy hydration option, it has attracted a large following of fitness enthusiasts and those interested in weight loss, thus commanding a high premium for its product.
Does Air up Taste like Juice?
The water gets a very faint taste of cherry, similar to other fruity water drinks. The pod doesn’t sit in the water; it’s more that the scent makes it seem as if you’re drinking flavored water.
What surprises many is that this remarkable water bottle comes from a product design undergraduate student, Lena Jüngst. Air up originated as a student project at the University of Applied Sciences Schwäbisch Gmünd in Germany, where Jüngst collaborated with co-founder Tim Jäger. The first batch of Air up products sold 80,000 bottles in just six weeks, and within two months, they were completely sold out, solidifying Jüngst’s determination to continue.
During her thesis research, Jüngst explored the concept of retronasal olfaction. Through market research, she discovered that people have a natural inclination towards taste and tend to choose foods based on taste. Overseas consumers are not fond of plain water; they are more interested in flavored water. However, with the increase in diseases like diabetes, coronary artery disease, and obesity, improving health has become a market trend.
Jüngst leveraged retronasal olfaction to design a water bottle that “brings its own flavor” – allowing users to taste fruit flavors even when drinking plain water. Thus, the Air up water bottle was born. By incorporating natural fruit flavoring capsules as taste components, Jüngst provided users with a magical drinking experience.
To meet the diverse taste preferences of more users, the Air up brand has been committed to researching various natural flavor capsules. Currently, they have developed fruit-scented capsules such as strawberry, watermelon, cherry, and mango, as well as scent capsules for cocktails, cola, iced coffee, and more. These capsules are priced between €5.99 and €8.99 per pack, containing 3 to 5 capsules per bag, which are reusable.
Moreover, starting from the concept of promoting a healthy lifestyle and considering the overseas consumers’ habit of drinking flavored water, the Air up brand has developed 25 different flavor capsules using natural ingredients. By offering environmentally friendly, healthy, and natural products, they have created a highly popular and influential water bottle brand.
Are Air up Bottles Healthy?
When asked about the origin of the idea, Jüngst explained that she and Air Up’s Chief Technology Officer and co-founder, Tim Jäger, were writing their undergraduate thesis on the topic “When Neuroscience Meets Design.”
“At that time, we watched some Ted talks about neuroscience and stumbled upon the concept of ‘retronasal olfaction’ and how taste can be transmitted through the air.”
“We immediately thought that this could be an opportunity for us to address the health issues caused by modern diets in a very interesting way.”
Is it possible that we can trigger people’s taste without adding unhealthy ingredients?
“At that time, Tim and I embarked on a journey to find the best project for our undergraduate thesis. Eventually, we came up with the idea of designing a water bottle that could ‘flavor’ water using cosmetic fragrances.”
Under this concept, plain water can also taste like flavored beverages. Jüngst said, “You could say that with our Air Up water bottle, you’re deceiving your own brain.”
“When we realized that we could bring flavor without any additives, it became more sustainable than other flavored drinks, and the commercial prospects were very promising. Everything fell into place.”
Jüngst explained, “This water bottle can be fitted with replaceable capsules containing cosmetic fragrances. These capsules mix natural aroma compounds into the water, which are then perceived by the brain as flavors. With this method, we enable consumers to avoid unnecessary and unhealthy ingredients; what they drink is just water.”
Conclusion
The Air up water bottle is a revolutionary product that allows users to enhance the taste of plain water using their sense of smell. Developed by Lena Jüngst and her co-founder Tim Jäger, this innovative bottle originated as a student project and quickly gained popularity in overseas markets. By leveraging the principles of taste and smell, the Air up bottle releases fruit aromas into water, providing users with a delightful drinking experience without the need for unhealthy additives. The brand has expanded its product range to include a variety of natural flavor capsules, catering to diverse consumer preferences. With its focus on promoting a healthy lifestyle and sustainability, the Air up brand has become a leader in the market, offering a unique and impactful solution to the modern-day health challenges associated with diet.
