Hardy Steinmann spent a decade developing the Okapa water bottle, producing about 10,000 prototypes, visiting global factories, and securing 71 patents. The bottle uses custom German borosilicate glass, an anodized aluminum housing, and medical-grade components designed to survive drops. The product carries a luxury price point of $300 and features designer colorways and premium packaging calling it a "technical feat of engineering beyond reason." Steinmann's background includes leadership roles at Hublot, Swatch Group USA, and Zyliss, and he envisions the bottle as a status symbol comparable to a watch. The bottle faces a competitive 2025 consumer market.
Hardy Steinmann is the creator of the Okapa water bottle, which the design firm Ideo and others helped him bring to life. He has spent the past 10 years on a quixotic quest to create the perfect luxury water bottle, and in the process he says he has overseen 10,000 prototypes. He has traversed factories around the globe. He has secured 71 patents. And now his creation is out in the world-and, as it turns out, in my front yard.
There's a clang. There's a bounce or two. But when I squint my eyes open and pick it up, the bottle is still in one piece. Sure, there are a couple of decent dents in the fancy anodized aluminum housing. But the custom German borosilicate glass within is undamaged, as are the medical-grade components throughout the design. It has passed the drop test. Can it take on the bigger hurdle: the unforgiving, competitive water bottle marketplace of 2025?
Steinmann soft-launched the bottle earlier this year, and it is not a modest bottle. The packaging proclaims it is a "technical feat of engineering beyond reason." It comes in colorways like Googie Silverline, Goldie Samba, and Fetische Noir developed by designer Beatrice Santicciolli. Steinmann never wanted to put an average water bottle out on the market. The 69-year-old Swiss-born creative has worked a kaleidoscopic array of jobs, including being the director of marketing and sales at the luxury watchmaker Hublot, EVP of Swatch Group USA.
Collection
[
|
...
]