Brita bought smart water bottle startup Larq this week. The German business Brita GmbH, formed in 1966, split off and sold its North/South American branch to Clorox in 1988.
In the Americas, Brita GmbH cannot sell its own brand items, but it does elsewhere. The company may reenter the prior market with an established, albeit not well-known, brand after this purchase.
Larq, formed in late 2017 in the Bay Area, is most known for its smart water bottles, which use a UV light in the top to eliminate germs in dark, moist objects. The firm now makes a water pitcher with UV light and Brita-style water filtration.
Larq founder and CEO Justin Wang tells Eltrys, “They wanted to expand back into North America on their B2C side.” “Larq extended that geographically. However, premiumization and digital transformation have kept that company 70% to 80% offline. We’re doing the reverse of their digital transformation. About 70–80% is online for us.”
With just ~1,000 brick-and-mortar outlets, Larq has a limited retail presence. Brita GmbH has a large worldwide presence and retail knowledge that helps it enter the U.S. In the meantime, Larq would lead internet sales.
Brita U.S. (Clorox) will remain the elephant in this room for the foreseeable future, but its former parent is preparing for an exciting struggle in which it cannot utilize its omnipresent name.
However, Wang thinks Larq and its new parent are more innovative.
I believe Clorox operates that company more as a cash cow, he argues. They do that. Clorox purchases companies, extends their shop placement, and squeezes every dollar. Germany relies more on filter innovation and business models.”
Larq will keep its present product lineup and grow using Brita technology. App connection and hydration monitoring will certainly remain priorities.
